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Hello, and welcome to the Physics World weekly
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podcast.
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I'm Hamish Johnston, and my guest this week
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is Liz Martin.
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She is sustainability
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lead at IOP Publishing,
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and we're going to chat about how the
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company has reduced its carbon emissions by 36%
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when compared to a 2020 baseline.
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IOP Publishing is a wholly owned subsidiary
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of the Institute of Physics,
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which is the professional body and learned society
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for physics in The UK and Ireland.
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IOP Publishing produces over 100
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scholarly journals,
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around half of which are published jointly with
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or on behalf of partner societies
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and research organizations.
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Physics world is also brought to you by
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IOP publishing.
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Here's my
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conversation
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with
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Liz.
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Hi, Liz. Welcome to the podcast.
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Hi, Hamish. It's nice to be here. I
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always like an opportunity to talk about things
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all things sustainable.
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Great.
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So, can we start off by,
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can you give us a little summary of
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IOP Publishing's
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commitment
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to sustainability?
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What what what is our commitment as a
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company?
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As a company, we're committed to operating our
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business in as an environmentally friendly,
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sustainable way as possible.
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So that covers the day to day running
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of the business, our offices, our our people,
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but also the the business that we do,
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so publishing scientific research in all its forms.
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So we do this by focusing on on
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measuring our our carbon emissions and then reducing
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the that that carbon,
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working with our supply chains to reach,
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on their emissions,
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those that are not directly within our control,
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and also supporting our colleagues in understanding what
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they can do as individuals,
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both inside and outside of work.
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But unlike other businesses, as a publisher,
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we have an added responsibility
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of of the research that we publish. So
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we're also committed to to making the best
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research in all areas of environmental sustainability
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accessible to all,
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accessible to all of those people that that
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need to drive the solutions of the future.
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Okay. And I think we we've done a
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pretty good job, haven't we?
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IOPP
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has reduced its carbon footprint by 36%
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when compared to 2020,
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which to me seems amazing.
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How how did we do this? How how
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is this achieved?
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Well, firstly, absolutely
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is amazing and, I certainly, you know, not
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not taking the credit.
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Lots and lots of people across the the
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company involved there.
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The the first step for us though was
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was measuring our our corporate carbon footprint, which
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it sounds super easy,
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but it it can be pretty challenging to
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get started. For me at least, it was
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a bit of a roller coaster.
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I come from a I have a physics
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background, so,
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consider myself fairly fairly sort of well versed
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in in sort of,
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methodologies
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and and and calculations of this type. But
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it was a a bit of a roller
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coaster, feeling like you had it all under
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control and then realizing quite how complex it
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could be in places.
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But we we we got there. We needed
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to do that, we needed to set some
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really clear boundaries on on what we were
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trying to measure,
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to make some decisions on how we were
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going to to to measure it and then
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how we were going to calculate the emissions.
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You need a lot of data, a a
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huge amount of operational data.
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Again, that sounds simple, and and data is
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is really simple to track in real time,
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but it's it's really difficult to to gather
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retrospectively.
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But we got there. We got there. And
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once we had collected that that or calculated
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rather that first footprint,
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it was immediately clear that we had some
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some hotspots.
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But identifying those hotspots is is really just
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the start of it.
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You know, once you know what they are,
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some some hot spots can be relatively easy
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to address. But more often, the areas where
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you can,
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make the biggest impact in terms of, carbon
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reduction
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are are not the straightforward areas to address.
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I see. And, Liz, there I mean, you
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you didn't do this on your own, I
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don't think. You
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you you had you worked the the company
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worked with partners,
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and and worked within a a a sort
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of a standard framework. Is that right?
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Absolutely right. This would be simply impossible for
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for any one person to do. So we
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have a sustainability task force,
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and that we have executive sponsor there, and
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I chair that. And that is people from
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around the business of all levels,
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who have an interest or have a particular
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area of responsibility,
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that is that is pertinent. And they really
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drive
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all of our sustainability
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activities across the company.
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But the, but
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separate to that, we have a couple of
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working groups.
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We have a supply chain working group who
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engage with with all of the suppliers that
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we use, and we have a carbon footprint
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working group. So within the carbon footprint working
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group, that is people around the business who
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are who have responsibility
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for the activities
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where we need to collect primary data for
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that calculation.
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So we have a a big team of
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people, and we're also supported by, a consultant
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called Climate Partner
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who are experts.
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And I have to say, without them, I
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think we'd probably still be calculating that first
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footprint now.
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And and, Liz, we're recording this, podcast in
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IOP's
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new ish office in Bristol.
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And
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it seems to have a remarkably
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low
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carbon footprint.
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How has that been achieved? I mean, is
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it simply because it's a fairly new building,
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or are there lots of other things that
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were done to to ensure the low carbon
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footprint?
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A little bit of both. I think, you
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know, we're we're incredibly fortunate,
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with our new offices
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precisely as you say because it's a new
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build.
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And it was built
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with sustainability
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in mind, and that makes a huge difference.
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It can be much more challenging,
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for businesses
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who are in older buildings. And when you
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try and retrofit sustainability in there, it simply
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can be,
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you know, an enormous cost to the business
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to try and do that. So we made
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the move with that in mind. We were
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previously in in another building, not so very
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far away, as you know.
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So the move to here
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delivered for us in the long term and
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that we were able to move to this
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very sustainable building. But it did give us
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it did give us a year or two
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of overlap well, not a year or two.
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Sorry. It gave us a year of overlap,
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where we were effectively running two offices. So
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that did temporarily increase our footprint. But now
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we're here. It's made a huge different
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difference. And I think the the biggest single
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benefit
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is really the setup for for temperature control
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within the bay building, the heating, the cooling.
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You know, it was created with energy efficiency
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in mind. We can even open the windows,
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which doesn't sound like much, but makes a
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a a real difference in terms of when
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you then press that switch on the wall
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to heat or cool down or whatever you
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need to do. You open a window instead.
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And that's all energy that you you don't
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use. And, of course, the energy that we
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we do still use, because everybody does, is
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clean here as well. So that has a
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has a big impact,
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across our our scope one and scope two
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emissions.
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And,
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I I I should say for the benefit
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of listeners that it is a very nice
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building as well. I mean, it's not like,
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you know, we're we're in this sort of
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horrible building, saving lots of energy. It's it's
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it's a lovely building. It's a really nice
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place to work in.
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So, you know, to me, as as somebody
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who comes in every day to the office,
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it's been a real success,
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I think.
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So so in terms of measurement, Liz, you
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you mentioned,
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the the difficulties,
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in terms of how to measure the carbon
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footprint of a company.
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That's done in terms of scopes one,
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two, and three.
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And I think, maybe some of our listeners
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might not be familiar with those scopes. Would
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it be possible for you to briefly explain
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these three categories
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and give an example of each that's relevant
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to IOP publishing?
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Of course. It's,
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I don't think I realized at the beginning,
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but it is an incredibly
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complex area. So I will try and do
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it as as simply as I'm as I'm
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able.
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So escape one emissions are the direct emissions
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produced by our burning fuels.
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So for us, that's our offices and and
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it would be vehicles, but we we don't
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have them. So it's it's largely around the
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the burning of fuels for our offices.
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Scope two are indirect emissions
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generated by the electricity that we purchase and
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consume.
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So I think that's that that one's fairly
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clear. And scope three then are indirect emissions
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again, but they are produced by our activities
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but are owned and controlled by a different
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company.
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So this,
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covers everything we buy, whether that be goods
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or services.
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It covers distribution of our products,
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business travel, employee commuting.
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There's there's a really long list. There's 15
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categories that that fit into scope three.
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So I I won't list them all, but
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but those are those are a few of
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the key ones.
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And and for IOP publishing, scope three is
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really important because it represents 99%
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of the company's emissions.
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And within that 99%,
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the the emissions are dominated by purchased services,
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business travel,
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and employee commuting. So I suppose those are
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the key ones that we need to reduce.
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How can the company,
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reduce each of these? I mean, given the
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fact that we've already gone down by 36%
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over the last, five years or so.
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Well, I mean, that really is the million
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dollar question because that's what
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any company out there that's trying to reduce
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their carbon footprint is is looking at. And
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and, actually,
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you know, I
286
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to deliver that 36%
287
00:10:55,154 --> 00:10:57,235
that that we have achieved already, I don't
288
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want to make it sound like those were
289
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easy things to do. They weren't. They were
290
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possibly slightly more straightforward. They were slightly more
291
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obvious.
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And the,
293
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the implications of making those changes,
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we were happy
295
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to work with those implications.
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But but purchase services in particular is particularly
297
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challenging.
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Well and that includes goods as well. You
299
00:11:19,795 --> 00:11:22,675
know, any business who operates has to buy
300
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some things, whether that be the,
301
00:11:26,835 --> 00:11:28,675
the water that we drink or the pens
302
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that we write with or the the the
303
00:11:30,915 --> 00:11:32,375
laptops that we're using.
304
00:11:33,450 --> 00:11:36,190
But it covers everything. It covers everything from,
305
00:11:36,490 --> 00:11:38,809
you know, a a software system that we
306
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use to book our meeting rooms. So there
307
00:11:41,370 --> 00:11:43,850
is there is really no getting away from
308
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the fact that as a company, you have
309
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to purchase things.
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And some of those are are are good.
311
00:11:48,264 --> 00:11:50,345
So these are real physical things, and and
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some of those might be software as, you
313
00:11:52,345 --> 00:11:52,845
know,
314
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buying Microsoft in order to use Word. That
315
00:11:56,825 --> 00:11:58,764
comes at a price, and and that, therefore,
316
00:11:58,825 --> 00:12:01,600
has some emissions associated with it. So I
317
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think that's really the most challenging
318
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area.
319
00:12:05,279 --> 00:12:08,320
And, you know, the fact that that 99%
320
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of our emissions come from scope three isn't
321
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particularly unusual. I think we've done really well
322
00:12:13,975 --> 00:12:16,134
in reducing our scopes one and two with
323
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our our buildings,
324
00:12:18,054 --> 00:12:20,475
down to 1%. But that that very,
325
00:12:21,735 --> 00:12:24,134
that that really sort of high number on
326
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in the scopes three is is not particularly
327
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unusual.
328
00:12:28,799 --> 00:12:30,959
So how can a company reduce each of
329
00:12:30,959 --> 00:12:33,120
these? I mean, that's going to be you
330
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,679
know, that's different for for every business. I
331
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mean, we've done really well so far in
332
00:12:38,639 --> 00:12:40,500
in delivering that 36%,
333
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because we looked at
334
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or we continue to work on it. But
335
00:12:44,975 --> 00:12:47,554
we we we made some big strides in
336
00:12:47,855 --> 00:12:48,914
moving from
337
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the material we publish being consumed in print
338
00:12:52,095 --> 00:12:53,394
to being consumed digitally.
339
00:12:54,014 --> 00:12:56,334
And, you know, I don't I don't want
340
00:12:56,334 --> 00:12:58,800
to make that sound like an easy decision
341
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to make. You know? It it it wasn't
342
00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:02,720
an easy decision to make, but it was
343
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quite an an obvious one in terms of
344
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:06,879
the impact that it could have on carbon
345
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emissions.
346
00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:09,600
So that's been a a big driver of
347
00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,059
that reduction so far.
348
00:13:11,785 --> 00:13:13,465
But we're nearly there now. You know, we've
349
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got a little bit more to go, but
350
00:13:14,665 --> 00:13:15,644
we're nearly there.
351
00:13:16,264 --> 00:13:19,384
Then you start moving into really challenging areas,
352
00:13:19,384 --> 00:13:21,804
you know, taking business travel as an example.
353
00:13:23,304 --> 00:13:23,965
You know,
354
00:13:24,345 --> 00:13:26,669
it's obvious. Right? If you travel less,
355
00:13:27,870 --> 00:13:30,029
or you use use a more environment
356
00:13:30,429 --> 00:13:32,750
environmentally friendly method to do it, you will
357
00:13:32,750 --> 00:13:35,709
reduce. But if you travel less, then, you
358
00:13:35,709 --> 00:13:38,370
know, you're seeing clients less, you're seeing customers
359
00:13:38,429 --> 00:13:40,429
less, your the the the things that you
360
00:13:40,429 --> 00:13:41,950
have to do to be successful as a
361
00:13:41,950 --> 00:13:42,450
business
362
00:13:42,884 --> 00:13:45,285
become more challenging. So it's those areas. And
363
00:13:45,285 --> 00:13:46,825
and it's not right or wrong.
364
00:13:47,285 --> 00:13:48,425
You know, you have to,
365
00:13:49,125 --> 00:13:50,184
embed sustainability
366
00:13:50,965 --> 00:13:54,024
into people's decision making about how they operate.
367
00:13:54,485 --> 00:13:56,644
And I think that's that's really the key
368
00:13:56,644 --> 00:13:59,139
for us us now. And the same goes
369
00:13:59,139 --> 00:14:00,759
with employee commuting. You know,
370
00:14:01,139 --> 00:14:03,299
if you give people the information to make
371
00:14:03,299 --> 00:14:04,039
good decisions
372
00:14:04,340 --> 00:14:07,379
and let them make them those decisions within
373
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the context of what they have to achieve,
374
00:14:10,500 --> 00:14:12,945
in their work, then that's the most effective
375
00:14:13,165 --> 00:14:15,004
way of making it work for sort of
376
00:14:15,004 --> 00:14:16,225
both sides of the argument.
377
00:14:17,165 --> 00:14:19,004
I was I was a bit surprised by
378
00:14:19,004 --> 00:14:19,504
how
379
00:14:20,285 --> 00:14:20,785
dominant,
380
00:14:21,644 --> 00:14:23,264
employee commuting was,
381
00:14:23,980 --> 00:14:26,059
you know, particularly because a lot of a
382
00:14:26,059 --> 00:14:27,759
lot of colleagues work at home.
383
00:14:28,940 --> 00:14:30,960
And the ones who do come into,
384
00:14:31,899 --> 00:14:34,300
the distillery, the office that we're in right
385
00:14:34,300 --> 00:14:34,800
now,
386
00:14:35,259 --> 00:14:37,019
a lot of those people walk or ride
387
00:14:37,019 --> 00:14:37,680
their bikes.
388
00:14:38,774 --> 00:14:41,514
So is that I mean, that commuting,
389
00:14:42,054 --> 00:14:42,794
I assume
390
00:14:43,335 --> 00:14:46,615
pre pandemic and pre having the ability to
391
00:14:46,615 --> 00:14:47,514
work at home,
392
00:14:47,975 --> 00:14:49,274
commuting would have been
393
00:14:49,735 --> 00:14:51,914
off the scale in terms of our carbon
394
00:14:52,279 --> 00:14:53,720
footprint, wouldn't it? So
395
00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:54,700
Yeah.
396
00:14:55,559 --> 00:14:56,759
I I I can I mean, I I
397
00:14:56,759 --> 00:14:58,120
see what you mean because I can't see
398
00:14:58,279 --> 00:15:01,100
I mean, you know, knowing how people here
399
00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,399
get to work, I can't see how you
400
00:15:03,399 --> 00:15:05,899
could really reduce that that much?
401
00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:08,485
It's a really good point. Don't forget, we're
402
00:15:08,485 --> 00:15:10,565
we're talking about people here based in our
403
00:15:10,565 --> 00:15:12,644
HQ in Bristol, but we're also talking about
404
00:15:12,644 --> 00:15:14,024
the colleagues that we have,
405
00:15:14,565 --> 00:15:17,445
in China and India and The US. So
406
00:15:17,445 --> 00:15:19,445
there is a little there is, you know,
407
00:15:19,445 --> 00:15:20,519
a different mix
408
00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:21,559
of,
409
00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:24,840
opportunities for walking and cycling to work, for
410
00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:25,340
example.
411
00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,440
But the other key point is that although
412
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,679
the the scope three category is called employee
413
00:15:30,679 --> 00:15:33,820
commuting, it does also include working from home.
414
00:15:34,295 --> 00:15:34,795
So
415
00:15:35,175 --> 00:15:37,815
that the the emissions associated with all of
416
00:15:37,815 --> 00:15:40,315
us working from home are also being captured
417
00:15:40,455 --> 00:15:43,175
in that category. Oh, I see. Yeah. So,
418
00:15:43,175 --> 00:15:45,495
well, actually, that brings me on nicely to
419
00:15:45,495 --> 00:15:46,555
my next question.
420
00:15:47,990 --> 00:15:49,129
How do you capture,
421
00:15:50,549 --> 00:15:51,049
emissions,
422
00:15:51,990 --> 00:15:54,309
you know, that are associated with people working
423
00:15:54,309 --> 00:15:56,970
at home? That is there a standard formula
424
00:15:57,110 --> 00:15:59,049
that you can use based on,
425
00:15:59,774 --> 00:16:02,654
I don't know, the average consumption of a
426
00:16:02,654 --> 00:16:04,815
of a house in in The UK, for
427
00:16:04,815 --> 00:16:06,894
example? Is that is that how it works?
428
00:16:07,294 --> 00:16:08,975
Because, you know, you don't know. You, you
429
00:16:08,975 --> 00:16:10,914
know, some people might not
430
00:16:11,870 --> 00:16:14,029
not be too upset if it's chilly in
431
00:16:14,029 --> 00:16:15,970
the winter and not turn the heat on.
432
00:16:16,110 --> 00:16:18,669
Whereas other people might be sensitive to temperature
433
00:16:18,669 --> 00:16:19,870
or have a health,
434
00:16:20,990 --> 00:16:22,669
risk where they have to turn the heat
435
00:16:22,669 --> 00:16:23,649
up in their house.
436
00:16:23,955 --> 00:16:26,355
It must be difficult to, to sort of
437
00:16:26,355 --> 00:16:27,894
get a handle on that.
438
00:16:28,274 --> 00:16:29,495
How is that done?
439
00:16:30,195 --> 00:16:32,595
Well, you're you're exactly right. And and the
440
00:16:32,595 --> 00:16:34,915
way that is handled I mean, as as
441
00:16:34,915 --> 00:16:36,835
much as we would love primary day you
442
00:16:36,835 --> 00:16:38,460
know, first hand data, we would like to,
443
00:16:38,540 --> 00:16:40,300
you know it would be nice to ask
444
00:16:40,300 --> 00:16:42,460
every single person exactly what they're doing, exactly
445
00:16:42,460 --> 00:16:44,540
what time the heat their heating's turned on
446
00:16:44,540 --> 00:16:46,379
in the morning, and how many lights on
447
00:16:46,379 --> 00:16:48,139
they have in the house. And then split
448
00:16:48,139 --> 00:16:50,059
that down and if, you know, there's a
449
00:16:50,059 --> 00:16:52,059
partner or a family member also working in
450
00:16:52,059 --> 00:16:54,274
the building, how much is a proportion
451
00:16:54,735 --> 00:16:57,875
to each person? But the but the reality
452
00:16:58,174 --> 00:17:00,595
is that that what you do to calculate
453
00:17:00,654 --> 00:17:03,695
that is use kind of averages. You know,
454
00:17:03,695 --> 00:17:04,595
there are emission
455
00:17:04,894 --> 00:17:05,394
factors,
456
00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:07,339
which will change by
457
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:09,240
geography. So we do split it down by
458
00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:11,900
various geographies, but then you will use averages
459
00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:12,460
about,
460
00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,380
you know, that understand what kind of renewable
461
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,380
splitters in the grid in The UK
462
00:17:18,759 --> 00:17:19,259
versus
463
00:17:19,559 --> 00:17:22,265
in China or India or The US. So
464
00:17:22,565 --> 00:17:24,505
much of, of a carbon footprint
465
00:17:24,884 --> 00:17:26,184
does, out of necessity,
466
00:17:27,045 --> 00:17:29,765
end up, you know, operating in a space
467
00:17:29,765 --> 00:17:32,644
of of national averages. So there's there's fixed
468
00:17:32,644 --> 00:17:34,805
emission factors that are are set that we
469
00:17:34,805 --> 00:17:37,170
use. But, you know, I think
470
00:17:38,369 --> 00:17:39,970
it it's true to say that that a
471
00:17:39,970 --> 00:17:42,710
carbon footprint, you know, we're we're working constantly
472
00:17:43,090 --> 00:17:45,090
and and have improved year on year since
473
00:17:45,090 --> 00:17:45,910
2020
474
00:17:46,289 --> 00:17:49,484
to maximize the primary data that we use.
475
00:17:49,484 --> 00:17:51,484
But the reality is that it it it's
476
00:17:51,484 --> 00:17:54,224
completely impossible to have primary data for everything.
477
00:17:54,525 --> 00:17:57,085
So you do use those averages. So so
478
00:17:57,085 --> 00:17:59,424
just taking the the example you had there
479
00:17:59,565 --> 00:18:01,505
for for working at home in The UK,
480
00:18:02,125 --> 00:18:04,045
what we do do in terms of primary
481
00:18:04,045 --> 00:18:04,545
data
482
00:18:04,940 --> 00:18:07,579
is survey all of our colleagues. But rather
483
00:18:07,579 --> 00:18:09,740
than than get sending them a survey with
484
00:18:09,740 --> 00:18:12,059
a 100 questions about what time you turn
485
00:18:12,059 --> 00:18:13,980
your lights on and and what temperature you
486
00:18:13,980 --> 00:18:15,900
have your heating set to and who's your
487
00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:18,480
energy provider, we do keep it quite simple.
488
00:18:18,825 --> 00:18:21,865
So we calculate it based on on average,
489
00:18:21,865 --> 00:18:23,544
how many days they're in the office, how
490
00:18:23,544 --> 00:18:25,464
many days they're at home, and then we
491
00:18:25,464 --> 00:18:28,825
will use, UK averages or whatever country that
492
00:18:28,825 --> 00:18:31,565
we're we're talking about, use those those geographical
493
00:18:31,784 --> 00:18:33,289
averages to to incorporate
494
00:18:33,750 --> 00:18:35,529
that work from home into that category.
495
00:18:35,830 --> 00:18:37,850
I see. And and what can you do,
496
00:18:38,950 --> 00:18:40,970
you know, to to to reduce that?
497
00:18:41,830 --> 00:18:43,910
You know, for example, we had the the
498
00:18:43,910 --> 00:18:45,610
the walls of our house
499
00:18:46,304 --> 00:18:46,804
insulated,
500
00:18:47,585 --> 00:18:49,505
a few years ago. My my wife works
501
00:18:49,505 --> 00:18:51,825
at home full time, and she noticed a
502
00:18:51,825 --> 00:18:52,565
huge difference
503
00:18:53,105 --> 00:18:53,605
immediately,
504
00:18:54,304 --> 00:18:56,464
you know, both in the comfort of her
505
00:18:56,464 --> 00:18:58,544
working in our house, and, you know, also
506
00:18:58,544 --> 00:18:59,984
the fact that the heat didn't have to
507
00:18:59,984 --> 00:19:00,724
come on
508
00:19:01,079 --> 00:19:01,819
as often.
509
00:19:03,559 --> 00:19:05,599
I mean, we can I mean, I mean,
510
00:19:05,599 --> 00:19:08,279
I suppose the company can encourage people to,
511
00:19:09,319 --> 00:19:11,159
to to, you know, to to to look
512
00:19:11,159 --> 00:19:13,159
at how those sort of things could be
513
00:19:13,159 --> 00:19:15,964
done? But, I mean, I suppose we you
514
00:19:15,964 --> 00:19:17,804
know, because it is a private house, we
515
00:19:17,804 --> 00:19:19,565
we really can't do any more than that,
516
00:19:19,565 --> 00:19:21,644
can we? You're absolutely right. And Gold Star,
517
00:19:21,644 --> 00:19:23,484
by the way, I think insulation is is
518
00:19:23,484 --> 00:19:25,404
is probably one of the most important things
519
00:19:25,404 --> 00:19:27,589
that that people could do. But you're absolutely
520
00:19:27,730 --> 00:19:29,029
right. You you know,
521
00:19:29,569 --> 00:19:31,970
although it forms part of our corporate carbon
522
00:19:31,970 --> 00:19:32,470
footprint,
523
00:19:32,929 --> 00:19:35,109
you know, clearly, we can't enforce
524
00:19:35,809 --> 00:19:38,450
those those type you know, somebody might will
525
00:19:38,450 --> 00:19:40,710
be choosing an energy provider for a variety
526
00:19:40,769 --> 00:19:43,424
of reasons outside of what impact is it
527
00:19:43,424 --> 00:19:45,424
going to have on IOP Publishing's corp,
528
00:19:45,904 --> 00:19:46,804
carbon footprint.
529
00:19:47,105 --> 00:19:49,424
So we don't enforce, but what we do
530
00:19:49,424 --> 00:19:50,625
do is we try,
531
00:19:52,304 --> 00:19:52,804
to,
532
00:19:53,984 --> 00:19:56,964
support colleagues in their understanding of the issues.
533
00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:58,799
So we've worked with,
534
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:01,619
a company called Geeky,
535
00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,980
which was available to all colleagues.
536
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:06,160
And that,
537
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,619
what what Geeky did was enable an individual
538
00:20:09,679 --> 00:20:12,019
to create their own personal carbon footprint.
539
00:20:13,134 --> 00:20:15,454
And once they've done that, they they then
540
00:20:15,454 --> 00:20:18,255
would get suggestions and and and challenges and
541
00:20:18,255 --> 00:20:19,775
things that they could take on. None of
542
00:20:19,775 --> 00:20:21,315
it was forced. It was all completely
543
00:20:21,775 --> 00:20:22,674
up to the individual
544
00:20:23,295 --> 00:20:25,710
to but there were there were ideas and
545
00:20:25,710 --> 00:20:27,950
suggestions that they could commit to taking on.
546
00:20:27,950 --> 00:20:28,990
And then there was a little bit of
547
00:20:28,990 --> 00:20:31,070
a leaderboard so we could see which individual
548
00:20:31,070 --> 00:20:33,070
or which team you could group together in
549
00:20:33,070 --> 00:20:33,570
teams,
550
00:20:34,670 --> 00:20:36,910
to because you you scored points if you
551
00:20:36,910 --> 00:20:39,654
took on a challenge, for example, to,
552
00:20:40,434 --> 00:20:43,474
eat only vegetarian meals for a week. That
553
00:20:43,474 --> 00:20:46,914
has a a tremendous impact on on, an
554
00:20:46,914 --> 00:20:49,714
an individual's carbon footprint. So if you completed
555
00:20:49,714 --> 00:20:51,474
that challenge, you would earn points and you
556
00:20:51,474 --> 00:20:52,615
would rise up the leaderboard.
557
00:20:52,970 --> 00:20:55,210
So we we we come at this from
558
00:20:55,210 --> 00:20:58,829
the perspective of supporting people's knowledge and understanding
559
00:20:58,970 --> 00:21:00,509
about the things that they can do.
560
00:21:00,809 --> 00:21:02,750
Absolutely not trying to to
561
00:21:03,049 --> 00:21:06,744
enforce anyone to, you know, install solar panels
562
00:21:06,744 --> 00:21:08,765
or or change their energy provider.
563
00:21:09,865 --> 00:21:12,105
And and so, Liz, what's next? I mean,
564
00:21:12,105 --> 00:21:14,424
we have discussed a few things for the
565
00:21:14,424 --> 00:21:14,924
future,
566
00:21:15,384 --> 00:21:15,705
but,
567
00:21:17,305 --> 00:21:19,164
we've got this 36%
568
00:21:19,330 --> 00:21:19,830
reduction.
569
00:21:21,250 --> 00:21:23,570
Do do you have a target to lower
570
00:21:23,570 --> 00:21:26,130
that even more by, I don't know, 2030
571
00:21:26,130 --> 00:21:27,430
or something like that?
572
00:21:28,130 --> 00:21:28,950
Yes. Absolutely.
573
00:21:29,330 --> 00:21:32,630
So, again, with with our consultant climate partner,
574
00:21:33,365 --> 00:21:35,305
we've been able to
575
00:21:35,684 --> 00:21:37,785
map our net zero trajectory.
576
00:21:38,965 --> 00:21:41,125
So over the so 36%
577
00:21:41,125 --> 00:21:44,505
is a, you know, obviously, absolutely fantastic start
578
00:21:44,644 --> 00:21:46,105
and means that we're tracking
579
00:21:47,390 --> 00:21:48,210
really nicely
580
00:21:48,589 --> 00:21:51,089
beneath that trajectory that we need to achieve
581
00:21:51,390 --> 00:21:52,429
to to meet,
582
00:21:53,150 --> 00:21:54,990
you know, a target of being net net
583
00:21:54,990 --> 00:21:56,210
zero in the future.
584
00:21:57,549 --> 00:21:59,789
But and there's there is always a but,
585
00:21:59,789 --> 00:22:02,414
isn't there? The big but is we absolutely,
586
00:22:02,714 --> 00:22:04,575
you know, won't be able to achieve
587
00:22:04,954 --> 00:22:06,174
36%
588
00:22:06,234 --> 00:22:06,734
every,
589
00:22:07,195 --> 00:22:09,195
you know, every five years. That that was
590
00:22:09,275 --> 00:22:11,195
you know, as with all these things at
591
00:22:11,195 --> 00:22:11,855
the beginning,
592
00:22:12,154 --> 00:22:14,154
you know, when you start out, there's there's
593
00:22:14,154 --> 00:22:15,375
some some
594
00:22:16,079 --> 00:22:18,559
bigger fish there that you can you can,
595
00:22:19,519 --> 00:22:20,740
catch and and address.
596
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:23,859
So there there will be diminishing, I think,
597
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,900
reductions going forward. But we remain absolutely
598
00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:27,859
committed.
599
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:30,819
So we're gonna we're gonna maintain our momentum
600
00:22:31,035 --> 00:22:32,414
on the digital transformation.
601
00:22:33,515 --> 00:22:36,715
So reducing then and, you know, hopefully, at
602
00:22:36,715 --> 00:22:37,695
some point, eliminating
603
00:22:38,234 --> 00:22:39,934
completely our reliance on print,
604
00:22:40,715 --> 00:22:41,434
because that's,
605
00:22:42,154 --> 00:22:44,315
that that's a that's a huge win both
606
00:22:44,315 --> 00:22:46,715
in both in terms of reducing the emissions
607
00:22:46,715 --> 00:22:49,509
of production, of producing the that that material,
608
00:22:49,809 --> 00:22:51,029
but also in the distribution.
609
00:22:52,529 --> 00:22:54,690
And we're going to continue to work closely
610
00:22:54,690 --> 00:22:55,589
with our suppliers.
611
00:22:55,890 --> 00:22:58,049
This is possibly something that I haven't mentioned
612
00:22:58,049 --> 00:23:00,049
in detail so far, but we work closely
613
00:23:00,049 --> 00:23:00,704
with them
614
00:23:01,664 --> 00:23:02,164
to
615
00:23:02,544 --> 00:23:05,204
encourage every single supplier that we use
616
00:23:05,505 --> 00:23:06,005
to,
617
00:23:06,784 --> 00:23:09,345
identify opportunities of their own to reduce their
618
00:23:09,345 --> 00:23:09,845
emissions.
619
00:23:10,544 --> 00:23:13,365
So what happens within your supply chain is
620
00:23:13,505 --> 00:23:14,005
that,
621
00:23:14,730 --> 00:23:15,630
as a company,
622
00:23:16,089 --> 00:23:18,490
we are responsible for a part of that
623
00:23:18,490 --> 00:23:20,269
supplier's emissions that can be,
624
00:23:20,890 --> 00:23:21,390
attributed
625
00:23:21,690 --> 00:23:23,869
to the activities they perform on our behalf.
626
00:23:24,089 --> 00:23:26,009
So that is really, really key. That's why
627
00:23:26,009 --> 00:23:28,509
purchase goods and services is so key here.
628
00:23:29,505 --> 00:23:31,424
We're not a huge company, so we do
629
00:23:31,424 --> 00:23:33,265
not we don't have the buying power of
630
00:23:33,265 --> 00:23:35,025
some to be able to say, if you
631
00:23:35,025 --> 00:23:35,845
don't reach
632
00:23:36,305 --> 00:23:37,684
this threshold of sustainability,
633
00:23:38,305 --> 00:23:40,225
you you simply can't be in our supply
634
00:23:40,225 --> 00:23:42,809
chain. So the way we approach it is
635
00:23:43,210 --> 00:23:46,170
to engage with them every year with with
636
00:23:46,170 --> 00:23:46,670
sustainability
637
00:23:47,049 --> 00:23:49,690
assessment to encourage them, to ask them to
638
00:23:49,690 --> 00:23:51,309
join us on on the journey.
639
00:23:51,610 --> 00:23:53,710
So we are seeing improvements there already.
640
00:23:54,250 --> 00:23:56,170
You know, a couple of real successes in
641
00:23:56,170 --> 00:23:56,990
terms of,
642
00:23:57,370 --> 00:23:59,904
the suppliers we work with really taking on
643
00:23:59,904 --> 00:24:02,005
board what they, you know, what we initiated
644
00:24:02,065 --> 00:24:04,865
with them and and making great start strides.
645
00:24:04,865 --> 00:24:07,184
So we'll continue there. And as I say,
646
00:24:07,184 --> 00:24:09,445
you know, also to continue to support colleagues
647
00:24:09,744 --> 00:24:12,005
to develop their knowledge and and understanding
648
00:24:12,569 --> 00:24:14,509
so they can make good decisions,
649
00:24:15,289 --> 00:24:17,609
every day. And I think together, these these
650
00:24:17,609 --> 00:24:20,009
efforts will will really help us build on
651
00:24:20,009 --> 00:24:22,970
the progress we've we've already made and move
652
00:24:22,970 --> 00:24:24,829
closer to our sustainability goals.
653
00:24:25,164 --> 00:24:26,765
And I suppose it's a two way street,
654
00:24:26,765 --> 00:24:28,625
isn't it? Because we're we're a supplier.
655
00:24:29,005 --> 00:24:31,244
So I'm guessing that we have relationships with
656
00:24:31,244 --> 00:24:34,065
our customers, and our customers are asking us
657
00:24:34,444 --> 00:24:35,345
about our
658
00:24:35,644 --> 00:24:36,144
sustainability
659
00:24:36,605 --> 00:24:37,105
metrics.
660
00:24:38,369 --> 00:24:40,609
So those must be useful discussions as well,
661
00:24:40,609 --> 00:24:41,430
I would imagine.
662
00:24:41,970 --> 00:24:44,609
Absolutely. We're we're really seeing that in the
663
00:24:44,609 --> 00:24:47,089
last few years. So when we started on
664
00:24:47,089 --> 00:24:48,710
our journey in 2020,
665
00:24:49,410 --> 00:24:51,730
I don't think that I'd I'd come across
666
00:24:51,730 --> 00:24:53,924
any anybody asking us, really.
667
00:24:54,704 --> 00:24:56,224
There were that you know, there were various
668
00:24:56,224 --> 00:24:57,825
questions that came out of sort of audit
669
00:24:57,825 --> 00:25:00,305
process things. But, yes, we're we're seeing that
670
00:25:00,305 --> 00:25:03,424
a lot more now. So where customers are
671
00:25:03,424 --> 00:25:07,079
are licencing content or or or purchasing content,
672
00:25:07,299 --> 00:25:07,779
they're
673
00:25:08,419 --> 00:25:10,980
they are themselves constrained by their own governments
674
00:25:10,980 --> 00:25:12,039
or by their own
675
00:25:12,500 --> 00:25:13,000
frameworks
676
00:25:13,460 --> 00:25:14,679
to ensure the sustainability.
677
00:25:15,220 --> 00:25:17,380
So, yeah, it's really great to see that
678
00:25:17,380 --> 00:25:18,679
it's it's it's really
679
00:25:19,214 --> 00:25:22,575
spreading out there. It's becoming much more the
680
00:25:22,575 --> 00:25:23,075
norm
681
00:25:23,375 --> 00:25:25,454
to to be asked about these things than
682
00:25:25,454 --> 00:25:27,375
than when I started out on this journey
683
00:25:27,375 --> 00:25:28,275
five years ago.
684
00:25:29,134 --> 00:25:31,075
Well, that's great. Thanks, Liz. Congratulations.
685
00:25:31,775 --> 00:25:32,255
And,
686
00:25:33,214 --> 00:25:36,069
hopefully, the, the drop in carbon emissions will
687
00:25:36,069 --> 00:25:37,529
continue into the future.
688
00:25:37,829 --> 00:25:39,289
Thanks for coming on the podcast.
689
00:25:39,750 --> 00:25:41,429
Thanks, Hamish. It's been really great to be
690
00:25:41,429 --> 00:25:42,490
here. Thank you.
691
00:25:50,634 --> 00:25:53,375
That was Liz Martin, who is sustainability
692
00:25:53,835 --> 00:25:55,694
lead at IOP Publishing.
693
00:25:56,315 --> 00:25:58,974
Thanks, Liz, for a fascinating discussion
694
00:25:59,355 --> 00:26:00,335
about sustainability
695
00:26:01,115 --> 00:26:02,734
in scholarly publishing.
696
00:26:03,595 --> 00:26:05,569
You can find the sustainability
697
00:26:06,109 --> 00:26:06,609
report
698
00:26:06,990 --> 00:26:08,369
2025
699
00:26:08,669 --> 00:26:10,849
on the IOP publishing website,
700
00:26:11,390 --> 00:26:13,390
and I'll put a link to it in
701
00:26:13,390 --> 00:26:14,929
the notes for this episode.
702
00:26:15,789 --> 00:26:17,869
I'm afraid that's all the time we have
703
00:26:17,869 --> 00:26:19,089
for this week's podcast.
704
00:26:19,565 --> 00:26:23,005
I'm Hamish Johnston, and our producer is Fred
705
00:26:23,005 --> 00:26:23,505
Iles.
706
00:26:24,125 --> 00:26:27,005
The music for this podcast is called one
707
00:26:27,005 --> 00:26:30,224
three seven, and it was composed and performed
708
00:26:30,525 --> 00:26:31,424
by the physicist
709
00:26:32,130 --> 00:26:33,029
Philip Moriarty.
710
00:26:34,210 --> 00:26:36,450
We'll be back again next week when our
711
00:26:36,450 --> 00:26:38,309
guest will be the medical physicist,
712
00:26:38,930 --> 00:26:39,430
inventor,
713
00:26:39,809 --> 00:26:40,789
and entrepreneur,
714
00:26:41,650 --> 00:26:42,630
Brian Pope.
00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,199
Hello, and welcome to the Physics World weekly
2
00:00:11,199 --> 00:00:11,699
podcast.
3
00:00:12,095 --> 00:00:15,134
I'm Hamish Johnston, and my guest this week
4
00:00:15,134 --> 00:00:16,435
is Liz Martin.
5
00:00:17,135 --> 00:00:18,515
She is sustainability
6
00:00:18,894 --> 00:00:20,835
lead at IOP Publishing,
7
00:00:21,295 --> 00:00:22,975
and we're going to chat about how the
8
00:00:22,975 --> 00:00:27,570
company has reduced its carbon emissions by 36%
9
00:00:28,109 --> 00:00:30,929
when compared to a 2020 baseline.
10
00:00:32,510 --> 00:00:35,570
IOP Publishing is a wholly owned subsidiary
11
00:00:35,950 --> 00:00:37,649
of the Institute of Physics,
12
00:00:38,244 --> 00:00:41,704
which is the professional body and learned society
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00:00:41,924 --> 00:00:44,664
for physics in The UK and Ireland.
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00:00:45,604 --> 00:00:48,585
IOP Publishing produces over 100
15
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scholarly journals,
16
00:00:50,370 --> 00:00:53,829
around half of which are published jointly with
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or on behalf of partner societies
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and research organizations.
19
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Physics world is also brought to you by
20
00:01:03,329 --> 00:01:04,390
IOP publishing.
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Here's my
22
00:01:08,135 --> 00:01:08,635
conversation
23
00:01:10,795 --> 00:01:11,295
with
24
00:01:13,454 --> 00:01:13,954
Liz.
25
00:01:16,115 --> 00:01:17,975
Hi, Liz. Welcome to the podcast.
26
00:01:18,439 --> 00:01:19,880
Hi, Hamish. It's nice to be here. I
27
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always like an opportunity to talk about things
28
00:01:22,439 --> 00:01:23,500
all things sustainable.
29
00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:24,620
Great.
30
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So, can we start off by,
31
00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,520
can you give us a little summary of
32
00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:31,579
IOP Publishing's
33
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commitment
34
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to sustainability?
35
00:01:34,625 --> 00:01:36,465
What what what is our commitment as a
36
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company?
37
00:01:37,584 --> 00:01:40,545
As a company, we're committed to operating our
38
00:01:40,545 --> 00:01:43,444
business in as an environmentally friendly,
39
00:01:43,825 --> 00:01:45,284
sustainable way as possible.
40
00:01:45,670 --> 00:01:48,150
So that covers the day to day running
41
00:01:48,150 --> 00:01:50,810
of the business, our offices, our our people,
42
00:01:51,270 --> 00:01:53,189
but also the the business that we do,
43
00:01:53,189 --> 00:01:56,490
so publishing scientific research in all its forms.
44
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So we do this by focusing on on
45
00:01:59,605 --> 00:02:02,265
measuring our our carbon emissions and then reducing
46
00:02:02,484 --> 00:02:03,784
the that that carbon,
47
00:02:04,885 --> 00:02:07,045
working with our supply chains to reach,
48
00:02:07,605 --> 00:02:08,585
on their emissions,
49
00:02:09,365 --> 00:02:11,865
those that are not directly within our control,
50
00:02:12,020 --> 00:02:14,900
and also supporting our colleagues in understanding what
51
00:02:14,900 --> 00:02:16,120
they can do as individuals,
52
00:02:16,580 --> 00:02:18,439
both inside and outside of work.
53
00:02:18,740 --> 00:02:21,479
But unlike other businesses, as a publisher,
54
00:02:21,860 --> 00:02:23,159
we have an added responsibility
55
00:02:23,460 --> 00:02:25,584
of of the research that we publish. So
56
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we're also committed to to making the best
57
00:02:27,905 --> 00:02:30,884
research in all areas of environmental sustainability
58
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accessible to all,
59
00:02:33,264 --> 00:02:35,104
accessible to all of those people that that
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need to drive the solutions of the future.
61
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Okay. And I think we we've done a
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pretty good job, haven't we?
63
00:02:43,319 --> 00:02:43,819
IOPP
64
00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,659
has reduced its carbon footprint by 36%
65
00:02:48,359 --> 00:02:51,019
when compared to 2020,
66
00:02:51,365 --> 00:02:52,824
which to me seems amazing.
67
00:02:54,245 --> 00:02:55,764
How how did we do this? How how
68
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is this achieved?
69
00:02:57,284 --> 00:02:58,985
Well, firstly, absolutely
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is amazing and, I certainly, you know, not
71
00:03:02,405 --> 00:03:03,544
not taking the credit.
72
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Lots and lots of people across the the
73
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company involved there.
74
00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:09,680
The the first step for us though was
75
00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,200
was measuring our our corporate carbon footprint, which
76
00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:14,740
it sounds super easy,
77
00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:17,599
but it it can be pretty challenging to
78
00:03:17,599 --> 00:03:19,840
get started. For me at least, it was
79
00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:21,060
a bit of a roller coaster.
80
00:03:21,675 --> 00:03:23,515
I come from a I have a physics
81
00:03:23,515 --> 00:03:24,575
background, so,
82
00:03:25,194 --> 00:03:28,075
consider myself fairly fairly sort of well versed
83
00:03:28,075 --> 00:03:29,694
in in sort of,
84
00:03:30,075 --> 00:03:30,575
methodologies
85
00:03:30,955 --> 00:03:32,875
and and and calculations of this type. But
86
00:03:32,875 --> 00:03:34,075
it was a a bit of a roller
87
00:03:34,075 --> 00:03:36,199
coaster, feeling like you had it all under
88
00:03:36,199 --> 00:03:39,079
control and then realizing quite how complex it
89
00:03:39,079 --> 00:03:39,979
could be in places.
90
00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,199
But we we we got there. We needed
91
00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:45,639
to do that, we needed to set some
92
00:03:45,639 --> 00:03:47,639
really clear boundaries on on what we were
93
00:03:47,639 --> 00:03:48,539
trying to measure,
94
00:03:49,064 --> 00:03:51,705
to make some decisions on how we were
95
00:03:51,705 --> 00:03:53,465
going to to to measure it and then
96
00:03:53,465 --> 00:03:55,245
how we were going to calculate the emissions.
97
00:03:56,504 --> 00:03:58,425
You need a lot of data, a a
98
00:03:58,425 --> 00:04:00,444
huge amount of operational data.
99
00:04:00,745 --> 00:04:03,449
Again, that sounds simple, and and data is
100
00:04:03,449 --> 00:04:05,849
is really simple to track in real time,
101
00:04:05,849 --> 00:04:08,569
but it's it's really difficult to to gather
102
00:04:08,569 --> 00:04:09,069
retrospectively.
103
00:04:11,050 --> 00:04:13,050
But we got there. We got there. And
104
00:04:13,050 --> 00:04:15,794
once we had collected that that or calculated
105
00:04:15,854 --> 00:04:16,995
rather that first footprint,
106
00:04:17,295 --> 00:04:19,454
it was immediately clear that we had some
107
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some hotspots.
108
00:04:21,615 --> 00:04:24,095
But identifying those hotspots is is really just
109
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the start of it.
110
00:04:26,095 --> 00:04:27,899
You know, once you know what they are,
111
00:04:27,979 --> 00:04:30,220
some some hot spots can be relatively easy
112
00:04:30,220 --> 00:04:32,699
to address. But more often, the areas where
113
00:04:32,699 --> 00:04:33,360
you can,
114
00:04:33,819 --> 00:04:36,539
make the biggest impact in terms of, carbon
115
00:04:36,539 --> 00:04:37,039
reduction
116
00:04:37,419 --> 00:04:39,975
are are not the straightforward areas to address.
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I see. And, Liz, there I mean, you
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you didn't do this on your own, I
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don't think. You
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you you had you worked the the company
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worked with partners,
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and and worked within a a a sort
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of a standard framework. Is that right?
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Absolutely right. This would be simply impossible for
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for any one person to do. So we
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have a sustainability task force,
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and that we have executive sponsor there, and
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I chair that. And that is people from
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around the business of all levels,
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who have an interest or have a particular
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area of responsibility,
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that is that is pertinent. And they really
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drive
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all of our sustainability
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activities across the company.
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But the, but
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separate to that, we have a couple of
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working groups.
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We have a supply chain working group who
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engage with with all of the suppliers that
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we use, and we have a carbon footprint
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working group. So within the carbon footprint working
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group, that is people around the business who
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are who have responsibility
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for the activities
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where we need to collect primary data for
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that calculation.
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So we have a a big team of
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people, and we're also supported by, a consultant
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called Climate Partner
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who are experts.
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And I have to say, without them, I
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think we'd probably still be calculating that first
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footprint now.
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And and, Liz, we're recording this, podcast in
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IOP's
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new ish office in Bristol.
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And
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it seems to have a remarkably
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low
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carbon footprint.
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How has that been achieved? I mean, is
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it simply because it's a fairly new building,
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or are there lots of other things that
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were done to to ensure the low carbon
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footprint?
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A little bit of both. I think, you
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know, we're we're incredibly fortunate,
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with our new offices
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precisely as you say because it's a new
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build.
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And it was built
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with sustainability
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in mind, and that makes a huge difference.
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It can be much more challenging,
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for businesses
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who are in older buildings. And when you
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try and retrofit sustainability in there, it simply
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can be,
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you know, an enormous cost to the business
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to try and do that. So we made
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the move with that in mind. We were
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previously in in another building, not so very
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far away, as you know.
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So the move to here
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delivered for us in the long term and
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that we were able to move to this
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very sustainable building. But it did give us
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it did give us a year or two
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of overlap well, not a year or two.
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Sorry. It gave us a year of overlap,
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where we were effectively running two offices. So
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that did temporarily increase our footprint. But now
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we're here. It's made a huge different
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difference. And I think the the biggest single
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benefit
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is really the setup for for temperature control
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within the bay building, the heating, the cooling.
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You know, it was created with energy efficiency
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in mind. We can even open the windows,
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which doesn't sound like much, but makes a
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a a real difference in terms of when
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you then press that switch on the wall
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to heat or cool down or whatever you
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need to do. You open a window instead.
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And that's all energy that you you don't
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use. And, of course, the energy that we
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we do still use, because everybody does, is
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clean here as well. So that has a
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has a big impact,
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across our our scope one and scope two
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emissions.
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And,
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I I I should say for the benefit
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of listeners that it is a very nice
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building as well. I mean, it's not like,
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you know, we're we're in this sort of
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horrible building, saving lots of energy. It's it's
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it's a lovely building. It's a really nice
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place to work in.
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So, you know, to me, as as somebody
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who comes in every day to the office,
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it's been a real success,
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I think.
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So so in terms of measurement, Liz, you
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you mentioned,
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the the difficulties,
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in terms of how to measure the carbon
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footprint of a company.
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That's done in terms of scopes one,
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two, and three.
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And I think, maybe some of our listeners
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might not be familiar with those scopes. Would
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it be possible for you to briefly explain
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these three categories
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and give an example of each that's relevant
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to IOP publishing?
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Of course. It's,
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I don't think I realized at the beginning,
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but it is an incredibly
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complex area. So I will try and do
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it as as simply as I'm as I'm
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able.
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So escape one emissions are the direct emissions
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produced by our burning fuels.
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So for us, that's our offices and and
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it would be vehicles, but we we don't
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have them. So it's it's largely around the
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the burning of fuels for our offices.
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Scope two are indirect emissions
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generated by the electricity that we purchase and
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consume.
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So I think that's that that one's fairly
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clear. And scope three then are indirect emissions
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again, but they are produced by our activities
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but are owned and controlled by a different
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company.
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So this,
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covers everything we buy, whether that be goods
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or services.
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It covers distribution of our products,
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business travel, employee commuting.
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There's there's a really long list. There's 15
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categories that that fit into scope three.
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So I I won't list them all, but
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but those are those are a few of
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the key ones.
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And and for IOP publishing, scope three is
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really important because it represents 99%
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of the company's emissions.
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And within that 99%,
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the the emissions are dominated by purchased services,
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business travel,
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and employee commuting. So I suppose those are
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the key ones that we need to reduce.
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How can the company,
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reduce each of these? I mean, given the
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fact that we've already gone down by 36%
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over the last, five years or so.
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Well, I mean, that really is the million
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dollar question because that's what
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any company out there that's trying to reduce
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their carbon footprint is is looking at. And
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and, actually,
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you know, I
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to deliver that 36%
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that that we have achieved already, I don't
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want to make it sound like those were
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easy things to do. They weren't. They were
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possibly slightly more straightforward. They were slightly more
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obvious.
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And the,
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the implications of making those changes,
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we were happy
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to work with those implications.
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But but purchase services in particular is particularly
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challenging.
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Well and that includes goods as well. You
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know, any business who operates has to buy
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some things, whether that be the,
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the water that we drink or the pens
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that we write with or the the the
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laptops that we're using.
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But it covers everything. It covers everything from,
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you know, a a software system that we
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use to book our meeting rooms. So there
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is there is really no getting away from
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the fact that as a company, you have
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to purchase things.
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And some of those are are are good.
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So these are real physical things, and and
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some of those might be software as, you
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know,
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buying Microsoft in order to use Word. That
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comes at a price, and and that, therefore,
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has some emissions associated with it. So I
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think that's really the most challenging
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area.
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And, you know, the fact that that 99%
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of our emissions come from scope three isn't
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particularly unusual. I think we've done really well
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in reducing our scopes one and two with
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our our buildings,
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down to 1%. But that that very,
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that that really sort of high number on
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in the scopes three is is not particularly
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unusual.
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So how can a company reduce each of
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these? I mean, that's going to be you
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know, that's different for for every business. I
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mean, we've done really well so far in
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in delivering that 36%,
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because we looked at
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or we continue to work on it. But
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we we we made some big strides in
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moving from
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the material we publish being consumed in print
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to being consumed digitally.
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And, you know, I don't I don't want
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to make that sound like an easy decision
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to make. You know? It it it wasn't
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an easy decision to make, but it was
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quite an an obvious one in terms of
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the impact that it could have on carbon
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emissions.
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So that's been a a big driver of
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that reduction so far.
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But we're nearly there now. You know, we've
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got a little bit more to go, but
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we're nearly there.
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Then you start moving into really challenging areas,
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you know, taking business travel as an example.
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You know,
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it's obvious. Right? If you travel less,
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or you use use a more environment
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environmentally friendly method to do it, you will
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reduce. But if you travel less, then, you
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know, you're seeing clients less, you're seeing customers
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less, your the the the things that you
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have to do to be successful as a
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business
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become more challenging. So it's those areas. And
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and it's not right or wrong.
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You know, you have to,
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embed sustainability
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into people's decision making about how they operate.
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And I think that's that's really the key
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for us us now. And the same goes
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with employee commuting. You know,
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if you give people the information to make
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good decisions
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and let them make them those decisions within
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the context of what they have to achieve,
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in their work, then that's the most effective
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way of making it work for sort of
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both sides of the argument.
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I was I was a bit surprised by
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how
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dominant,
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employee commuting was,
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you know, particularly because a lot of a
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lot of colleagues work at home.
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And the ones who do come into,
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the distillery, the office that we're in right
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now,
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a lot of those people walk or ride
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their bikes.
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So is that I mean, that commuting,
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I assume
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pre pandemic and pre having the ability to
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work at home,
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commuting would have been
393
00:14:49,735 --> 00:14:51,914
off the scale in terms of our carbon
394
00:14:52,279 --> 00:14:53,720
footprint, wouldn't it? So
395
00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:54,700
Yeah.
396
00:14:55,559 --> 00:14:56,759
I I I can I mean, I I
397
00:14:56,759 --> 00:14:58,120
see what you mean because I can't see
398
00:14:58,279 --> 00:15:01,100
I mean, you know, knowing how people here
399
00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,399
get to work, I can't see how you
400
00:15:03,399 --> 00:15:05,899
could really reduce that that much?
401
00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:08,485
It's a really good point. Don't forget, we're
402
00:15:08,485 --> 00:15:10,565
we're talking about people here based in our
403
00:15:10,565 --> 00:15:12,644
HQ in Bristol, but we're also talking about
404
00:15:12,644 --> 00:15:14,024
the colleagues that we have,
405
00:15:14,565 --> 00:15:17,445
in China and India and The US. So
406
00:15:17,445 --> 00:15:19,445
there is a little there is, you know,
407
00:15:19,445 --> 00:15:20,519
a different mix
408
00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:21,559
of,
409
00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:24,840
opportunities for walking and cycling to work, for
410
00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:25,340
example.
411
00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,440
But the other key point is that although
412
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,679
the the scope three category is called employee
413
00:15:30,679 --> 00:15:33,820
commuting, it does also include working from home.
414
00:15:34,295 --> 00:15:34,795
So
415
00:15:35,175 --> 00:15:37,815
that the the emissions associated with all of
416
00:15:37,815 --> 00:15:40,315
us working from home are also being captured
417
00:15:40,455 --> 00:15:43,175
in that category. Oh, I see. Yeah. So,
418
00:15:43,175 --> 00:15:45,495
well, actually, that brings me on nicely to
419
00:15:45,495 --> 00:15:46,555
my next question.
420
00:15:47,990 --> 00:15:49,129
How do you capture,
421
00:15:50,549 --> 00:15:51,049
emissions,
422
00:15:51,990 --> 00:15:54,309
you know, that are associated with people working
423
00:15:54,309 --> 00:15:56,970
at home? That is there a standard formula
424
00:15:57,110 --> 00:15:59,049
that you can use based on,
425
00:15:59,774 --> 00:16:02,654
I don't know, the average consumption of a
426
00:16:02,654 --> 00:16:04,815
of a house in in The UK, for
427
00:16:04,815 --> 00:16:06,894
example? Is that is that how it works?
428
00:16:07,294 --> 00:16:08,975
Because, you know, you don't know. You, you
429
00:16:08,975 --> 00:16:10,914
know, some people might not
430
00:16:11,870 --> 00:16:14,029
not be too upset if it's chilly in
431
00:16:14,029 --> 00:16:15,970
the winter and not turn the heat on.
432
00:16:16,110 --> 00:16:18,669
Whereas other people might be sensitive to temperature
433
00:16:18,669 --> 00:16:19,870
or have a health,
434
00:16:20,990 --> 00:16:22,669
risk where they have to turn the heat
435
00:16:22,669 --> 00:16:23,649
up in their house.
436
00:16:23,955 --> 00:16:26,355
It must be difficult to, to sort of
437
00:16:26,355 --> 00:16:27,894
get a handle on that.
438
00:16:28,274 --> 00:16:29,495
How is that done?
439
00:16:30,195 --> 00:16:32,595
Well, you're you're exactly right. And and the
440
00:16:32,595 --> 00:16:34,915
way that is handled I mean, as as
441
00:16:34,915 --> 00:16:36,835
much as we would love primary day you
442
00:16:36,835 --> 00:16:38,460
know, first hand data, we would like to,
443
00:16:38,540 --> 00:16:40,300
you know it would be nice to ask
444
00:16:40,300 --> 00:16:42,460
every single person exactly what they're doing, exactly
445
00:16:42,460 --> 00:16:44,540
what time the heat their heating's turned on
446
00:16:44,540 --> 00:16:46,379
in the morning, and how many lights on
447
00:16:46,379 --> 00:16:48,139
they have in the house. And then split
448
00:16:48,139 --> 00:16:50,059
that down and if, you know, there's a
449
00:16:50,059 --> 00:16:52,059
partner or a family member also working in
450
00:16:52,059 --> 00:16:54,274
the building, how much is a proportion
451
00:16:54,735 --> 00:16:57,875
to each person? But the but the reality
452
00:16:58,174 --> 00:17:00,595
is that that what you do to calculate
453
00:17:00,654 --> 00:17:03,695
that is use kind of averages. You know,
454
00:17:03,695 --> 00:17:04,595
there are emission
455
00:17:04,894 --> 00:17:05,394
factors,
456
00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:07,339
which will change by
457
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:09,240
geography. So we do split it down by
458
00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:11,900
various geographies, but then you will use averages
459
00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:12,460
about,
460
00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,380
you know, that understand what kind of renewable
461
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,380
splitters in the grid in The UK
462
00:17:18,759 --> 00:17:19,259
versus
463
00:17:19,559 --> 00:17:22,265
in China or India or The US. So
464
00:17:22,565 --> 00:17:24,505
much of, of a carbon footprint
465
00:17:24,884 --> 00:17:26,184
does, out of necessity,
466
00:17:27,045 --> 00:17:29,765
end up, you know, operating in a space
467
00:17:29,765 --> 00:17:32,644
of of national averages. So there's there's fixed
468
00:17:32,644 --> 00:17:34,805
emission factors that are are set that we
469
00:17:34,805 --> 00:17:37,170
use. But, you know, I think
470
00:17:38,369 --> 00:17:39,970
it it's true to say that that a
471
00:17:39,970 --> 00:17:42,710
carbon footprint, you know, we're we're working constantly
472
00:17:43,090 --> 00:17:45,090
and and have improved year on year since
473
00:17:45,090 --> 00:17:45,910
2020
474
00:17:46,289 --> 00:17:49,484
to maximize the primary data that we use.
475
00:17:49,484 --> 00:17:51,484
But the reality is that it it it's
476
00:17:51,484 --> 00:17:54,224
completely impossible to have primary data for everything.
477
00:17:54,525 --> 00:17:57,085
So you do use those averages. So so
478
00:17:57,085 --> 00:17:59,424
just taking the the example you had there
479
00:17:59,565 --> 00:18:01,505
for for working at home in The UK,
480
00:18:02,125 --> 00:18:04,045
what we do do in terms of primary
481
00:18:04,045 --> 00:18:04,545
data
482
00:18:04,940 --> 00:18:07,579
is survey all of our colleagues. But rather
483
00:18:07,579 --> 00:18:09,740
than than get sending them a survey with
484
00:18:09,740 --> 00:18:12,059
a 100 questions about what time you turn
485
00:18:12,059 --> 00:18:13,980
your lights on and and what temperature you
486
00:18:13,980 --> 00:18:15,900
have your heating set to and who's your
487
00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:18,480
energy provider, we do keep it quite simple.
488
00:18:18,825 --> 00:18:21,865
So we calculate it based on on average,
489
00:18:21,865 --> 00:18:23,544
how many days they're in the office, how
490
00:18:23,544 --> 00:18:25,464
many days they're at home, and then we
491
00:18:25,464 --> 00:18:28,825
will use, UK averages or whatever country that
492
00:18:28,825 --> 00:18:31,565
we're we're talking about, use those those geographical
493
00:18:31,784 --> 00:18:33,289
averages to to incorporate
494
00:18:33,750 --> 00:18:35,529
that work from home into that category.
495
00:18:35,830 --> 00:18:37,850
I see. And and what can you do,
496
00:18:38,950 --> 00:18:40,970
you know, to to to reduce that?
497
00:18:41,830 --> 00:18:43,910
You know, for example, we had the the
498
00:18:43,910 --> 00:18:45,610
the walls of our house
499
00:18:46,304 --> 00:18:46,804
insulated,
500
00:18:47,585 --> 00:18:49,505
a few years ago. My my wife works
501
00:18:49,505 --> 00:18:51,825
at home full time, and she noticed a
502
00:18:51,825 --> 00:18:52,565
huge difference
503
00:18:53,105 --> 00:18:53,605
immediately,
504
00:18:54,304 --> 00:18:56,464
you know, both in the comfort of her
505
00:18:56,464 --> 00:18:58,544
working in our house, and, you know, also
506
00:18:58,544 --> 00:18:59,984
the fact that the heat didn't have to
507
00:18:59,984 --> 00:19:00,724
come on
508
00:19:01,079 --> 00:19:01,819
as often.
509
00:19:03,559 --> 00:19:05,599
I mean, we can I mean, I mean,
510
00:19:05,599 --> 00:19:08,279
I suppose the company can encourage people to,
511
00:19:09,319 --> 00:19:11,159
to to, you know, to to to look
512
00:19:11,159 --> 00:19:13,159
at how those sort of things could be
513
00:19:13,159 --> 00:19:15,964
done? But, I mean, I suppose we you
514
00:19:15,964 --> 00:19:17,804
know, because it is a private house, we
515
00:19:17,804 --> 00:19:19,565
we really can't do any more than that,
516
00:19:19,565 --> 00:19:21,644
can we? You're absolutely right. And Gold Star,
517
00:19:21,644 --> 00:19:23,484
by the way, I think insulation is is
518
00:19:23,484 --> 00:19:25,404
is probably one of the most important things
519
00:19:25,404 --> 00:19:27,589
that that people could do. But you're absolutely
520
00:19:27,730 --> 00:19:29,029
right. You you know,
521
00:19:29,569 --> 00:19:31,970
although it forms part of our corporate carbon
522
00:19:31,970 --> 00:19:32,470
footprint,
523
00:19:32,929 --> 00:19:35,109
you know, clearly, we can't enforce
524
00:19:35,809 --> 00:19:38,450
those those type you know, somebody might will
525
00:19:38,450 --> 00:19:40,710
be choosing an energy provider for a variety
526
00:19:40,769 --> 00:19:43,424
of reasons outside of what impact is it
527
00:19:43,424 --> 00:19:45,424
going to have on IOP Publishing's corp,
528
00:19:45,904 --> 00:19:46,804
carbon footprint.
529
00:19:47,105 --> 00:19:49,424
So we don't enforce, but what we do
530
00:19:49,424 --> 00:19:50,625
do is we try,
531
00:19:52,304 --> 00:19:52,804
to,
532
00:19:53,984 --> 00:19:56,964
support colleagues in their understanding of the issues.
533
00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:58,799
So we've worked with,
534
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:01,619
a company called Geeky,
535
00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:04,980
which was available to all colleagues.
536
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:06,160
And that,
537
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,619
what what Geeky did was enable an individual
538
00:20:09,679 --> 00:20:12,019
to create their own personal carbon footprint.
539
00:20:13,134 --> 00:20:15,454
And once they've done that, they they then
540
00:20:15,454 --> 00:20:18,255
would get suggestions and and and challenges and
541
00:20:18,255 --> 00:20:19,775
things that they could take on. None of
542
00:20:19,775 --> 00:20:21,315
it was forced. It was all completely
543
00:20:21,775 --> 00:20:22,674
up to the individual
544
00:20:23,295 --> 00:20:25,710
to but there were there were ideas and
545
00:20:25,710 --> 00:20:27,950
suggestions that they could commit to taking on.
546
00:20:27,950 --> 00:20:28,990
And then there was a little bit of
547
00:20:28,990 --> 00:20:31,070
a leaderboard so we could see which individual
548
00:20:31,070 --> 00:20:33,070
or which team you could group together in
549
00:20:33,070 --> 00:20:33,570
teams,
550
00:20:34,670 --> 00:20:36,910
to because you you scored points if you
551
00:20:36,910 --> 00:20:39,654
took on a challenge, for example, to,
552
00:20:40,434 --> 00:20:43,474
eat only vegetarian meals for a week. That
553
00:20:43,474 --> 00:20:46,914
has a a tremendous impact on on, an
554
00:20:46,914 --> 00:20:49,714
an individual's carbon footprint. So if you completed
555
00:20:49,714 --> 00:20:51,474
that challenge, you would earn points and you
556
00:20:51,474 --> 00:20:52,615
would rise up the leaderboard.
557
00:20:52,970 --> 00:20:55,210
So we we we come at this from
558
00:20:55,210 --> 00:20:58,829
the perspective of supporting people's knowledge and understanding
559
00:20:58,970 --> 00:21:00,509
about the things that they can do.
560
00:21:00,809 --> 00:21:02,750
Absolutely not trying to to
561
00:21:03,049 --> 00:21:06,744
enforce anyone to, you know, install solar panels
562
00:21:06,744 --> 00:21:08,765
or or change their energy provider.
563
00:21:09,865 --> 00:21:12,105
And and so, Liz, what's next? I mean,
564
00:21:12,105 --> 00:21:14,424
we have discussed a few things for the
565
00:21:14,424 --> 00:21:14,924
future,
566
00:21:15,384 --> 00:21:15,705
but,
567
00:21:17,305 --> 00:21:19,164
we've got this 36%
568
00:21:19,330 --> 00:21:19,830
reduction.
569
00:21:21,250 --> 00:21:23,570
Do do you have a target to lower
570
00:21:23,570 --> 00:21:26,130
that even more by, I don't know, 2030
571
00:21:26,130 --> 00:21:27,430
or something like that?
572
00:21:28,130 --> 00:21:28,950
Yes. Absolutely.
573
00:21:29,330 --> 00:21:32,630
So, again, with with our consultant climate partner,
574
00:21:33,365 --> 00:21:35,305
we've been able to
575
00:21:35,684 --> 00:21:37,785
map our net zero trajectory.
576
00:21:38,965 --> 00:21:41,125
So over the so 36%
577
00:21:41,125 --> 00:21:44,505
is a, you know, obviously, absolutely fantastic start
578
00:21:44,644 --> 00:21:46,105
and means that we're tracking
579
00:21:47,390 --> 00:21:48,210
really nicely
580
00:21:48,589 --> 00:21:51,089
beneath that trajectory that we need to achieve
581
00:21:51,390 --> 00:21:52,429
to to meet,
582
00:21:53,150 --> 00:21:54,990
you know, a target of being net net
583
00:21:54,990 --> 00:21:56,210
zero in the future.
584
00:21:57,549 --> 00:21:59,789
But and there's there is always a but,
585
00:21:59,789 --> 00:22:02,414
isn't there? The big but is we absolutely,
586
00:22:02,714 --> 00:22:04,575
you know, won't be able to achieve
587
00:22:04,954 --> 00:22:06,174
36%
588
00:22:06,234 --> 00:22:06,734
every,
589
00:22:07,195 --> 00:22:09,195
you know, every five years. That that was
590
00:22:09,275 --> 00:22:11,195
you know, as with all these things at
591
00:22:11,195 --> 00:22:11,855
the beginning,
592
00:22:12,154 --> 00:22:14,154
you know, when you start out, there's there's
593
00:22:14,154 --> 00:22:15,375
some some
594
00:22:16,079 --> 00:22:18,559
bigger fish there that you can you can,
595
00:22:19,519 --> 00:22:20,740
catch and and address.
596
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:23,859
So there there will be diminishing, I think,
597
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,900
reductions going forward. But we remain absolutely
598
00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:27,859
committed.
599
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:30,819
So we're gonna we're gonna maintain our momentum
600
00:22:31,035 --> 00:22:32,414
on the digital transformation.
601
00:22:33,515 --> 00:22:36,715
So reducing then and, you know, hopefully, at
602
00:22:36,715 --> 00:22:37,695
some point, eliminating
603
00:22:38,234 --> 00:22:39,934
completely our reliance on print,
604
00:22:40,715 --> 00:22:41,434
because that's,
605
00:22:42,154 --> 00:22:44,315
that that's a that's a huge win both
606
00:22:44,315 --> 00:22:46,715
in both in terms of reducing the emissions
607
00:22:46,715 --> 00:22:49,509
of production, of producing the that that material,
608
00:22:49,809 --> 00:22:51,029
but also in the distribution.
609
00:22:52,529 --> 00:22:54,690
And we're going to continue to work closely
610
00:22:54,690 --> 00:22:55,589
with our suppliers.
611
00:22:55,890 --> 00:22:58,049
This is possibly something that I haven't mentioned
612
00:22:58,049 --> 00:23:00,049
in detail so far, but we work closely
613
00:23:00,049 --> 00:23:00,704
with them
614
00:23:01,664 --> 00:23:02,164
to
615
00:23:02,544 --> 00:23:05,204
encourage every single supplier that we use
616
00:23:05,505 --> 00:23:06,005
to,
617
00:23:06,784 --> 00:23:09,345
identify opportunities of their own to reduce their
618
00:23:09,345 --> 00:23:09,845
emissions.
619
00:23:10,544 --> 00:23:13,365
So what happens within your supply chain is
620
00:23:13,505 --> 00:23:14,005
that,
621
00:23:14,730 --> 00:23:15,630
as a company,
622
00:23:16,089 --> 00:23:18,490
we are responsible for a part of that
623
00:23:18,490 --> 00:23:20,269
supplier's emissions that can be,
624
00:23:20,890 --> 00:23:21,390
attributed
625
00:23:21,690 --> 00:23:23,869
to the activities they perform on our behalf.
626
00:23:24,089 --> 00:23:26,009
So that is really, really key. That's why
627
00:23:26,009 --> 00:23:28,509
purchase goods and services is so key here.
628
00:23:29,505 --> 00:23:31,424
We're not a huge company, so we do
629
00:23:31,424 --> 00:23:33,265
not we don't have the buying power of
630
00:23:33,265 --> 00:23:35,025
some to be able to say, if you
631
00:23:35,025 --> 00:23:35,845
don't reach
632
00:23:36,305 --> 00:23:37,684
this threshold of sustainability,
633
00:23:38,305 --> 00:23:40,225
you you simply can't be in our supply
634
00:23:40,225 --> 00:23:42,809
chain. So the way we approach it is
635
00:23:43,210 --> 00:23:46,170
to engage with them every year with with
636
00:23:46,170 --> 00:23:46,670
sustainability
637
00:23:47,049 --> 00:23:49,690
assessment to encourage them, to ask them to
638
00:23:49,690 --> 00:23:51,309
join us on on the journey.
639
00:23:51,610 --> 00:23:53,710
So we are seeing improvements there already.
640
00:23:54,250 --> 00:23:56,170
You know, a couple of real successes in
641
00:23:56,170 --> 00:23:56,990
terms of,
642
00:23:57,370 --> 00:23:59,904
the suppliers we work with really taking on
643
00:23:59,904 --> 00:24:02,005
board what they, you know, what we initiated
644
00:24:02,065 --> 00:24:04,865
with them and and making great start strides.
645
00:24:04,865 --> 00:24:07,184
So we'll continue there. And as I say,
646
00:24:07,184 --> 00:24:09,445
you know, also to continue to support colleagues
647
00:24:09,744 --> 00:24:12,005
to develop their knowledge and and understanding
648
00:24:12,569 --> 00:24:14,509
so they can make good decisions,
649
00:24:15,289 --> 00:24:17,609
every day. And I think together, these these
650
00:24:17,609 --> 00:24:20,009
efforts will will really help us build on
651
00:24:20,009 --> 00:24:22,970
the progress we've we've already made and move
652
00:24:22,970 --> 00:24:24,829
closer to our sustainability goals.
653
00:24:25,164 --> 00:24:26,765
And I suppose it's a two way street,
654
00:24:26,765 --> 00:24:28,625
isn't it? Because we're we're a supplier.
655
00:24:29,005 --> 00:24:31,244
So I'm guessing that we have relationships with
656
00:24:31,244 --> 00:24:34,065
our customers, and our customers are asking us
657
00:24:34,444 --> 00:24:35,345
about our
658
00:24:35,644 --> 00:24:36,144
sustainability
659
00:24:36,605 --> 00:24:37,105
metrics.
660
00:24:38,369 --> 00:24:40,609
So those must be useful discussions as well,
661
00:24:40,609 --> 00:24:41,430
I would imagine.
662
00:24:41,970 --> 00:24:44,609
Absolutely. We're we're really seeing that in the
663
00:24:44,609 --> 00:24:47,089
last few years. So when we started on
664
00:24:47,089 --> 00:24:48,710
our journey in 2020,
665
00:24:49,410 --> 00:24:51,730
I don't think that I'd I'd come across
666
00:24:51,730 --> 00:24:53,924
any anybody asking us, really.
667
00:24:54,704 --> 00:24:56,224
There were that you know, there were various
668
00:24:56,224 --> 00:24:57,825
questions that came out of sort of audit
669
00:24:57,825 --> 00:25:00,305
process things. But, yes, we're we're seeing that
670
00:25:00,305 --> 00:25:03,424
a lot more now. So where customers are
671
00:25:03,424 --> 00:25:07,079
are licencing content or or or purchasing content,
672
00:25:07,299 --> 00:25:07,779
they're
673
00:25:08,419 --> 00:25:10,980
they are themselves constrained by their own governments
674
00:25:10,980 --> 00:25:12,039
or by their own
675
00:25:12,500 --> 00:25:13,000
frameworks
676
00:25:13,460 --> 00:25:14,679
to ensure the sustainability.
677
00:25:15,220 --> 00:25:17,380
So, yeah, it's really great to see that
678
00:25:17,380 --> 00:25:18,679
it's it's it's really
679
00:25:19,214 --> 00:25:22,575
spreading out there. It's becoming much more the
680
00:25:22,575 --> 00:25:23,075
norm
681
00:25:23,375 --> 00:25:25,454
to to be asked about these things than
682
00:25:25,454 --> 00:25:27,375
than when I started out on this journey
683
00:25:27,375 --> 00:25:28,275
five years ago.
684
00:25:29,134 --> 00:25:31,075
Well, that's great. Thanks, Liz. Congratulations.
685
00:25:31,775 --> 00:25:32,255
And,
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00:25:33,214 --> 00:25:36,069
hopefully, the, the drop in carbon emissions will
687
00:25:36,069 --> 00:25:37,529
continue into the future.
688
00:25:37,829 --> 00:25:39,289
Thanks for coming on the podcast.
689
00:25:39,750 --> 00:25:41,429
Thanks, Hamish. It's been really great to be
690
00:25:41,429 --> 00:25:42,490
here. Thank you.
691
00:25:50,634 --> 00:25:53,375
That was Liz Martin, who is sustainability
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00:25:53,835 --> 00:25:55,694
lead at IOP Publishing.
693
00:25:56,315 --> 00:25:58,974
Thanks, Liz, for a fascinating discussion
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00:25:59,355 --> 00:26:00,335
about sustainability
695
00:26:01,115 --> 00:26:02,734
in scholarly publishing.
696
00:26:03,595 --> 00:26:05,569
You can find the sustainability
697
00:26:06,109 --> 00:26:06,609
report
698
00:26:06,990 --> 00:26:08,369
2025
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00:26:08,669 --> 00:26:10,849
on the IOP publishing website,
700
00:26:11,390 --> 00:26:13,390
and I'll put a link to it in
701
00:26:13,390 --> 00:26:14,929
the notes for this episode.
702
00:26:15,789 --> 00:26:17,869
I'm afraid that's all the time we have
703
00:26:17,869 --> 00:26:19,089
for this week's podcast.
704
00:26:19,565 --> 00:26:23,005
I'm Hamish Johnston, and our producer is Fred
705
00:26:23,005 --> 00:26:23,505
Iles.
706
00:26:24,125 --> 00:26:27,005
The music for this podcast is called one
707
00:26:27,005 --> 00:26:30,224
three seven, and it was composed and performed
708
00:26:30,525 --> 00:26:31,424
by the physicist
709
00:26:32,130 --> 00:26:33,029
Philip Moriarty.
710
00:26:34,210 --> 00:26:36,450
We'll be back again next week when our
711
00:26:36,450 --> 00:26:38,309
guest will be the medical physicist,
712
00:26:38,930 --> 00:26:39,430
inventor,
713
00:26:39,809 --> 00:26:40,789
and entrepreneur,
714
00:26:41,650 --> 00:26:42,630
Brian Pope.
