Springer launches new book series Science for Sustainable Societies

Global research network for sustainability science extends collaboration with international publisher

Tokyo | New York | Heidelberg, 14 April 2014

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).

Prof. Takeuchi said, “As academic programs that aim to develop sustainability science increase, so has the international network of scholars in this field evolved. Sustainability science is characterized by recognition of the need to link knowledge to action. Hence the books in this series will appeal to policy and decision makers in government and industry as well as the informed public.”

Mei Hann Lee, Editor Environmental Sciences at Springer, said, “Sustainability Science, the official journal of the IR3S, was launched by Springer in 2006. It has become a transdisciplinary platform for developing the young academic field of sustainability science. We believe the new book series will further contribute to the development of the field and to its promotion at research institutions and with professionals worldwide.”

The Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science of the University of Tokyo, Japan, (en.ir3s.u-tokyo.ac.jp) 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.

Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) is a leading global scientific, technical and medical publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R & D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe – especially in Germany and the Netherlands – primarily for physicians and professionals working in healthcare and road safety education. Springer published roughly 2,200 English-language journals and more than 8,000 new books in 2012, and the group is home to the world’s largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. In 2012, Springer Science+Business Media S.A. generated sales of approximately EUR 981 million. The group employs more than 7,000 individuals across the globe.