RSM Pioneers at Greening-up Thesis Printing

[Gabi Helfert]

The Erasmus Institute for Research in Management (ERIM), the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) and the Erasmus School of Economics, is the publisher of two lines of printed books, the ERIM PhD Series and ERIM Inaugural Address Series. Thanks to an initiative of Wilfred Mijnhardt, Executive Director ERIM, these two lines of publications will in future become much greener. I have talked to Wilfred about this exciting progress.

 

Gabi: Wilfred, how much books and pages are affected per year?

Wilfred: In the ERIM PhD series, we publish about 30-40 books each year, with an average of 200 pages per book. The ERIM Inaugural Address Series usually contains about 2-6 books per year, with an average of 30-40 pages per book. So, in total, we are going 'green' with around 7,000 - 9,000 pages per year, including the covers which will also be printed on sustainable material. Additionally, as of 2011, we will print 25% less books in favour of electronic publishing. All our series are available in full text since the start of our series in 2000 through the Erasmus Academic Repository (RePub). 

Gabi: What are the characteristics of the new paper you use?

Wilfred: The paper is called Revive 50/50 silk, and it's a mix of 50% recycled office paper waste and 50% virgin fibre. The pulp used in this product is bleached using an Elemental Chlorine Free process (ECF), and the ink used for printing on it comes from renewable resources and is an alcohol-free fountain solution. The ERIM PhD dissertation is used as personal profiling by the PhDs when entering the international job market, so it has to look good. And the books need to stay in a readable state for years, even when placed in a bookshelf with (in)direct sunlight. That means, for the two series we print, the paper we use must have archival quality, so choosing simply 100% recycled office paper would not have been possible. But this paper is a really great and much greener alternative to what we previously used.

Gabi: How does it look, compared to the conventional paper which you previously used?

Wilfred: As I said, the PhD thesis is an entry ticket to a future career, so it should look very professional. And it is a really stunning quality. The paper is even a bit smoother than the one we used before, and there is no visible difference in quality or colour.

Gabi: What is the environmental impact of this new initiative?

Wilfred: According to statistics we got from the paper supplier, using the Revive 50/50 white silk paper will reduce the amount of wood required to 40% compared to conventional paper. The energy consumption will go down to 80%, the water consumption will be reduced by 65%, and the CO2 emissions to 77% of our previous solution.

Gabi: That's really great news. But we have heard that the impact of your initiative will even go beyond the RSM?

Wilfred: Yes, that's true. When we introduced the paper to Haveka, the company that prints the two series, they were so convinced of the quality of the paper that they now will use it for their other clients, too. Haveka prints around 80% of the PhD theses written in the Netherlands, so the impact of the whole initiative will be huge.

Gabi: Thank you for this great initiative, Wilfred!

 

The Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM) is a research school of the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). ERIM was founded in 1998 by two of the EUR’s schools; the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE).  Read more at: http://www.erim.eur.nl.