The Forest of Biologists project from the not-for-profit publisher The Company of Biologists was a finalist for the ALPSP’s 2024 Impact Award. Last September, I was fascinated when learning of this initiative at the ALPSP’s Annual Meeting in Manchester, UK. Being a student of Botany, I am surely biased; but linking native tree planting and ancient woodland restoration with multiple aspects of scholarly publishing is simply brilliant! (And, for those of you who don’t know, later this month, The Company of Biologists is celebrating its 100 year anniversary in Liverpool, UK.)

Before The Company of Biologists, I was introduced to the European Association of Science Editors’ (EASE) physical and virtual forests. These examples prompted me to ask the question: What role does/could scholarly publishing play in nature conservation?

If we think of the broader environmental responsibility of the publishing industry, nature conservation / tree planting essentially falls under it as a sub-set of environmental actions. In recent years, we have been talking about our other environmental responsibilities under the banners of taking climate action to reduce carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions, of discussing sustainability and publishers’ contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or of carrying out actions under an overarching environmental role. One of the reasons for scholarly publishing rallying behind the SDGs and climate action is that they both receive immense global support through the United Nations. Another reason would be, when a publisher tries to reduce the carbon footprint of its production line or marketing, or when it puts an effort to improve its DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) standards as a contribution to the SDGs, these are by default inward-looking, soft policy actions. Nature conservation, on the other hand, receives relatively less global attention and is hardly discussed in the publishing industry. It is also very much outward-looking, literally demanding action on the ‘ground’ — you have to go outside to plant and raise a tree.

International Publishers Association’s SDG Dashboard

If we go back to my original question on the role of publishers in conservation, the IPA’s SDG Dashboard is a good place to start. It has a page designated to the SDG 15 (Life on land), which deals with biodiversity conservation. This page is supposed to display a wide range of biodiversity-related initiatives by different publishers. But, on March 15, 2025, this page listed only eight items, whereas the SDG 13 (Climate action) page had 46 items. Nevertheless, the SDG 15 page includes the Geoscience in Action report by UNESCO and AGU, CABI’s compendium on invasive species and a pest risk analysis tool, SRL Publishing Ltd. being the first climate-positive publisher (activities here include tree planting; see more on it below), Springer-Nature’s knowledge hub on the SDG 15, and Norwegian Publishers Association’s guide for green book trade through responsible sourcing of printed materials. The final two initiatives feature actions against plastic: Springer-Nature’s effort to reduce plastic-base packaging and a plastic-free book on an inspiring plastic-free movement. A search on the other SDG pages revealed tree planting projects by Wiley, HarperCollins, and Renard which are described in the next sections. Overall, we see limited examples of on-the-ground actions for nature conservation in the SDG Dashboard.

Conservation initiatives by organizations

Several publishing organizations have undertaken conservation initiatives, which can be categorized into three groups.

1) Tree planting to expand green cover: Among academic publishers, Wiley took the largest tree planting initiative, which planted a tree for every journal copy it stopped printing. As a result, by May 2024, it managed to plant more than one million trees. In 2023 alone, its funds supported planting of 470,492 trees and 376 forest gardens.

Under The Forest of Biologists, The Company of Biologists plants a native tree species in the Young People’s Forest at Mead in Derbyshire, UK for every research or review article it publishes. As of March 15, 2025, a total of 2,652 trees are planted. EASE has planted trees in 19 countries, including my country Bangladesh. After the launching of the EASE Global Forest in June 2021, it has planted 2,282 trees (as of March 15, 2025). These plantings were done to celebrate, for example, EASE award winners, early subscription payments, or as member or conference delegate gifts.

An author-focus organization, Publishing Talk, plants trees on behalf of its community. For each monthly member, it plants two trees; 25 trees are planted against an annual membership; while one tree is planted for every live masterclass registrant. Currently with 600 trees planted in four African countries, it aim to reach 1,000 trees by December 2025.

2) Tree planting to reduce carbon footprint: SRL Publishing Ltd., which became the first climate-positive book publisher in June 2020, plants trees with a different motivation. Through careful calculations, the number of trees it plants is always more than the number of trees it uses to produce its paper-products aiming for a net positive addition to nature. The Renard Press also makes a similar consideration while estimating the number of trees to plant around the world to maintain a carbon-positive operation. It also plants a tree for every direct purchase order through its website.

In the same vein, in 2019, Kortext initiated the #GoGreen campaign to reduce the negative environmental impacts of book publishing. It aimed at planting a tree for every eBook sold on their webstore during the campaign period. However, no update on this initiative is currently available on Kortext’s or on its partner’s website. Kortext, however, continues planting trees through other collaborations.

3) Restoration of degraded ecosystems: The Forest of Biologists is also restoring a degraded forest to recognize the contributions of peer-reviewers. It is currently funding the restoration of 12 hectares of ancient temperate rainforest at Great Knott Wood in the Lake District National Park, UK. As of March 15, 2025, 7,633 trees are planted there.

A couple of years ago, children’s authors of Sourcebooks raised funds for tree planting and restoration of coastal ecosystems through preorders and book tours. This publisher further supported these initiatives by contributing matching funds and engaging with other environmental partners.

Unlike others, HarperCollins has staff-oriented forest restoration programs. For every new staff member joining the publisher, a tree is planted, contributing to the restoration of the degraded Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands, UK. The employees of the publisher are also funding the Arbor Day Foundation to restore Boise National Forest, which suffered from wildfire in 2016.

4) Virtual forests: These forests are essentially a digital presentation of planted trees. The Forest of Biologists’ virtual forest showswhich tree is designated to which article with necessary details. EASE and the Publishing Talk also have virtual forests with details of the locations worldwide.

Collaboration for nature conservation

Partnership is crucial for conservation initiatives. A publisher usually collaborates with an environmental organization to implement its projects. For example, HarperCollins collaborates with Trees for Life, Kortext with National Forests, Sourcebooks with One Tree Planted, The Company of Biologists with Woodland Trust, and Wiley with Trees for the Future. In some cases, one environmental organization may work with more than one publisher, e.g., Ecologi collaborates with Publishing Talk and Renard Press. EASE, on the other hand, works with Plant for the Planet and around 20 other partners in different countries.

Benefits of conservation programs

Given the well-known benefits of planting trees to the wider environment, including the atmosphere, soil, microorganisms, insects, and wildlife, planting programs by organizations are not new. But, by joining planting and conservation programs, I see four immediate benefits for scholarly publishers and their associations. First, such activities directly contribute to environmental and climate action goals outlined in the SDGs. So, if a publisher is one of the 433 signatories of the SDG Publishers Compact, it needs to focus on at least one SDG, and the SDG 15 is a good option, especially if the publisher has environmental journals and books in its portfolio.

Second, the publishing industry is increasingly becoming virtual. By participating in a conservation program, a publisher can find a new dimension in its operation, and can enhance its staff members’ emotional connection with nature. Third, by planting trees or conserving ecosystems in different parts of the world, a publisher can be physically present in those locations through tangible entities like trees, nurtured by its local partners. Such presence and partnership may later facilitate new collaborations with like-minded national/regional agencies (e.g., society publishers, and academia). Finally, compared with enhancing DEIA, plastic management, and reducing carbon footprint, conservation programs are still in their infancy in the scholarly publishing arena. This gives interested publishers and associations fantastic branding opportunities to play innovative, pioneering roles as shown above by a handful of organizations.

Publishers embracing collaborative nature conservation highlights a significant positive shift in their core values. Visionary leadership is crucial for such a transformative change in our publishing ecosystem. Hopefully the thoughtful practices outlined in this article will inspire wider academic publishers to conserve nature.