United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Liverpool University Press has signed the UN Sustainable Development Goals Publishers Compact. The Compact is designed to inspire publishers to take action on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) put forward by the UN. 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.
LUP recognises the responsibility of the publishing industry to create sustainable future through action. Our signing of the SDG Publishers Compact reaffirms our commitment to sustainable development, building on the progress of our internal sustainability and equity working groups and our core mission to publish and disseminate high quality scholarly research that challenges and contributes to knowledge and debates.
LUP will focus on four SDGs in particular: gender equality, reduced inequalities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.
Learn more about the UN’s SDGs >
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at LUP
Liverpool University Press established an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Group to explore the opportunities and challenges for diversity and inclusion within LUP and the wider scholarly publishing ecosystem. It is widely acknowledged that the publishing industry and higher education have much work to do to create genuine diversity, equity and inclusion. LUP is no exception.
A breadth of ideas emerged from the Group’s initial planning and were then honed into a set of objectives for the Press to implement over the course of its current 3-year plan. Objectives will evolve further and the Group will continue to meet on a regular basis to inform ongoing LUP strategy in this area. The Group is managed by Lydia Osborne, LUP’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Lead.
EvenUP
Liverpool University Press is a founder member of EvenUP, a new framework for collaboration with the UK and Ireland’s major university presses. EvenUP demonstrates the commitment of UK and Irish university presses to equity, diversity, inclusivity and belonging in our workplaces, in who we work with and in what we publish. Recognising that different presses and parent institutions have their own EDI initiatives but eager to collaborate in order to amplify them, we undertake to:
- Share best practice for EDI across presses.
- Commit to using either the AUPresses survey tool to collect demographic data, or our own surveys of comparable quality, in order to assess and understand areas in which we can improve, benchmarking across presses where appropriate.
- Create and share an ongoing programme of training and events, such as guest speakers, webinars, online symposia.
- Promote and demonstrate transparency and equal opportunity in recruitment and career progression processes in university presses, including: i. inter-press career mentorship for colleagues from under-represented groups; ii. listing salaries/salary bands on all entry level roles and on all recruitment advertising, subject to commercial or confidentiality requirements; iii. paid internships.
- Work together to raise awareness of career opportunities in our presses with groups that are currently underrepresented in scholarly publishing.
- Have a designated lead for equality, diversity and inclusivity in our organisations and have those leads meet regularly.
Learn more about EvenUP on our blog >
Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications
Liverpool University Press is a signatory to the Joint Statement of Principles of the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DIsc), a commitment to value and seek accessibility, diversity, and equitable and inclusive practices within the scholarly communications ecosystem.
LUP is committed to:
- Eliminating barriers to participation, extending equitable opportunities across all stakeholders, and ensuring that our practices and policies promote equitable treatment and do not allow, condone, or result in discrimination;
- Creating and maintaining an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences;
- Promoting diversity in all staff, volunteers, and audiences, including full participation in programs, policy formulation, and decision-making;
- Raising awareness about career opportunities in our industry to groups who are currently underrepresented in the workforce;
- Supporting our community in achieving diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within their organizations.
More on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
All LUP staff sign our Code of Conduct, which governs all day-to-day activity.
Read our Code of Conduct >Learn more about our website accessibility >
Read the Association of University Presses statement on Equity and Anti-Racism >
Environmental Sustainability at LUP
Liverpool University Press established an Environmental Sustainability Group whose focus is to identify challenges and opportunities to practise and promote environmental sustainability across all areas of the Press. It is imperative that as a mission-based publisher LUP develops a robust set of guidelines to ensure its engagement with an issue of such critical importance. Managed by Ally Lee, LUP’s Environmental Sustainability Lead, the group is actively engaged in ongoing industry-wide conversations about best practice as it continues to work towards this goal.
Publishing Declares
Liverpool University Press is one of 39 founding signatories of the Publishing Declares sustainability pledge.
Signatories pledge to:
- Join the global climate effort to limit warming to 1.5°C by setting ambitious, measurable targets across our own operations and extended supply chain to achieve net zero as soon as possible and by 2050 at the latest.
- Protect nature and biodiversity, working with supply chain partners that are resource efficient, use sustainable materials and processes wherever possible in the content we produce, and constantly innovating to make use of new and recycled materials.
- Collaborate with our peers, authors, illustrators, supply chain partners, and business partners to translate our climate aspirations and commitments into tangible actions to safeguard our planet for future generations.
- Empower our colleagues to become climate literate and support them to bring that knowledge into the work that they do.
- Use our expertise, platform, and voice to raise awareness and drive positive climate action wherever we can.
Together with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Publishing Declares sustainability pledge provides a framework for devising a set of practical objectives against which LUP can measure its progress towards becoming more sustainable.
Learn more about the Publishing Declares sustainability pledge >