The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is organizing   a  stakeholders’  conference  on  ecological  and  sustainable publishing  practices  in  New  Delhi  on  14  March 2009. The event titled Pathways  to  Green  Publishing:  industry perspectives on the economics of ecological  publishing  will attempt to bring together all the stakeholders involved  in  the  process  of  publishing  –  publishers,  printers, paper manufacturers,  authors, students, and the media – on a platform to discuss the enormous environmental issues plaguing the industry as a whole.

Prominent expected speakers include Dr R K Pachauri, Director-General, TERI and  Chairman,  IPCC,  Dr  Ajay  Mathur,  Director-General,  BEE, Dr Leena Srivastava, Executive Director, TERI, Mr Vivek Govil, President and CEO, Mr Sanjay  Banerjee,  Managing  Director,  Elsevier,  India,  Mr R Srinivasan, Member,  Corporate  Management  Committee,  ITC  Ltd, Ms Lata Vaidyanathan, Principal,  Modern  School, Mr Sanat Hazra, Technical Head, Times of India, and  Ms  Urvashi  Butalia,  Director,  Zubaan  Books.  Prof  Jeffrey Sachs, Director,  Earth  Institute,  Columbia  University,  USA  will  address the gathering  through  a video message. Representatives of renowned publishing houses such as Cambridge University Press, Pearson Education India, Pratham Books,  Katha Books, Zubaan Books, Ratna Sagar Pvt Ltd, Narsinghdass and Co Pvt Ltd would be participating in the conference.

This   years   conference  will  also  have  two  special  sessions  titled ‘Educational  institutions  as  drivers  of a greener tomorrow’ and ‘Author Speak’.  Teachers  and students from leading schools of Delhi NCR, like The Shri  Ram  School, DPS Noida, Kulachi Hansraj School would be participating in  the conference and discussing the environmental initiatives that can be taking  by  schools  and other educational institutions. This is in keeping with the vision of Dr R K Pachauri to inculcate the spirit of environmental awareness  in  young minds. The event also focuses on ‘green business’, the economics  of sustainability, and the role of the media in bringing about a change. Therefore, students and faculty members from reputed management and media  institutes such as NRAI School of Mass Communication, Management and Technology,  Pioneer  Media  School,  and  Jaypee  Institute of Information Technology would also be participating in large numbers.

The  special  ’Author  Speak’  session will see students participating from renowned  colleges  of  Delhi  University, such as Miranda House and Ramjas College.  Famous  author, Ms Paro Anand will address the session and share her thoughts  on  how  authors can lead the ‘green revolution’ in publishing.

The  conference  is  a culmination of a year-long series of workshops under the  Green  Publishers’ Guild in collaboration with the German Book Office, New  Delhi.  The first and second workshops addressed issues related to the publishing  industry,  such  as the feasibility of using recycled paper and management  of  hazardous  wastes  in the printing industry. The second and third  workshops  addressed  a  wider audience with an emphasis on greening office buildings and educational infrastructure.

The  highlight of the conference, however, would be the high level Business Leaders  Forum,  which will bring together CEOs from the leading publishing conglomerates  such  as  Pearson,  Cengage,  and  Elsevier,  as well as top printers like Thomson Digital and Gopsons in a discussion that will look at the  ecological  issues  facing the industry as a whole and their quest for sustainable solutions.

For details contact Roshni Sengupta (roshnis @ teri.res.in), Binita Singh (binitas @ teri.res.in) or Chandni Sengupta (chandnis @ teri.res.in)