Open Science
It’s been just over a year and a half since ACS Publications introduced a new and more accessible route to enable immediate author self-archiving of research articles. In this post, we look at how it’s expanded authors’ open access options since November 2023.
The term ‘zero-embargo green open access’ refers to the immediate public accessibility of an accepted manuscript. This means an author can self-archive in an open access (OA) repository (such as a service operated by their institution or research funder), or share it by any means they see fit, as soon as the article is published in a journal. Requirements around making author manuscripts public typically present authors with a binary choice when submitting to most scientific journals—either:
- Pay an article publishing charge (APC) to publish their version of record as gold open access and enable immediate sharing of the final version at time of publication; or
- Accept the publisher’s embargo period (typically 6 or 12 months) prior to self-archiving. This does not meet some funders’ requirements.
The first option both fulfills funder or institutional open access policies and enables the widest possible reach for their final published work. It also carries a potential financial burden for authors who are not covered by an institutional open access agreement.
Understanding Your Green Open Access Options With ACS Publications
Green open access (self-archiving a manuscript in an institutional, funder, or subject repository) is a widely accepted practice in research communication. We know that authors aren't always aware which pathways are open to them, and this article aims to provide additional guidance.
A more affordable route to immediate open access
Authors can choose ACS Publications’ zero-embargo green open access route by including recommended language from their funder or institution about immediate self-archiving in their manuscript. This language will be automatically detected during the publishing process and authors will be presented with options, including paying for gold open access in the same journal, transferring to a fully OA journal, or paying the reduced-cost ADC.
The reason we’re able to pass on these savings associated with the ADC is because, at this stage in the process, the article has incurred roughly half the costs associated with publication. The ADC is correspondingly significantly less expensive than paying a full article processing charge (APC) for immediate gold open access.
The ADC is due after the article has been accepted for publication. The ADC is a permissible expense for all known grant funders. Very few other publishers offer a comparable reduced-cost route for zero-embargo green OA.
Read and green agreements
Institutions can also take advantage of the reduced cost of publishing green OA, compared to gold OA, by selecting a ‘read and green’ agreement.
This means all authors at participating institutions can share their accepted manuscripts at the time of publication, without incurring any costs. Such agreements are significantly more affordable than traditional OA agreements while using the same automated systems that make it seamless and easy for authors and administrators.
So far, more than 40 institutions in Belgium and France have opted into read and green agreements; these agreements also offer significantly reduced gold open access APCs if authors wish to make the version of record of their article immediately available as OA.
To date, over 80% of authors covered by read and green agreements have selected to exercise the green OA option, and this proportion is growing as time progresses—indicating that authors are becoming more and more familiar with this route and selecting it to enable immediate self-archiving.
New funder policies require expanded green OA options
Use of green OA options by authors is expected to expand in the near future. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently accelerated the implementation of their new public access policy. Other US federal funders are expected to implement similar policies from December 31, 2025, and some other international research funders have similar policies already in place.
As a result, an increasing number of researchers – especially those receiving funding from the US federal government - may be expected to follow zero-embargo green OA policies in the immediate future. The ADC represents a way for these researchers to comply with the new policies at a much more affordable rate than publishing the final article as gold OA, which is the only compatible option offered by the majority of publishers.
The ADC represents cost savings for authors and institutions, and similar approaches are being explored by other publishers. For example, IEEE recently released a similar option in the form of their repository license fee.
There’s one other important takeaway: the ADC doesn’t apply if an author has access to an institutional open access agreement with ACS Publications. In these cases, immediate self-archiving is included.
If you have any further questions about ACS Publications’ support for green OA, read our previous article on green OA options or contact us.
Librarians: connect with us to explore a read and publish or read and green agreement.