Responsible Publishing

Access to knowledge

We have made a policy decision to offer lower cost eBooks to individuals simultaneously with print publication through Google Books and other consumer eBook vendors.

 

Sustainability

We are committed to embedding sustainability throughout our business and are actively working towards continued improvement of our sustainability activities. We are focused on reducing our environmental footprint, fostering inclusive engagement with our employees, industry initiatives and the communities we work with, and, crucially, the impact we can make through our publishing program.

 

Environmental Impact

Supply chain

• Our use of cutting-edge technology, managed print and adopting a print to digital strategy has significantly reduced over-printing and waste.
• We now use printers closer to customers to reduce the distance our print books travel. This includes in-warehouse printing to cut out transport from printer to warehouse.
• Our new books are printed by companies that enforce a strict environmental code of practice and are continually working towards reducing their carbon footprint. The environmental code of our main book printers CBI can be seen here and TJ International can be seen here.
• All our books and journals are printed on FSC-accredited paper.

 

Marketing

• We have pivoted to prioritising digital marketing for its wider reach and effectiveness which has significantly reduced the amount of paper and ink we use in our promotional activities. 
• At conferences we display posters with QR codes rather than printing and shipping catalogues and titles on display lists.
• We now use eco book display stands which use significantly less cardboard These are not printed with coloured ink to reduce their environmental impact and to facilitate recycling.
• We have replaced our cloth tote bags with a non-dyed version to reduce their environmental impact.

 

Our offices

• All three offices participate in a variety of recycling schemes for office and general-purpose products. We have a zero waste to landfill contract for waste disposal for both our Cheltenham and Camberley offices.
• In our purchasing policy we support companies that trade ethically and actively seek more sustainable options for our office supplies.
• Where possible, milk for the office is provided in glass milk bottles which are collected and reused every week, and we offer staff alternative milk options.
• We are continuing our efforts to make our offices more energy efficient. This includes refurbishing windows with double-glazing and secondary glazing, installing LED lighting, using energy-efficient hand dryers in bathrooms to reduce paper towel use, investing in the roofing of our Camberley office to improve thermal comfort in winter and summer.
• Sustainable transport is encouraged by offering season ticket loans and an electric car scheme to staff. We provide bike shelters and EV charging points at our offices and our office locations are easily accessible by public transport. We also offer hybrid or fully remote working to staff where appropriate.
• We encourage the use of video calling to reduce business travel and carefully consider each business trip we make. We benchmark and monitor all our business travel annually as part of our carbon footprint analysis.
• We use our office outside space to encourage biodiversity by planting trees, sowing wildflower seeds and providing bird feeders, baths and nest boxes.  

 

Publishing Declares

We are proud signatories to the publishing industry’s declaration on climate action, Publishing Declares.

The five-point pledge includes commitments to reach net zero in our own operations and extended supply chain as soon as possible and by 2050 at the latest; work with supply chain partners and use sustainable production wherever we can; collaborate with our business partners and suppliers; and use our platform and voice to educate for sustainability and advocate for climate action, both internally and with our external audiences.

To find out more about the pledge visit www.PublishingDeclares.com

 

The Impact of our Content

As a social science, law and business and management publisher, one of the most important contributions we can make is through the content that we commission and disseminate globally.

https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/books/environment.html

https://www.elgaronline.com/page/environment.html

 

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Publishers Compact

We are proud to have signed up to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Publishers Compact. Signatories aspire to develop sustainable practices and act as champions of the SDGs during the Decade of Action (2020-2030), publishing books and journals that will help inform, develop and inspire action in that direction. The compact features 10 action points that publishers can commit to undertake to accelerate progress to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

Explore our curated content that relates to individual Sustainable Development Goals through our SDG collections.

 

 

We also work in partnership with Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL). EIFL is a not-for-profit organization that works with libraries to enable access to knowledge in developing and transition economy countries in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America.

As part of the collaboration Edward Elgar Publishing has agreed to provide institutions in 38 countries with free access to its journals and development studies ebooks via the Edward Elgar Publishing content platform.

The agreement initially ran until 31st December 2016 and was most recently renewed in 2020 to run until 31st December 2025 (read more on the Elgar Blog here). The agreement is open to EIFL partner-consortia and their member libraries in countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, Congo, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Macedonia, Malawi, Maldives, Moldova, Namibia, Nepal, Palestine, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Read the full list of institutions.

We are also supporting an important new EIFL initiative in Myanmar. Funded by the Open Society Foundation’s Higher Education Support Program, the EIFL eLibrary Myanmar project is transforming access to information in Myanmar, initially at Yangon University and Mandalay University. As part of the project Edward Elgar Publishing will provide the institutions with free access to law and development studies ebooks from 2010 to 2016. This agreement was renewed in 2020 to run until 31st December 2022.

 

We are proud to announce our partnership with GOALI (Global Online Access to Legal Information), a programme of the Research4Life group. Following its launch in March 2018, this programme aims to provide free or low-cost online access to law-related academic and professional content to institutions in over 115 countries. GOALI is the newest of five component programmes of Research4Life, alongside the following:

Hinari (Access to Research in Health), sponsored by the World Health Organization

AGORA (Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture), sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization

OARE (Online Access to Research in the Environment), sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme, in cooperation with Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

ARDI (Access to Research for Development and Innovation), sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

We are delighted to offer access to our Elgaronline journal content, as well as a Developing studies eBook collection. In July 2018, we agreed to be part of an extended partnership with Research4Life, providing digital content for institutions now through to 2025. 

Find out more information about Research4Life here, or read a series of extraordinary case studies on how these programmes have changed the lives of those in developing countries.

 

 

We also work with Baobab.

Responding to the growing demand for ebooks from African colleges, universities and academic libraries, Baobab Ebooks is a collaboration between two leading companies in the field of export bookselling to Africa - Mallory International and Tula Publishing.

Offering a mix of free and paid-for content, Baobab sources local titles as well as conventional European and American publisher ebook lists.

Through their existing network of representatives across 22 African countries, we have established relations with many African tertiary institutions and have extensive experience of the library procurement procedure across the continent.

Baobab Ebooks has created a platform which addresses the particular requirements of African libraries, librarians and their users. Their years of print book experience mean that the ebooks available on this platform are all already recognised in the regions, encouraging usage and transition from print. Baobab Ebooks is able to offer hands-on support to librarians through their network of dedicated representatives.

 

Wikimedia Library

Elgar Publishing is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Wikipedia Library, a project of the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, which will provide Wikipedia editors with full-text access to Elgar’s online content. The Wikipedia Library is an open research hub, a place for active Wikipedia editors to gain access to the vital reliable sources that they need to do their work and to be supported in using those resources to improve the encyclopedia. It is run by a team of staff and global volunteers and funded by the Wikimedia Foundation. This partnership will aid better citations and more accurate content on Wikipedia, leading to better visibility for Elgar content. 

 

Environmental awareness

Edward Elgar Publishing understands the need to take into account its impact on the environment and our employees are dedicated to the continued improvement of our environmental activities.

 

What we are doing

• Our editorial processing and production workflow is electronic to avoid printing hard copy and transferring papers by courier.
• Our new books and catalogues are printed by companies that enforce a strict environmental code of practice.
• The environmental code of our main book printer, TJ International, can be seen here.
• All our books and journals are printed on FSC-accredited paper.
• The sustainability ethos of our main paper supplier can be seen here.
• We are a plastic bag free company, instead choosing to give 100% recycled, reusable and recyclable bags to our customers.
• All three offices participate in a variety of recycling schemes for office and general purpose products where possible.
• In our purchasing policy we support, where possible, companies that trade ethically.
• We are continuing our efforts to make our offices more energy efficient.

 

Enaikishomi School

Edward Elgar Publishing supports the Enaikishomi School in Kenya, established in memory of Edward and Sandy Elgar’s daughter Amy. Enaikishomi School provides education and life skills for children from the ages of 3 to 14 years old, many of whom would not otherwise have access to education. You can read the latest reports here. 

 

Inclusivity and Diversity  

At Edward Elgar Publishing we have always aimed to curate a broad, diverse and inclusive list which reflects the wide-range of research and perspectives within the subject areas we publish. As a global publisher we work with academics, booksellers, professionals and customers in over 140 countries and firmly believe our international approach enriches and supports our academic and professional communities.

As an employer, we are committed to promoting equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment in which all individuals are able to make the best use of their skills. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender, race, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.