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Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to identify at what extent e-book reading reduces global warming potential (GWP) of book reading activities relative to that of reading only paper books. Past studies assume e-books and paper books are interchangeable during consumption, but adopting e-book reading can alter reading patterns in reality. This research comparatively assessed the GWP of reading only paper books and that of reading pattern of after e-reader adoption of consumer segments.
Methods
We computed GWP of book reading activities of consumer segments that include a life cycle of paper book, e-book, and e-book reading device. Two e-book devices were considered: a designated e-book device (e-reader) and a tablet. The functional units are book reading activities per person and per person-book, which account the number of books purchased or acquired and the reading hours per person. We collected data through a web survey in the USA. Consumer segmentation was performed by analyzing the level of importance in the aspects of book reading activities as a measurement variable. To observe the changes in reading patterns upon e-reader adoption within the same population, we conducted a 3-month social experiment involving e-readers in the USA.
Results and discussion
Adopting e-readers was discovered to reduce both the GWP per person and the GWP per person-book of book reading activities. The GWP of e-books read with an e-reader and the GWP of paper books were found to break even at 4.7 books per year, provided consumers read less than 11 h a day. According to the web survey, e-reader users purchase more than seven e-books annually on average, which resulted in a smaller GWP per person-book relative to that of one paper book. Furthermore, the GWP per person in the social experiment was smaller for e-reader adopters than those who only read paper books because they substituted e-books for paper books. The overall book reading volume remains unchanged upon e-reader adoption.
Conclusions
Adoption of e-readers reduces the GWP from book reading activities with only paper books, provided more than 4.7 paper books are substituted by e-books annually, and provided consumers’ total consumption volume remain unchanged. E-reader adopters read sufficient number of e-books to break even with paper books. However, most e-reader adopters are yet to fully abandon paper books for e-books. Analyzing the differences in the reading experience between e-books and paper books is a future task.
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Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Asa Moberg for sharing the life cycle inventory data of paper books and e-books
Funding
This research was funded by the Research Fellowships of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists (16J02702)
Author information
Eri Amasawa
Present address: Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
Keisuke Hanaki
Present address: School of Information Networking for Innovation and Design, Toyo University, Akabanedai, Kita-ku, Tokyo, 115-0053, Japan
Authors and Affiliations
Graduate Program in Sustainability Science-Global Leadership Initiative, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8563, Japan
Eri Amasawa
Department of Environmental Systems, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8563, Japan
Tomohiko Ihara
Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
Keisuke Hanaki
- Eri Amasawa
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- Tomohiko Ihara
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- Keisuke Hanaki
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Correspondence toEri Amasawa.
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Responsible editor: Matthias Finkbeiner
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Amasawa, E., Ihara, T. & Hanaki, K. Role of e-reader adoption in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of book reading activities.Int J Life Cycle Assess23, 1874–1887 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-017-1417-5
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