Journal profile · Environmental Science-Nature and Landscape Conservation
Frontiers in Sustainability
ISSN 2673-4524 · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Sustainability: CAS Zone 3 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2026 Xinrui edition); impact factor 4.2 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 13 weeks (community reports); 159 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Sustainability is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is classed under Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Environmental Sustainability in Business and Environmental Education and Sustainability, together about 35.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Sustainability is an interdisciplinary journal focused on advancing and developing novel solutions and technologies to enable a sustainable future. The journal is included in Scopus and the DOAJ, among others. Led by Field Chief Editor Sangwon Suh (Tsinghua University), Frontiers in Sustainability welcomes submissions in all areas of sustainability science which enable positive change and address environmental, economic and health challenges associated with sustainability. Topics include, but are not limited to: • alternative materials • circular economy • climate-friendly manufacturing • complex adaptive systems engineering • inclusive and sustainable industrialization • modeling and optimization for decision support • nature-based solutions • production patterns • quantitative sustainability • resilience • resource use • sustainable consumption • sustainable infrastructure • sustainable organizations • sustainable process design • sustainable resource management • sustainable supply chain management • waste management. Interdisciplinary studies are particularly encouraged, especially those which address sustainability challenges that cannot be tackled in isolation. Frontiers in Sustainability also accepts policy papers which bridge scientific discoveries with policy options and analysis, and practice papers which assess the application of specific practices, processes, technology or resources. In particular, the journal welcomes submissions which support and advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 8: decent work and economic growth; SDG 9: industry, innovation and infrastructure; and SDG 12: responsible consumption and production. All submissions must clearly address sustainability. In other words, submitted manuscripts shall address one or more environmental (including natural resources, energy and human health) issues and preferably their connections to social and economic implications. Manuscripts that do not address issues relating to sustainability or omit major environmental, social and economic issues of a technology, solution, system, or policy that is being analyzed are not suitable for publication. Research focusing on social innovation, rural development, supply chain management, business resilience, economics, and theoretical models without a relevance to sustainability are not suitable for publication in this journal. Frontiers’ journals require that manuscripts primarily comprising computational studi
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Science-Nature and Landscape Conservation
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 5%); most named Hong Kong, China 2, Germany 2, Italy 2, Greece 2, Chile 2 (19 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sustainable Supply Chain ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting15.6%
- Environmental Sustainability in BusinessBusiness, Management and Accounting13.4%
- Environmental Education and SustainabilityEnvironmental Science6.4%
- Recycling and Waste Management TechniquesEnvironmental Science5.2%
- Sustainability in Higher EducationSocial Sciences5%
- Environmental Impact and SustainabilityEnvironmental Science4.9%
- Municipal Solid Waste ManagementEnvironmental Science4.9%
- Corporate Social Responsibility ReportingBusiness, Management and Accounting4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
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 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Astrophysics Data System, CLOCKSS, Crossref
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 (publisher)
- 4.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.83LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.11LetPub ·
- h-index
- 44OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 308OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.76OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 146LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,007 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 308 | 308 | 206 |
| 2025 | 159 | 159 | 772 |
| 2024 | 125 | 125 | 1,248 |
| 2023 | 130 | 130 | 1,974 |
| 2022 | 163 | 163 | 2,952 |
| 2021 | 111 | 111 | 2,678 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 13 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 13 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | CHF 1,175 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 1,175 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,285 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
Figures, tables, and images published under CC-BY; permission required for copyrighted third-party material. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
Open access under CC-BY license (version 4.0) for all articles from July 2012 onwards. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
CrossMark policy to maintain content and alert readers to changes. Model summary
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
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
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2673-4524
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Sustainability
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Sustainability in?
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 Frontiers in Sustainability?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 4.2; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 6.3, h-index 44.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Sustainability?
Authors report an average review time of about 13 weeks. 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 Frontiers in Sustainability?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard. 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 Frontiers in Sustainability based?
Of the 19 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Hong Kong, China (2), Germany (2) and Italy (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Sustainability?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Sustainability is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Sustainability open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Sustainability is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .