Responsible Publishing Net
The Sustainability Network
About
The Responsible Publishing Net (RPN) supports collaboration on sustainable product development, compliance and supply chain management between companies in the print & publishing sector. It helps participating companies to minimize their due diligence workload and to achieve transparency in their supply chains for well prepared business decisions.
The initiative for the Responsible Publishing Net project originates in discussions on quality topics and sustainability between publishing companies, printers and material suppliers with the conclusion that a collaborative approach with a shared questionnaire and information database will
- siginificantly reduce the QM and due diligence workload of all participating companies in print & paper supply chains
- improve the efficiency of our supply chain communication by a common procedure
- boost sustainability and compliance efforts of the sector
The Responsible Publishing Net is dedicated to contribute to the delivery of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN Global Compact with particular focus on SDG17 Partnerships for the Goals. The RPN Assessment Standard supports companies in demonstrating their contribution to further SDGs.
The setup of the Responsible Publishing Net has been accompanied and supported by major business organizations, publishers, manufacturers and material suppliers who provided precious and inspiring feedback. Further information on the participants and supporters of the procect will soon be available in the internal area of this website.
The RPN Assessment Questionnaires
The RPN Assessment Questionnaires are setting a common questionnaire standard in our supply chain communication on quality and compliance topics for well prepared business decisions.
The RPN Questionnaires focus on the wide range of quality and compliance requirements which matter in the print & publishing sector, such as
- General and specific quality standards like ISO 9001 and ISO 12647
- CSR standards like the UN Global Compact, the Ecogood Standard (ECG), the GRI Standards, the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
- Labour and social standards like the ILO Labour Standards, amfori BSCI, ICTI and Fair Trade as well as and due diligences standards like the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
- Environmental standards like ISO 14001, EMAS, ISO 50001 as well as CO2-Emmission-Standards like Climate Partner and the Gold Standard
- Packaging, waste and transport standards like the EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD)
- Standards and legislation on the the exclusion of harmful materials/substances like REACH and illegal logging like the Chinese Illegal Logging Act, the US Lacey Act, the EUTR and the EUDR, FSC and PEFC
- General product standards such as the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the EU General Product Safety Directive and specific product standards like Cradle to Cradle Certified, the EU Ecolabel, the Blue Angel Standard, the V-Label for vegan and vegetarian products and ISO 8124 or the EU Toy Safety Directive (TSD) for toys
- Data protection and IT security standards like ISO 27001, the EU GDPR andthe California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)
RPN Participation Benefits
- Access to the RPN Assessment Company, Product and Material Questionnaires
- Access to the RPN Guidance Document with basic information on the standards covered by the RPN Assessment Questionanires
- Access to the RPN Expert Network with special advantages for RPN Participants (e.g. price lists for product safety tests, audits, expert advise)
- Support in finding manufacturers, material suppliers and clients who provide or request services which comply with specific standards
- Collaboratively organized company, product and material audits
- RPN Webinars, Meetings and Workshops
- Public demonstration of the participation in the Responsible Publishing Net Initiative according to the RPN Brand Guide as part of the company due diligence organization
We are currently setting up of the RPN Supply Chain Management Platform for a collaborative, cloud based compliance and supply chain management in close alignment with a group of publishers, manufacturers and material suppliers from different countries in Europe and Asia.
The Responsible Publishing Net project is coordinated by Cologne Book Manufactory (CBM).