IOP Publishing Joins DIMPACT In Bid To Manage Its Digital Carbon Footprint

Academic publisher IOP Publishing (IOPP0, becoming a possible role model for content providers, has joined DIMPACT, an initiative that helps digital publishers track and manage their carbon footprints.  

The DIMPACT tool enables tracking of the greenhouse gas emissions that result from the serving of digital content. 

"The energy that it takes to run digital services is often overlooked — it's not as obvious as traveling by car or plane,” states Glynn Roberts, director at Carnstone and convener of DIMPACT. “Our ambition when we launched DIMPACT was to raise awareness and deliver a solution that could map and track the amount of GHG that comes from the production of digital content.” 

DIMPACT was developed by computer scientists at the University of Bristol. It is facilitated by sustainability specialist Carnstone. The project has enlisted various media participants, such as Netflex, BBC and BT. 

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The project consists of a methodology and measurement tool that helps to better understand 'downstream' carbon impacts, through to the end-user, DIMPACT says.  

It’s not clear that many publishers, facing such challenges issues as the switch to digital, will be likely candidates.  

For its part, IOPP also recently joined the SDG Publishers Compact, a pledge through which publishers will work together towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. It launched as The Sustainability Collection, a site that brings together peer-reviewed research on critical issues.   

"We're determined to do everything we can to reduce the carbon impact of our activities which means having a comprehensive understanding of the size of our footprint and the key contributors,” states Liz Martin, head of production, and sustainability lead at IOP Publishing.
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