Journal profile · Economics, Econometrics and Finance-Economics and Econometrics
Environment Development and Sustainability
ISSN 1387-585X · eISSN 1573-2975 · Springer Netherlands · Netherlands · 12 issues per year · Founded 1999
Environment Development and Sustainability: CAS Zone 3 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.72; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,290; median 268 days to acceptance (152 articles, last 24 months); 1,279 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Environment Development and Sustainability is published by Springer Netherlands and is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Energy, Environment, Economic Growth, Environmental Impact and Sustainability and Environmental Sustainability in Business, together about 32.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Aims and scope Environment, Development and Sustainability is an international and multidisciplinary journal covering all aspects of the environmental impacts of socio-economic development. It is also concerned with the complex interactions which occur between development and environment, and its purpose is to seek ways and means for achieving sustainability in all human activities aimed at such development. The subject matter of the journal includes the following and related issues: -mutual interactions among society, development and environment, and their implications for sustainable development -technical, economic, ethical and philosophical aspects of sustainable development -global sustainability - the obstacles and ways in which they could be overcome -local and regional sustainability initiatives, their practical implementation, and relevance for use in a wider context -development and application of indicators of sustainability -development, verification, implementation and monitoring of policies for sustainable development -sustainable use of land, water, energy and biological resources in development -impacts of agriculture and forestry activities on soil and aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity -effects of energy use and global climate change on development and sustainability -impacts of population growth and human activities on food and other essential resources for development -role of national and international agencies, and of international aid and trade arrangements in sustainable development -social and cultural contexts of sustainable development -role of education and public awareness in sustainable development -role of political and economic instruments in sustainable development -shortcomings of sustainable development and its alternatives. The journal welcomes scientific research papers , review papers and discussion papers dealing with environmental sustainability issues from such fields as the biological sciences, agriculture, geology, meteorology, energy, food sciences, soil and water sciences, geography, nutrition, physical sciences, politics, economics, law, etc. The journal particularly welcomes papers that highlight more than one dimension of sustainable development.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Economics, Econometrics and Finance-Economics and Econometrics
Editor-in-chief Jingzheng RenPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 24 in mainland China (about 19%); most named Mainland China 24, India 15, Italy 12, United States 8, Saudi Arabia 6 (129 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Energy, Environment, Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance16.5%
- Environmental Impact and SustainabilityEnvironmental Science8.5%
- Environmental Sustainability in BusinessBusiness, Management and Accounting7.3%
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science6.9%
- Sustainable Supply Chain ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting6.2%
- Energy, Environment, and Transportation PoliciesEnergy6%
- Climate Change Policy and EconomicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.8%
- Energy and Environment ImpactsEnvironmental Science4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CAB AbstractsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, Semantic Scholar, RePEc
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 4.72LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 11.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.97LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.26LetPub ·
- h-index
- 47LetPub ·
- h-index
- 137OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,306OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.81OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 11.96%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,252LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 3,300,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 9,297 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 994 | 127 | 373 |
| 2025 | 1,279 | 182 | 3,817 |
| 2024 | 1,552 | 251 | 14,204 |
| 2023 | 1,439 | 319 | 24,761 |
| 2022 | 858 | 246 | 20,772 |
| 2021 | 868 | 176 | 26,750 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
268 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 190 days – 411 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 16 days (152 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 287 days
- Sample
- 152 articles with submission and acceptance dates (2,698 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Submission to first decision
- 21 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,290 / EUR 3,190 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 7,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted5
- book reviewThe Journal publishes original papers, review articles, case studies and book reviews. For book reviews, please contact the Book Review Editor of the Journal. T…Length not stated
- case studyThe Journal publishes original papers, review articles, case studies and book reviews. For book reviews, please contact the Book Review Editor of the Journal. T…Length not stated
- original paperThe Journal publishes original papers, review articles, case studies and book reviews. For book reviews, please contact the Book Review Editor of the Journal. T…Length not stated
- reviewThe Journal publishes original papers, review articles, case studies and book reviews. For book reviews, please contact the Book Review Editor of the Journal. T…Length not stated
- review articleThe Journal publishes original papers, review articles, case studies and book reviews. For book reviews, please contact the Book Review Editor of the Journal. T…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- AI use Generative AI Images
LLMs cannot be authors; AI-assisted copy editing need not be declared Model summary
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
Competing interests disclosure required Model summary
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Data availability statement required for all original research Model summary
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
Open Choice articles retain copyright with authors under Creative Commons license Model summary
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Environment, Development and Sustainability, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Guidelines for Authors
Reviewer suggestions and exclusions allowed at submission Model summary
Double-blind reviewing procedure The journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. Authors are therefore requested to place their names and affiliations on a separate page and authors should avoid language that could identify themselves as the authors. Authors should properly cite and reference their own work, but should not use phrases such as “In our previous work (Smith, 2011), we present…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening software may be used Model summary
the journal may use software to screen for plagiarism
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer Netherlands
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- 12 issues per year
- Founded
- 1999
- ISSN
- 1387-585X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-2975
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 28, Issue 8 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Environment Development and Sustainability
What CAS zone is Environment Development and Sustainability in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Environment Development and Sustainability is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Environmental Sciences / Green & Sustainable Science & Technology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Environment Development and Sustainability?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.72; CiteScore 11.6, h-index 137.
How long does peer review take at Environment Development and Sustainability?
Based on the dates recorded on 152 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 268 days (interquartile range 190–411 days). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Environment Development and Sustainability?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Manuscript length: ≤ 7,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Environment Development and Sustainability based?
Of the 129 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 24 (about 19%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (24), India (15) and Italy (12). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Environment Development and Sustainability?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Environment Development and Sustainability is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Environment Development and Sustainability open access, and what is the APC?
Environment Development and Sustainability is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,290.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .