The BSA takes the impending disastrous and transformative impact of the climate emergency very seriously. We are a charity and a non-profit business too, and as such we want to set an example by being as green as possible in our work and to play our part in reducing our carbon footprint.  We are taking action for climate care which will affect all members in 2023 and we’d like to invite you to make the change now.

Following requests from our members to save paper and reduce unnecessary postal delivery, we have been working behind the scenes to make it possible for members to select online-only access to BSA journals rather than receiving print copies. Over 25% of BSA members have already made this move to online-only access, taking personal action for climate care and supporting our green agenda.

From January 2023, we will take even stronger action to support the green agenda and we will no longer send print-copy journals to our members. Members will continue to receive online access to all BSA journals and the SAGE Sociology Collection via the BSA Members Area.

In addition to these resources, BSA members will have access to a new online resource: the BSA will become SAGE Publication’s first society partner to offer members access to SAGE Campus – an online platform offering a series of courses for social scientists.

Take action and make the change now. You don’t need to wait until 2023 to make the move to online-only journals. Log into your MyBSA account today and choose ONLINE ONLY JOURNALS on the ‘stay in touch’ page.

The BSA has entered a transition phase towards smaller publications income. As this is our main source of income, the Association has been very proactive in planning for a sustainable future and balancing necessary expenditure (i.e. support for members via the PGF support fund) with possible savings. The costs of providing print copy journals to members is significant and would be approximately £31,000/year from 2023. Therefore, along with the environmental benefits, the move away from print copy member journals will also make important financial savings. This transition to online-only journal access for members allows us to continue to provide journal content to members, and offers the additional benefit of SAGE Campus, without increasing membership subscription fees.

This change comes with a significant benefit to the journals: we will now have flexible page budgets, which means that we will be able to publish high quality sociology articles without the restriction of staying within an annual limit. There will be more space for creative types of content, longer theoretical papers and work that might otherwise not find a home with a page restriction. We have SAGE’s full support for these initiatives and SAGE shares the BSA’s commitment to sustainability and to reducing our environmental impact.

The BSA Annual Review 2020 provides further information on how we are addressing the challenges ahead.

If you have any queries, please contact the BSA Membership Team.