Emerald Publishing has launched its Responsible Publishing Report 2025, summarising the organisation’s actions and outcomes from 2025 as it continues to work towards a fairer, more sustainable and impactful research ecosystem.
Set against a backdrop of growing political and social pressure on equality, sustainability and academic freedom, the report outlines how Emerald has chosen to be explicit about what it stands for, and how it has backed that stance with practical action.
The report brings together progress across Emerald’s 3Ps framework:
Planet (reducing the environmental impact of how Emerald works and publishes), People (prioritising inclusion, wellbeing and an equitable culture), and Prosperity (helping communities thrive and widening access to knowledge through partnerships and engagement).
A defining strand of Emerald’s work in 2025 was its support for #DefendResearch, an initiative created in response to growing threats to academic freedom, including censorship and restrictions on research topics.
Emerald says it became the first publisher to sign the #DefendResearch declaration, and backed this public stance with action, including issuing a publisher’s note in all 313 journals, launching a dedicated web page to help communities get involved, partnering with the EveryLibrary Institute to deliver practical webinars for academic librarians in the US, and running a focused week of action in May to amplify shared voices.
The report includes a range of examples and outcomes across Planet, People and Prosperity, including:
- Planet: Emerald’s Leeds head office in the UK uses 100% renewable energy and the Planet Team has focused on understanding and reducing emissions, improving recycling options. Emerald also integrated lower impact design principles into the new Emerald Insight platform.
- People: Emerald was named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality for the second year running and recognised among the Global Top 100 Inspiring Workplaces, reflecting continued focus on flexible working as standard, learning and wellbeing support, and an inclusive culture built with and for colleagues.
- Prosperity: Emerald’s community partnerships and fundraising continued across 2025, including raising more than £22,000 for BookTrust, alongside volunteering and long-term work with organisations such as Chapter One, BookTrust and Zarach to widen access to reading and learning.
The report also outlines work to widen participation in research through open routes, including Emerald’s Green open access route that allows journal and book chapter authors to make their work immediately open on publication, with no payment and no embargo, and Emerald’s Open Lab, which investigated and trialled sustainable open access models with external stakeholders.
Vicky Williams, chief executive officer, Emerald Publishing, said: “Emerald’s purpose remains clear: to publish research that makes a real world difference by creating an inclusive and equitable environment where every voice is heard. … Achieving it demands more than words, it requires action and accountability.”
Terri Teleen, president Americas, Emerald Publishing, added: “Academic freedom is the foundation of progress. When censorship creeps into research, it silences voices, stifles innovation, and undermines trust in knowledge.”
Read the report in full here.
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