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Consumption

One printed book (300-page paperback)

Yksi painettu kirja (300 sivua, pehmeäkantinen)

7.2
Truecost score
Data confidence: HIGH

Carbon well-established by multiple LCA studies. Water and land use have wider uncertainty ranges.

A 300-page paperback generates approximately 1.5 kg CO₂e, primarily from paper production. Paper is highly recyclable (90% in OECD countries).

Did you know? A printed book is greener than an e-book unless you read at least 25 books on your e-reader. Paper has a 90% recycling rate vs. 12% for e-waste.
Transparent calculation

How was this number determined?

The Truecost score is calculated from absolute physical values. Each row below shows the measured value, how it was normalized, and where it comes from.

Dimension Absolute value Score 100 = Normalized Weight Weighted Confidence
Carbon Emissions 1.5 kg CO₂e 9.5 kg CO₂e 15.79 ×0.35 5.53 HIGH
Water Consumption 30.0 liters 3840 liters 0.78 ×0.2 0.16 MEDIUM
Land Use 1.5 m²·year 51 m²·year 2.94 ×0.2 0.59 LOW
Waste 0.3 kg 5 kg 6.0 ×0.15 0.90 MEDIUM
Toxicity 0.5 µDALY 162 µDALY 0.31 ×0.1 0.03 LOW
Truecost score (weighted sum) 7.2

Share of your annual planetary budget

Carbon Emissions 0.16%
Water Consumption <0.01%
Land Use 0.03%
Waste 0.06%
Toxicity <0.01%
Source data by dimension

Where do the absolute values come from?

Carbon Emissions
HIGH
Wells (2012): 2.71 kg CO₂e/book for North American production with DMP. Kozak & Keoleian (2003): ~1.2 kg CO₂e for average paperback. Enroth (2006): 1.0-1.5 kg CO₂e for European production. Using 1.5 kg as European mid-estimate for a 300-page paperback (~350g).
  • Wells et al. (2012): Carbon Footprint Assessment of a Paperback Book — Journal of Industrial Ecology 16(2):212-222
  • Kozak & Keoleian (2003): Printed Scholarly Books and E-book Reading Devices — University of Michigan CSS Report
  • Enroth (2006): Environmental impact of printed and electronic media — Advances in Printing and Media Technology

Well-studied. Range 1.0-2.7 kg depending on paper source (virgin vs recycled), printing location, and distribution distance.

Water Consumption
MEDIUM
Water footprint of paper: 300-2600 m³/ton (van Oel & Hoekstra 2012). Paperback book ~350g paper. At ~800 m³/ton (managed plantation): 0.00035 × 800,000 = 280 L for paper alone. Conservative estimate 30 L includes only blue/grey water (direct industrial use), excluding green water (rainfall on forests).
  • van Oel & Hoekstra (2012): Towards Quantification of the Water Footprint of Paper — Water Resources Management
  • Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2011): Global green and blue water footprint of paper

Total water footprint (including rain on managed forests) is ~280 L. Blue+grey water (industrial) is ~30 L. Using blue+grey for consistency with other items.

Land Use
LOW
One ton of paper requires roughly 24 trees from managed plantation. Average managed forest yields ~5 m³/ha/yr. A 350g book uses ~0.35 kg paper → ~0.5 kg wood. Plantation yield ~10 t/ha/yr → 0.5 kg requires ~0.5 m² for one year. Adding processing and transport infrastructure: ~1.5 m²·year.
  • FAO (2022): Global Forest Resources Assessment
  • CEPI (2022): Key Statistics — European Pulp and Paper Industry

Highly variable. Managed Scandinavian forests vs tropical plantations differ enormously. Recycled paper would reduce this significantly.

Waste
MEDIUM
Book weight ~350g. Paper recyclability ~90% in OECD. Net waste if recycled: ~35g. If landfilled: 350g. Using 300g as mid-estimate (many books end up stored, donated, or landfilled).
  • CEPI (2022): European Paper Recycling Council statistics

Paper is highly recyclable but actual recycling rate varies by country.

Toxicity
LOW
Printing inks contain VOCs, paper bleaching uses chlorine compounds. Low but measurable health impact for workers. Rough estimate ~0.5 µDALY per book.
  • Popp et al. (2016): Occupational health in the printing industry — International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Modern printing increasingly uses soy-based inks. Impact has decreased significantly.

Comparisons

Methodology

Based on Wells (2012) and Kozak & Keoleian (2003) LCA studies. European mid-estimate used for a typical 300-page, 350g paperback including printing, binding, and distribution.

Sources