JOINSDG Sustainability Roadmap
Level 2 | Gaining Traction
From Level 1, you’ve signed up to the SDG Publishers Compact and launched great initiatives. You are now looking to integrate the SDGs deeper into your organisation. Below, the Level 2 roadmap outlines:
- Formal steps you can take to embed the SDG Commitments into your organisation
- Toolkit and resources to galvanise your communities to take action
- Suggested systematic process and policy changes to deliver transformational change
- Don’t forget to revisit Level 1 to feel good about how far you’ve come!
SDG Roadmap – Level 2
Engage : Leadership & Knowledge
Activate Colleagues
Create an Employee Resource Group (ERG) or Dedicated SDG Team to engage all colleagues with Senior Management Support
VIEW MORE- What is the business case for ERGs in Sustainability?: Read this McKinsey Report and this HBR article on securing support
- Explore top tips for establishing an ERG for sustainability
Engage : Leadership & Knowledge
Clarify your Organisational Needs
Outline Financial and Staff Resources required to Implement the 10 Commitments.
VIEW MORE
- Build sustainability skills within your organization: Read this HBR article or consider signing up to your local UN Global Compact Accelerator program(s)
- Ringfence SDG focused work time to advance your program e.g., Friday afternoons.
- Tip: The SDG Publishers Compact covers both operational and publishing commitments. Try and find SDG champions in both parts of your organization to drive your SDG forward.
Accelerate : Research & Knowledge
Establish Baseline
Map your Publishing Portfolio to the SDG Framework
VIEW MORE- Determine your methodology to map your portfolio to the SDGs. See SDG Research Mapping Initiative: including free query and categorization. Keep a look out for STM’s solution to help get your started coming soon.
- Utilize the SDG Rubric from the SDG Publishers Compact Fellows to help map books/journals SDG coverage: Improving textbooks & related materials — SDG Compact Fellows
- Specifically for DEI, explore the Case Study on-benchmarking DEI in Publications from Delta Think
- Once mapped, you can create showcases and filters on your publishing platform to highlight specific SDGs, examples: T&F categorization and SAGE
Accelerate : Research & Knowledge
Assess Diversity
More diverse boards can enrich your publishing portfolios
Accelerate : Research & Knowledge
Deepen your Partnership for the Goals through Research4Life
VIEW MORE- Given the transition to Open Access, be generous and actively review your Research4Life portfolio with senior leaders to maximise your country offer in Research4Life’s Discovery Portal
- Build out a comprehensive Open Access fee waiver program following the R4L Best Practice Guidelines
- Sign up for the Research4Life Employee Giving Program
- Sponsor a Country through our Country Connector Program transforming researcher training at local level. Read our Report.
Advocate : Comms & Training
Tell the Story
make it easy for everyone to become an advocate
VIEW MORE- Insert SDG related updates and links into your internal communications, external presentations, conferences and speaking engagements with grab and go slides, logos and relevant links.
- Blog and share your organization’s SDG stories. See examples from Taylor & Francis and Elsevier
- Curate SDG Collections such as Karger SDG Goals, World Scientific or perhaps focus on specific focus SDG for example Wiley’s Research in Support of Equity (RISE) Collection
- Create campaigns on key sustainability issues relevant for your community. See Royal Chemistry Society’s Precious elements campaign.
- Tip: Don’t forgot to also upskill your own communications. Being inclusive in your own corporate language can also make a difference. See Inclusive Communications Guide from Royal Society of Chemistry
Prioritize : Drive Progress in Key SDGs
Activate your partners to embrace DEI
Many STM members are associations, linked to learned societies or publish on behalf of society partners. Some key actions to embed SDGs could be:
VIEW MORE- Making committees inclusive and diverse. See A Quick RSC Guide and think about embedding DEI principles into your membership: See DEI Best Practice Resources Guide
- Developing inclusive event policies: ASCE Best Practice Events Guide and Quick Guide from RSC to make inclusive events.
Report : Progress & Targets
Publish an Annual Report
VIEW MOREOne you start tracking it will be easy to report on your achievements each year. Think about producing an annual report either as a standalone sustainability report or as part of your annual report. Examples include, IOP Publishing, Infographic from Emerald , blog post from Wiley and a Sustainable Business Report from Springer Nature
Engage : Leadership & Knowledge
Championing the SDGs from the Top
Make a Public CEO and Society Leadership Commitment to SDGs & Sustainability.
VIEW MORE- Make a punchy CEO Video for the IPA SDG Dashboard and post to your social media channels about why you have signed up
- Publish your commitment on your website with a Statement of Intent from your CEO/C-Suite
Engage : Leadership & Knowledge
Engage Suppliers
Work together to develop or evolve your Supplier Code of Conduct to embed sustainability principles.
VIEW MORE- Get your operational and procurement team on board to help evaluate your supplier code of conduct and understand what data is needed from your suppliers
- Guidelines on developing a sustainability focused supplier code of conduct from ecovadis
- For climate data explore an example survey to use with your suppliers from the Green Book Alliance
- Publish your supplier code of conduct. See examples from Springer Nature and Wiley
Accelerate : Research & Knowledge
Integrate SDGs
In consultation with editors, review Aims & Scope and Submission Guidelines
VIEW MORE- Introduce a “Publish with Purpose” statement to acknowledge the role of publishing in advancing the SDGs. See example from Oxford University Press, Elsevier and Emerald
- Review keywords used in the author submission process and check applicability for SDGs.
- Evaluate aims and scope of journals and establish a link between the journal and the SDGs, or specific goals, including adding new content areas that cover relevant sustainability topics. See a Cell Press example
Accelerate : Research & Knowledge
Engage and collaborate with your Editors
VIEW MORE- Talk to your editors about SDGs and climate. Explore the European Association of Science Editors (EASE) Environmental Manifesto and HESI top SDG tips for editors
- Develop onboarding and training materials. Create a video to explain the SDGs to editors, or explain how they can be advocates in these examples from Wiley and Emerald.
- Encourage editors to write editorials on SDG related themes relevant for their community. Example COP27 Climate Change Conference: urgent action needed for Africa and the world or more specifically for key communities “Gas Science and Engineering”
Advocate : Comms & Training
Drive Team Enthusiasm
Create SDG awareness within your organization.
VIEW MORE- TIP: Host internal townhalls or webinars to explain what SDGs and sustainable development means to your organization. Highlight your new ERG and encourage colleagues to get involved in SDG activities.
- Get inspiration from others’ ERG Examples and talk about your own!
- The Springer Nature SDG Impact Festival
- RELX Climate Race
- Blog from Wiley’s Green Group ERG on World Clean Up Month
- Set up Lunch & Learn sessions: invite internal editors or external speakers on topics of colleague interest/relevance to business; IPA Academy: SDGs and publishing
Prioritize : Drive Progress in Key SDGs
Get Focused
Develop detailed action plans for each of your priority SDGs
VIEW MORE- Develop objectives and roadmaps for your key SDGs. Take inspiration from the UN Global Compact SDG compass and SDG Playbook for SMEs.
- Focus on core issues for your community and work in partnership to create an action plan. For example Royal Chemistry Society’s Sustainable polymers in liquid formulation Roadmap or Taylor and Francis’s D&I
Report : Progress & Targets
Track progress
In level one you defined your KPIs relevant to your focus SDGs. Now it is time to set some milestones and start tracking progress.
VIEW MORE- Define your high-level strategy. It is helpful to think about how your SDG activities fit together and to articulate this in a simple way. Some examples include IOP progress on DEI in Peer Review
- Save time and resources and align your data collection and indicators with already established reporting. E.g., reporting on progress towards net zero progress (i.e. TCFD or science-based target reporting) or on the Gender pay gap. See IOP Publishing example
- Think about aligned also with industry reporting. E.g., The Publishers Association (UK) annual Inclusion and Diversity survey.
- Get organized: You need set up ways to track and record progress. A simple excel sheet get you started, but further integration into your organization’s KPIs and strategy will help embed SDGs within your organization in a meaningful ways.
Report : Progress & Targets
Industry Feedback
VIEW MOREThe SDG Publishers Compact conducts a voluntary annual survey of signatory’s progress against the 10 commitments. By now you should be ready to share your progress with the industry. Read the 2022 progress report here.