Climate impact of scholarly publishing

Academic publishing was one of the first industries to embrace digital delivery of content, leading the transition from print to online access decades ago. The shift toward digital-first publishing has expanded access to scholarly content, and today most journal articles are accessed, read, downloaded, and cited online.

However, the digital infrastructure behind scholarly publishing — servers, network connections, and the ways people access content — has a carbon cost. Understanding this footprint is the first step in empowering academic publishers to make data driven decisions that reduce emissions in line with their climate policies and targets. 

To support publishers in their sustainability journey, STM has developed a Digital Carbon Calculator — a simple, accessible tool offering a practical first step for academic publishers to measure the emissions impact of their digital journals and their usage. Built on the publicly available DIMPACT methodology, it helps lay the groundwork for future reporting and industry-wide understanding.  

• Get a practical first step assessment of your digital emissions 

• Track your digital emissions and monitor progress over time 

• Identify opportunities to reduce emissions 

• Align and collaborate with other academic publishers on emerging standards 

To access this free STM calculator, we invite you to submit your interest in this online form.
Please note: this tool is provided as an informational, indicative resource for academic publishers. It is not designed for formal carbon reporting and should not be used for compliance or audited disclosures. 

Generative AI, like all digital technologies, has an environmental footprint due to the energy used in training, deployment, and daily use. While its current impact is smaller than traditional publishing activities such as printing and distribution, it is expected to grow as Gen AI becomes more embedded in scholarly workflows.

Yet we are only beginning to understand its climate impact. Reliable data from developers and consistent methods to measure user impact are essential to identifying opportunities to reduce emissions.

As academic publishers, we recognise our responsibility to understand and mitigate these effects. STM’s Digital Carbon Calculator is a first step towards a shared methodology for measuring and managing the digital carbon footprint of scholarly publishing in order to prepare us for the emerging role of Gen AI.

NOTE: The STM resource introduced here is offered on an informational and voluntary basis and should not be interpreted or used as any agreement or understanding among marketplace participants on how they will behave or compete. Participation or use of this resource does not require, encourage, or imply any coordination of commercial decisions. Each publisher remains fully responsible for its own independent business decisions, policies, and practices.