Responsible publishing
report
Striving to create a truly equitable publishing environment
Emerald Publishing's core purpose is to publish research that has real world impact by creating an equitable research and publishing environment where all voices are represented and heard.
This has been our mission since Emerald was established almost 60 years ago, but we can’t accomplish this unless we strive to create a truly equitable publishing environment. That’s why we’ve established clear standards to drive the meaningful change we envision.
Our passion for sharing knowledge is at the heart of what we do. We believe learning has the power to bridge divides and inspire change. Our mission is to empower individuals to excel in education, workplaces, communities, and society. We’re committed to making a positive impact on our people, our communities, and the world.
We call these commitments our 3Ps – Planet, People, and Prosperity – and have established teams comprising colleagues from around the business to focus on each of these areas. These initiatives are the building blocks of our plan to empower individuals from all walks of life. While we acknowledge there’s still much to achieve, this report highlights the progress we’re making toward our goals.
We begin the report with a brief overview of the 3Ps and then reveal our unique approach to responsible publishing before diving into how Planet, People, and Prosperity play their part in the work we do.
Our 3Ps
 PlanetWe’re committed to sustainability, being a founding member of the SDG Publishers Compact and a signatory of Publishing Declares. Our Planet Team directs sustainability efforts, including the “Our Planet” e-learning pathway, emissions data collection, and biodiversity support through volunteering |  PeopleWe value diversity and inclusion, fostering an environment where everyone belongs and can thrive. Our commitment to employee well-being and development is reflected in the positive feedback received from colleagues and our various initiatives such as flexible working conditions, comprehensive learning programmes, and mental health support |  ProsperityWe support our communities through long-term partnerships focused on education and social mobility. In 2024, we raised over £25,000 for BookTrust and we partnered with Chapter One, a UK charity that offers one-to-one reading support for children who need it most. Everyone at Emerald gets two volunteering days every year and colleagues from all over the world take part in a wide variety of fundraising activities with organisations local to them, wherever they are in the world. |
Our 23/24 highlights
- Awarded Times Top 50 Employer for Gender Equality
- Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces in UK and Ireland award
- Shortlisted as Academic Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards
- Raised more than £25,000 for BookTrust, a UK charity dedicated to getting children reading
- 95% of our books' frontlist titles went straight to print on demand in both the US and the UK
- Switched to 100% renewable energy at our headquarters in Leeds, UK
- We've introduced a discretionary bonus for colleagues who contribute to our 3Ps pillars
Since we were founded in 1967, Emerald's belief has always been that the research we publish on behalf of our authors should have application outside of academia and should make an impact in the real world. As a global publishing business, we publish over 400 journals, more than 4,180 books, and over 3,100 business cases. Through this output and working closely with our editorial communities, our mission is to see this research reach relevant audiences and make an impact on society. We recognise that this impact takes time to come to fruition, and we work in an industry where impact is often measured in numbers, but we’re nevertheless committed to taking a more progressive stance on how research should be valued. At Emerald, we work hard to ensure that our organisational actions reflect the ambitions we have for the research our authors publish with us. This report highlights the results of that work which we will continue to undertake to ensure that we make a real difference.
Our approach to responsible publishing
At Emerald, we take a distinctive approach to responsible publishing. Our dedication to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) shines through in our mission-driven research initiative, "Emerald Goals," which tackles real-world societal challenges through interdisciplinary solutions.
This SDGs-based strategy enhances our dedication to promoting impactful research and aligns with our role as a founding signatory of the UN SDG Publisher Compact. This strategy communicates our purpose-driven brand and supports the education, publication, and impact of research aligned with the SDGs.
Through our Real Impact manifesto, we collaborate with partners to redefine "research impact," challenging outdated metrics. We acknowledge the barriers that exist and strive to foster a more equitable environment where research can thrive. Our focus includes advocating for innovative dissemination formats, robust support systems, and greater recognition of impactful work.
Spotlight on content
So far, Emerald Publishing has…
- Launched over 40 missions across our goal areas
- Published over 200 goal-aligned free-to-access blogs
- Hosted 11 free-to-access webinars
- Provided free access to more than 360 articles and 180 book chapters
- Aligned 90% of books’ frontlist titles to the SDGs, from monographs to dedicated book series
- Created more than 100 podcasts featuring academic and industry experts, each aligned to one of our Goal areas.
In 2024, we covered the costs of delivering a copy of Sensory Penalties: Exploring the Senses in Spaces of Punishment and Social Control to every prison library in England and Wales.
The authors of Sensory Penalties initially launched a GoFundMe campaign to support this goal. The funds raised will now be donated to the Prisoners’ Education Trust.
Imprisonment is a visceral experience, and the sensory nature of that is often missing from discussions of the prison. The book explores prisons through this lens, and we hope that providing this knowledge to those in prison will allow them a greater understanding of how scholarship on their experiences is developing. We want to say thank you to all those inside who helped us with our research and to Emerald for their generous contribution.
We’ve always championed research from underrepresented areas and we work hard to actively counter biases.
From our CEO to our newest recruits, we all understand the importance of diversity.
- We’ve always championed research from underrepresented areas and we work hard to actively counter biases. From our CEO to our newest recruits, we all understand the importance of diversity.
- Publish gender pay gap and ethnicity pay reports.
View our gender & ethnicity pay gap reports
We’re committed to promoting inclusivity and amplifying diverse voices in academic publishing.
As one of the first 11 publishers to sign the Joint Commitment, we highlight discriminatory practices in academia through our global inclusivity reports.
We work to ensure our Emerald Goal Advisors, editorial boards, authorship, and case studies reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. This includes not only editorial boards, but reviewer pools, and lead authors across our journal articles, books and book chapters and teaching cases.
Our commitment to supporting and promoting equality in its widest sense also includes supporting initiatives like the Hidden REF which advocates for the recognition of all contributors and contributions of research impact.
- 'The Case for Women' case writing competition attracts international submissions on women in leadership roles
- We developed and launched an on-demand resource for ED&I.
Open to all
As a publisher focused on making a positive impact and promoting fairness, we understand that some aspects of research culture still prevent a truly equitable system.
We’re dedicated to working with our communities to share their research widely, with the aim to improve lives, especially during these challenging times.
Open access (OA) and open research are key to making research more accessible. It’s important for everyone involved in research and publishing to collaborate, building on shared goals and experiences. All Emerald and ICE Publishing hybrid journals support open access articles.
Our new series of gold OA journals allows authors to publish impactful research that influences thinking, changes policies, and makes a positive difference beyond academia. Since 2019, over 60% of our authors have published on topics aligned with the UN SDGs. These OA journals focus on co-creating applied, interdisciplinary research to address global challenges.
Our innovative ‘green’ open access route allows all Emerald journal and book chapter authors to make their research immediately and openly accessible upon official publication, without any payment.
We’re among the few publishers that don’t impose an embargo period.
Spotlight on content
We collaborate with universities and associations to publish platinum, or sponsored, open access journals. These partnerships ensure that authors can publish their research openly without any fees.
We’ve supported the publication of nine open-access books and maintained our partnership with the library crowdfunding platform, Knowledge Unlatched, through which we published two books in 2024.
We're living through challenging times and, in this context, our commitment to responsible publishing is vital. More than ever, society needs trusted, rigorous research that can be used to address real-world problems. Bringing all voices into our programme and creating an equitable publishing environment underpin our approach at Emerald.
As part of International Open Access Week in October 2024, we published three blogs reflecting on the current open access landscape:
Protecting our planet
Emerald Publishing is dedicated to sustainability and, as a founding member of the SDG Publishers Compact and a signatory of Publishing Declares, we’re committed to taking measurable actions that positively impact our planet.
As part of our 3Ps initiative, over 30 volunteers from across Emerald have united to form our Planet Team. The Planet Team is responsible for directing and monitoring Emerald’s approach to sustainability. Throughout the year, the team has been working hard to develop new ways we can do our part to address the climate challenge.
The great thing about being part of a purposeful organisation is that the essence of doing the right thing is core to who we are and what we do. Our Planet Team exemplifies this and I’m hugely proud to be a part of it. We focus on the big things, the small things, and everything in between—from exploring our upstream and downstream carbon emissions to ensuring we use eco-friendly products in our offices, to educating our global colleagues on improvements they can make in their own homes. We’re fully committed to driving positive change.
Being part of the Planet Team over the past few years has truly highlighted the significance of our actions, whether as individuals, within businesses, or collectively in society.
This experience has allowed me to engage in various activities, ranging from strategic tasks like understanding our Scope 3 emissions responsibilities to hands-on efforts such as volunteering to plant trees with the charity Wild Ingleborough. Above all, it has been an incredibly rewarding journey.
Our progress so far
We further demonstrated our commitment to sustainability by creating a dedicated three-month fixed-term internship to research current offerings and initiatives across the whole publishing journey.
This data has provided us with actionable insights, enabling projects aimed at creating a more sustainable supply chain, including strategies to further reduce the environmental footprint of our books.
- We've downsized our UK headquarters, which is now more accessible by public transport.
- We’ve switched to 100% renewable energy at our head office in Leeds, UK.
- We've switched to hybrid working across all our global offices, reducing our carbon footprint.
- We’ve reduced our business travel-related carbon emissions against our 2019 baseline, with plans to continue to explore this area further.
- We’ve created the "Our Planet" e-learning pathway for all colleagues to educate and engage our global workforce around how we can all make a difference.
- We're collecting our Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data to continue to inform meaningful reduction plans.
- We encourage all colleagues to participate in our Net Zero challenge, a platform that allows everyone to track their positive environmental practices.
- We’ve partnered with Ecologi to commit to planting trees in place of less sustainable incentives at conferences.
- We support biodiversity through our ongoing volunteering opportunities, including creating wildlife habitats, planting trees and waste removal.
Putting people first
We’re a global publisher with colleagues around the world, and we experience the benefits of fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce every day.
We recognise that the world is evolving, and we must continually challenge ourselves to ensure the environment we create fosters a sense of belonging and empowers everyone to perform at their best.
We believe that diversity is our strength and inclusion is our commitment.
We all have a responsibility to drive equity in our communities and workplaces, which is why we’re dedicated to fostering an environment that celebrates different perspectives, promotes individuality, and cultivates a sense of belonging. Our team is a unique blend of talents and experiences, and we’re proud to say that our opportunities are open to everyone.
Our Inclusion Network
Throughout 2023/24, our Inclusion Network has run campaigns and events, invited speakers to fireside chats, and shared resources with our communities.
- One of our focus areas was age diversity, what that means in the workforce, challenging assumptions and biases, and offering open colleague fireside chats alongside expert speakers.
- We invited a speaker to talk with colleagues about intersectionality and cultural inclusion. As part of our inclusion work, we created an Emerald cookbook with colleagues sharing recipes and set up a cultural inclusion calendar with input from colleagues all over the globe.
- Colleagues set up a group for parents and carers of neurodiverse children. These monthly meetings have been hugely successful and are a space to help families and carers empower each other through empathy, education, and support.
The progress we've made so far
- We’ve partnered with B-Radical and RefuAid to support our inclusive recruitment efforts and support social mobility.
- We’ve reviewed and improved our recruitment practices to ensure inclusivity is at the heart of our recruitment process by removing any barriers to entry.
- We’re Open Org accredited; that is, we’re transparent about who we are, what we offer as well as what we don’t offer; we’re committed to showing our authentic self.
- We’ve relaunched our careers website to showcase who we are and improve transparency around any opportunities available, what we offer, and what to expect from our recruitment process.
Everyone at Emerald has the opportunity to make a difference and, in return, we offer a wide range of benefits, learning opportunities, and ways to connect with communities.
Our average length of service is seven years, with turnover usually between 15% and 18%. Our employee experience survey has revealed that our efforts are paying off.
Learning and development
We’re dedicated to fostering learning, development, and personal growth. We encourage colleagues to take charge of their own development and support internal mobility, celebrating diverse career paths. Key initiatives include the “Everyday Leader” e-learning pathway, mentoring and coaching opportunities, the annual Ignite programme for career coaching and planning, CEO Shadowing, reverse mentoring, and a variety of on-demand internal eLearning pathways.
Flexibility
We’re proud of the flexible workplace we’ve created, allowing colleagues to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. With no core hours and the ability to work from anywhere, we’ve been Flexa accredited for three consecutive years. Enhanced family-friendly policies include improved parental leave, carer support, and a returnity programme for new parents. Additional benefits include “Moments that Matter” days, paid and unpaid sabbaticals, and volunteering days.
Wellbeing
The wellbeing of our people is a top priority. We’re committed to supporting everyone in achieving a healthy and sustainable work–life balance that suits their individual needs. We offer mental health first aiders and menopause mentors to support our colleagues, alongside a comprehensive wellbeing programme designed to cater to everyone’s needs.
Our efforts are award winning
As a global publisher, we believe our greatest asset is our people. We’re committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment where every employee feels they belong. We provide learning and personal growth through various initiatives, our wellbeing programmes ensure a healthy balance for all our colleagues, and we’re proud of our flexible workplace that supports individual needs. Our dedication to creating a positive impact extends beyond our content to how we treat our team, ensuring we create an environment where everyone can thrive, which is reflected in our high engagement scores and the external awards we've received.
One thing I love about working at Emerald is that I know my physical and mental wellbeing is a priority and that the business takes steps to ensure employees have a great work life balance.
Helping our communities prosper
Since Emerald’s formation, we’ve understood the power a business has to make a real contribution to our communities.
Our aim is to form long-term partnerships with organisations whose mission aligns with ours and where our actions can have maximum impact, with a focus on education and social mobility.
Some of the organisations we support
Our Prosperity Team leads our fundraising efforts throughout the year. In 2024, we raised over £25,000 for BookTrust, the UK's largest children's reading charity, with a mission to get children from low-income and vulnerable family backgrounds reading regularly and by choice. The charity's focus is on helping children in the key developmental years from birth to the first years of primary school.
Some of the fundraising events that took place in 2024 included Emerald’s Big Book Walk (a series of sponsored walks that took place in various parts of England, Scotland, Dubai, North America, and Kuala Lumpur) and two teams of colleagues competing in a Dragon Boat Race.
Volunteering
At Emerald, every team member is granted two paid volunteering days annually. These days can be used to support one of Emerald's partner organisations or an organisation of their personal choice.
Smart Works
We support Smart Works, a UK charity set up to support women and anyone who identifies as a woman to get back into employment, helping them reach their full potential. The organisation provides coaching, interview preparation, and styling services to help women feel confident and prepared for job interviews and the workplace.
From our HQ in Leeds, we’ve organised donations of hundreds of items of clothing, shoes, and handbags to help support Smart Works.
One in a Million
Our World of Work initiative supports Bradford’s One in a Million charity by hosting experience days. Young people from disadvantaged communities learn about publishing, marketing, and sales through engaging activities with Emerald colleagues.
This initiative aims to inspire and show that exciting career opportunities in publishing are accessible, regardless of background.
Chapter One
In late 2024, we set up an online volunteering opportunity for colleagues to read with a child who may struggle with reading. This is in support of Chapter One, a charity that aims to create a world where all children have the literacy skills needed to thrive.
Volunteers from across the business donate 30 minutes of their time each week to support a child in the Keighley and Bradford areas of Yorkshire.
Data Dan runs England
Some colleagues have gone above and beyond this year, like Daniel Molseworth, Emerald’s Director of Data (aka Data Dan).
Dan competed in a mega challenge, running an ultra-marathon each day for five days. He smashed his fundraising target of £2,500 and raised over £3,400 for BookTrust. Dan's challenge involved running an average of 60 km per day and ascending nearly 8000m, almost the height of Mount Everest.
The weekly reading sessions with Chapter One have become a real highlight of my week. We like to start with a few flash cards, read a story or two and then end with some word games.
Week on week I’m noticing improvements in her confidence and reading ability and the enthusiasm she brings to each session is infectious.
We're thrilled that Emerald Publishing has raised £25,000 for the BookTrust this year. This incredible achievement would not have been possible without the generosity of our many supporters and the hard work of our dedicated colleagues.
Ethics and compliance
We have a zero-tolerance policy toward fraud, bribery, and any form of ethical misconduct. This commitment is reinforced through regular code of conduct training for all employees, ensuring that everyone is well-versed in our ethical standards and practices.
To further support our ethical framework, we’ve established an anonymous whistleblower hotline, allowing staff to report any ethical concerns without fear of retaliation.
Additionally, we're dedicated to the continuous development and improvement of our research integrity processes and management. This effort supports our editor community and assures the quality of our published output. We’re also actively working to enhance our supplier due diligence and management processes, ensuring that we only collaborate with business partners who share our ethics and values, this includes working to ensure modern slavery has no place in our supply chain.
About Emerald
Going beyond the bounds of a traditional publisher, we want to be a facilitator of impact, encouraging equitable, healthy and sustainable research and publishing for all.
Find out more about us Listen to our 'This is Emerald' podcast
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