New Springer Nature Group sustainability report shows carbon-reduction efforts on track, and around a quarter of workforce actively engaged in company sustainability efforts
London | Berlin | New York, 10 April 2024
Today Springer Nature Group, the global publisher of brands such as Nature and Scientific American, launches its latest annual Sustainable Business Report, Open for Progress1.
The report, which includes environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance data, shows colleagues across the organisation are increasingly engaged in sustainability initiatives, and progress in carbon reduction and diversity initiatives.
Highlights include:
- 24% of colleagues (approximately 2,250 individuals) are part of Springer Nature’s sustainability journey, participating in employee networks dedicated to topics such as diversity, advocacy and improving the carbon emissions of our offices. Colleagues also volunteer across 17 SDG working groups on projects to advance the goals.
- Women now make up 44% of our global leadership cohort: an increase of +5 percentage points from 2018, when a gender representation goal was first set. The Management Board now also has a 50/50 gender split.
- Achieved validation of science based carbon reduction targets by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi): 54.6% emissions reduction target in scope 1 and 2 emissions2, 32.5% emissions reduction in scope 3 emissions by 20323 and a 90% reduction across all scopes to reach net zero by 20404. The report also summarises progress made in 2023; 99% of Springer Nature’s electricity use is now from zero carbon sources5.
- Published nearly one million pieces of SDG related research since 2015: 940,000. The majority (54%) of SDG content is open access, meaning it is freely available to those who need it to progress the goals.
Commenting on the report, CEO Frank Vrancken Peeters said:
“Our 9000+ Springer Nature colleagues around the world are our best asset. This report shows their dedication to our mission: to use the discovery and dissemination of knowledge to address the world’s greatest challenges. They help authors bring research to life, they work with business partners to make our value chain more sustainable, and they protect the integrity of the scientific record. They are a part of progress and will carry us forward on our sustainability journey.”
Director of Sustainability and Climate Action Officer, Thea Sherer said:
“We were delighted to announce the validation of our science based targets last year, an important step forward in our progress to be net zero by 2040. We’re driving forward at pace, thanks to the support we have from our global colleagues and the embeddedness of sustainability to Springer Nature’s core mission. We remain focused on our short-term 2032 targets, and on track to meet them, even with pandemic recovery still noticeable across some numbers. Ongoing carbon related projects across the business and broader market development trends, like less printing, also help us head in the right direction.”
- The full Open for Progress report can be downloaded via our microsite or from our Taking Responsibility webpage.
- Includes fuel burnt on site and in vehicles, plus electricity used on site.
- GHG Protocol categories 1 - 15 plus well-to-tank (WTT) emissions as requested by SBTi.
- All with the baseline year of 2019. The 2040 targets cover (1) scope 1 and 2 combined and (2) scope 3.
- We have updated this metric to include nuclear electricity (<1% of the total)
For over 180 years Springer Nature has been advancing discovery by providing the best possible service to the whole research community. We help researchers uncover new ideas, make sure all the research we publish is significant, robust and stands up to objective scrutiny, that it reaches all relevant audiences in the best possible format, and can be discovered, accessed, used, re-used and shared. We support librarians and institutions with innovations in technology and data; and provide quality publishing support to societies.
As a research publisher, Springer Nature is home to trusted brands including Springer, Nature Portfolio, BMC, Palgrave Macmillan and Scientific American. For more information, please visit springernature.com and @SpringerNature
Maeve Dunne | Sustainable Business team | Springer Nature
