STM publisher Springer and the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science of the University of Tokyo (IR3S) have launched a new English-language book series called Science for Sustainable Societies. The series will provide timely research reports that have been carried out in accordance with the principles of sustainability science, incorporating the fields of natural and social sciences and engineering.
Sustainable societies are those with low carbon emissions that promote recycling and re-use of natural resources. The new book series Science for Sustainable Societies will help to advance this new field in research and education, contributing to the development of sustainability science and its promotion worldwide. The international scientific advisory committee and editorial board of the series are led by the Director of the IR3S, Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi, of the University of Tokyo and the United Nations University Headquarters.
The first book in the series, Beyond the Limits to Growth, written by Dr. Hiroshi Komiyama, the former president of the University of Tokyo, is now available and freely accessible online. Biofuels and Sustainability and Sustainable Landscape Planning in Selected Urban Regions are the second and third books in the series. Three to six books will be published annually. The books in this series will include monographs as well as edited volumes on wider topics. Springer will handle production, sales, marketing and distribution of the books, which will be available both in print and electronically via SpringerLink, Springer's online platform (link.springer.com).
The Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science of the University of Tokyo, Japan, is a global research and educational platform for sustainability scientists. With IR3S serving as a base, 11 institutions in Japan have joined to form the Sustainability Science Consortium (SSC) and are actively engaged in collaborative research and education with universities and institutes around the world. The goal of the IR3S is to develop an interdisciplinary academic structure that joins the natural sciences with the humanities and social sciences in the cause of global sustainability.