The Association of University Presses (AUPresses) became a signatory to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Publishers Compact in October 2021. A “universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere,” the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been adopted by all member states. The International Publishers Association (IPA) launched the Publishers Compact in cooperation with the UN in 2020, and a growing list of international publishing houses, associations, and service providers have joined the call to work towards the SDGs. These include (as of Spring 2023) AUPresses members Bristol University Press, Liverpool University Press, Marine Corps University Press, the University of Ottawa Press, Oxford University Press, University of Toronto Press, Qatar University Press, and the University of the West Indies Press.
Because the SDGs reflect the Association’s core values, our commitment flows through much of the Association’s work and programming in support of these goals.
- SDG #5: Gender Equality—A gender pay parity analysis is being undertaken in the current AUPresses Compensation Survey.
- SDG #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth—Through our work with C4DISC, the Association is supporting the second iteration of the Workplace Equity Project survey, which attempts to understand workplace culture, career development equity, and demographics across the global scholarly communications industry.
- SDG #13: Climate Action—This June will see the first AUPresses Biennial Virtual Meeting, fulfilling our commitment to build on the lessons of the pandemic and not simply return to our prior status quo of annual in-person meetings requiring global travel from our membership. The Virtual Annual Meeting allows for greater access to this flagship professional development event by members around the world, and greatly decreases the climate impact of a core Association program.
Over the rest of the UN Decade of Action (2020-2030) for the SDGs, the Association looks forward to joining with more of our members, partners, and friends to advance these and other goals for a more just, sustainable, and hopeful future for us all.