Earthscan is an English-language publisher of books and journals on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology for academic, professional and general readers.

History

The Earthscan Publications imprint was founded by the

International Institute for Environment and Development The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is an independent policy research institute (think tank) whose stated mission is to "build a fairer, more sustainable world, using evidence, action and influence in partnership wit ...

(IIED) in the 1980s and was run from 1987 by Neil Middleton. After making a loss, Earthscan became an independent publisher, moving initially to

Kogan Page Kogan Page is an independent publishing company founded in 1967 and headquartered in London, with branches in New York and New Delhi. Kogan Page specialises in business books and digital content, with over 1,000 titles published in key subject ...

, although still printing many books emanating from IIED research. These included ''Desertification'' (), by Alan Grainger, first published in 1982. ''Natural Disasters: Acts of God, or Acts of Man?'' () by

Anders Wijkman Anders Ivar Sven Wijkman (born 30 September 1944) is a Swedish politician ( Swedish: '' Kristdemokraterna'', KD) who was Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2009. As a member of the European Parliament, he focused on issues related ...

and Lloyd Timberlake was published in 1984, and in May 1988 two titles were published: ''Women and Environment in the Third World'' (which discusses, among other topics, the

Chipko movement The Chipko movement () is a forest conservation movement in India. Opposed to commercial logging and the government's policies on deforestation, protesters in the 1970s engaged in tree hugging, wrapping their arms around trees so that they coul ...

) and ''The Greening of Aid''. In August 2009, Earthscan launched their ''Earthcasts'' series of free hour-long interactive

Webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webca ...

sessions on

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and

Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

. Notable figures who have participated in the series include Tim Jackson and

Robert Costanza Robert Costanza (born September 14, 1950) is an American/Australian ecological economist and Professor at the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London. He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia a ...

. In October of the same year, Earthscan acquired the publishing assets of RFF Press, the publishing imprint of

Resources for the Future Resources for the Future (RFF) is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 1952, that conducts independent research into environmental, energy, and natural resource issues, primarily via economics and other social sciences. Headquartered in ...

. In March 2010, Earthscan won three

Independent Publishing Awards The Independent Publishers Guild (IPG), founded in 1962, is an association set up to support the needs of independent firms in the publishing industry in the United Kingdom, with a current membership of more than 600 companies. The IPG is a not-fo ...

, including the top prize of Independent Publisher of the Year, becoming only the second publishing company to win three Independent Publishing Awards in a single year. In January 2011, Earthscan's name and the backlist was bought by one of the "big four" academic publishers,

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research and Dovepress. It i ...

, for an undisclosed sum. The Earthscan imprint is still used, and sits under the

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

imprint. Several staff lost their jobs and the London office was closed. Earthscan authors include

Lester Brown Lester Russel Brown (born March 28, 1934) is an American environmental analyst, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, and founder and former president of the Earth Policy Institute, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C. BBC ...

, Walt Patterson,

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

('' Earth in the Balance''), the

IPCC The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World M ...

, Tim Jackson (''

Prosperity Without Growth ''Prosperity Without Growth'' is a book by author and economist Tim Jackson (economist), Tim Jackson. It was originally released as a report by the Sustainable Development Commission. The study rapidly became the most downloaded report in the ...

''),

Amory Lovins Amory Bloch Lovins (born November 13, 1947) is an American writer, physicist, and former chairman/chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has written on energy policy and related areas for four decades, and served on the US Nation ...

('' Natural Capitalism''),

Molly Scott Cato Sarah Margaret "Molly" Scott Cato (born 21 May 1963) is a British Green Party of England and Wales, Green politician, economist and activist. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England (European Parliament c ...

Jonathon Porritt Sir Jonathon Espie Porritt, 2nd Baronet, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 6 July 1950) is a British environmentalist and writer. He is known for his advocacy of the Green Party of England and Wales. Porritt frequently contributes to ma ...

Felix Dodds Felix Dodds, born Michael Nicholas Dodds, is a British author, futurist, and activist. He stood in Mid Derbyshire for the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 General Election. He has been instrumental in developing new modes of stakeholder engag ...

Chris Goodall Christopher Frank William Goodall (born 29 December 1955) is an England, English businessman, author and expert on new energy technologies. He is an alumnus of St Dunstan's College, University of Cambridge, and Harvard Business School (Master of ...

(''

How to Live a Low-Carbon Life ''How to Live a Low-Carbon Life: The Individual's Guide to Stopping Climate Change'' is a 2007 book by Chris Goodall, published by Earthscan/Routledge. According to ''New Scientist'', this book provides "the definitive guide to reducing your carb ...

''), Oliver Payne (''Inspiring Sustainable Behaviour: 19 Ways to Ask for Change''),

Clive Hamilton Clive Charles Hamilton Order of Australia, AM FRSA (born 12 March 1953) is an Australian public intellectual currently serving as Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) and the Vice-Chancellor' ...

(''

Requiem for a Species ''Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth about Climate Change'' is a 2010 non-fiction book by Australian academic Clive Hamilton which explores climate change denial and its implications. It argues that climate change will bring about l ...

''), and

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (サキコ・フクダ・パー、福田咲子) (born 1950) is a development economist, a Professor of International Affairs at the New School for Social Research in New York, and the Vice Chair of the UN Committee for Develop ...

Notes and references

External links

* Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Environmental publishers Publishing companies established in 1982 {{publishing-stub