YOUR GO-TO INTELLIGENCE RESOURCE FOR THE SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING INDUSTRY

The European Association of Science Editors (EASE) has released an SDG Checklist, developed jointly by its Environment & Sustainability (E&S) Committee and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee. The tool is designed to assist editors and publishers in monitoring and reporting their contributions toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).

The checklist outlines a range of practical actions that organizations or individual journals might adopt. Its development was informed by findings from two committee-led surveys. The E&S Committee’s joint survey with the HESI SDG Publishers Compact Fellows found that annual reporting was among the least implemented of the ten commitments in the SDG Publishers Compact, and that many publishers and journals had not yet conducted a baseline assessment of their SDG-related activities. Separately, the EDI Committee’s survey highlighted the need for clearer implementation guidelines, emphasizing priorities such as transparent reporting, mentorship, and inclusive promotion structures.

Structured around four thematic areas—Strategy, Environmental, EDI, and Communicating SDG Knowledge—the checklist features subcategories for easier navigation. Users can enter and save responses within each section. A demonstration of the checklist’s use, including examples from two editors, was presented on May 16, 2025, at the 18th EASE Conference in Oslo.

The checklist may be completed at various levels: by an organization as a whole, across a consistent journal portfolio, or for individual journals. Editors are encouraged to complete the checklist initially to establish a baseline and then revisit it annually to track ongoing progress.

Access to the checklist requires creating a free account, which allows users to save their work, return to it as needed, and store completed versions for future reference. EASE has confirmed that individual data will not be shared and will be used only in aggregated and anonymized formats to assess broader community engagement with SDG initiatives.