STM’s Social Responsibility work drives collective actions across academic and scholarly publishing that will positively contribute to a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable world for both people and planet.
FOCUS AREAS
Collectively, as STM members of all shapes and sizes across the globe, we will work to spark:
- Responsible Business Practices | Initial Scope: Strengthening Our Foundations.
To lead the way in sustainability, it’s essential that we continue to cultivate diversity and sustainability within our own organizations and industry bodies. Many national associations, such as The Publishers Association (UK), already contribute positively with established programs addressing environmental concerns and supply chains. Our committee will build upon these foundations, concentrating on assessing, benchmarking, and crafting action plans and targets specifically for academic publishers. Our initial focus will be on diversity and inclusion, including accessibility, with the future goal of quantifying academic publishing’s carbon emission contributions, such as those from Peer Review. This approach underscores our commitment to responsible business practices and will guide our broader advocacy for sustainability. - Partnerships | Initial Scope: Establish key SDG standards for STM members on SDGs. Accelerating actions on sustainability requires systemic changes that can only be done through partnerships and collaborations. Utilizing the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the committee will initially explore how academic publishers can embrace the SDGs (encourage more SDG Publishers Compact signatories) and implement key standards (i.e. SDG classifications) and use these to build collaborations and wider consensus within the academic community and beyond.
- Community Impact | Initial Scope: Horizon scanning to understand the issues and agree on key actions. The definition around what is the “impact” of research is being challenged as Universities and Researchers globally strive to solve societal issues around sustainability, climate change and equity. This committee will seek to work with organizations to better understand sustainability-related “impact” issues and use these reports to further develop key actions and activities.
