Springer Nature now carbon neutral for offices, fleet and flights

Springer Nature Group has revealed that it is now carbon neutral for emissions associated with its offices, company vehicles and flights.

The company released its fourth annual report on its progress as a sustainable business on Thursday (8th April) entitled Sustainable Business Report 2020: The Power of Knowledge. The publication, which covers environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, shares the steps being taken to champion open science, support delivery of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and the work it is doing to reduce its own environmental impact.

The company updates on the progress it is making in increasing diversity, equity and inclusion as well as highlighting the role of research publishing in the global endeavour to tackle Covid-19.

“Since 2017, Springer Nature has taken significant steps to reduce its net carbon emissions and in March 2020 pledged to become carbon neutral,” the publisher said. “The sustainable business report confirms the company is now net carbon neutral for carbon emissions associated with its offices, fleet and flights."

This has been achieved by significantly increasing the use of green electricity, via suppliers or through renewable energy certificates, for more than 150 offices around the world, and the use of carbon offsets from CommuniTree, a reforestation and carbon balancing project in Nicaragua, the publisher said.

During the past year, Springer Nature described how it has built on its commitments to improve diversity, equity and inclusion across its business. On track to meet its 2023 targets for greater diversity in leadership, women now make up 43% of Springer Nature’s most senior leaders — up from 39% in 2018. In 2021, the company is committed to setting targets for race, ethnicity and international representation in leadership.

The report also has also shared some of the ways in which it is supporting delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, signed by 197 countries in 2015. Since then Springer Nature has published more than 300,000 relevant articles or book chapters, which collectively have been downloaded more than 750 million times.

Frank Vrancken Peeters, company c.e.o, said: “Lasy year was a year like no other: the Covid-19 pandemic affected all our lives and showed unequivocally the importance of a research ecosystem that can operate at its most efficient. These events have highlighted the need for collaborations that can accelerate solutions to urgent global challenges including climate change. I am proud to say that we are now net carbon neutral and we continue to work to reduce the wider environmental impacts of our publishing, while sharing critical research on climate change, adaptation and mitigation with the policymakers and practitioners who need it most.”

The full document is available to be read here.