Online Texts and Conventional Texts: Estimating, Comparing, and Reducing the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of two Tools of the Trade

Abstract

Many universities are endeavoring to understand and reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—or carbon footprints. Hard‐copy textbooks are (perhaps surprisingly) a large component of this footprint. Because they are “virtual,” electronic texts (e‐texts) are often considered environmentally superior to conventional hard‐copy texts. However, such claims lack thorough empirical validation. An effective tool for evaluating environmental impacts of products and services is lifecycle assessment (LCA). This article enumerates the steps in the lifecycles of conventional (hard copy) texts and e‐texts and it reports the potential GHG footprints of these activities. However, the actual footprint of most products and services depends on how individuals actually use them. Therefore, our second objective is to report survey results regarding actual student behaviors. Combining LCA and survey data, we estimate the GHG emissions of representative e‐texts and conventional texts; and we compare the two. This allows us to provide insight into the question, which alternative is best? Just as importantly, our analysis also identifies three levers that administrators, faculty and students can use to reduce text‐related GHG emissions.

Electronic Textbooks: Antecedents of Students’ Adoption and Learning Outcomes

“…E‐texts have been identified as a way for individuals to potentially reduce their environmental footprint (Hannon, ; Gattiker, Lowe, & Terpend, ). This notion has surfaced not only in the academic and public policy literature but in the popular press, thus potentially sensitizing students and other consumers to the idea that online reading might be an environmentally responsible behavior (Hutsko, ; Koerner, ).…”

“…The perceived difficulty in using e-texts may be lower for younger students (i.e., Millenials) than older generations of students, but based on empirical evidence, we propose: H 1c : A student's likelihood of adopting an e-text is positively associated with the degree to which he or she perceives that e-texts are easy to use. E-texts have been identified as a way for individuals to potentially reduce their environmental footprint (Hannon, 2008;Gattiker, Lowe, & Terpend, 2012). This notion has surfaced not only in the academic and public policy literature but in the popular press, thus potentially sensitizing students and other consumers to the idea that online reading might be an environmentally responsible behavior (Hutsko, 2009;Koerner, 2008).…”

“…The manufacture and distribution of conventional texts accounts for a substantial portion of universities’ footprints (Jones, 2010; Ahmed, ), whereas e‐texts eliminate emissions and other environmental effects associated with these activities. Depending on how hardcopy texts are used (and resold) and students’ behaviors with respect to e‐texts texts (e.g., how much students print from the e‐text, or the type of device that they use for reading the e‐text) e‐texts can be an effective way for universities to reduce their greenhouse gas footprints (Gattiker, Lowe, & Terpend, ).…”

Searching for New Answers: The Application of Task‐Technology Fit to E‐Textbook Usage

“…A key underlying assumption of previous research is that e‐textbooks are reasonable replacements for traditional textbooks. A review of the literature suggests that this assumption is not necessarily true because prior e‐textbook studies focus on student adoption behavior not how students perceive e‐textbooks fitting their needs (Gattiker, Lowe, & Terpend, ; Lai & Chang, ; Saadé & Bahli, ; Stone & Baker‐Eveleth, ,b; Terpend, Gattiker, & Lowe, ). Indeed, e‐textbooks and textbooks exhibit different features and benefits (Wu & Chen, ).…”

Encouraging E‐Textbook Adoption: Merging Two Models

“…() is environmental concern. Based on prior research, reducing the environmental impact is a primary reason for e‐textbook adoption (Gattiker, Lowe, & Terpend, ). As a result, the authors include this as a hypothesized predictor to e‐textbook adoption as follows (Terpend et al., , p. 154): H1d:A student's likelihood of adopting an e‐text is positively associated with his or her level of environmental concern. …”