Journal profile · Environmental Sciences
Sustainability Science
ISSN 1862-4065 · eISSN 1862-4057 · Springer Japan · JAPAN · Semiannual · Founded 2006
Sustainability Science: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.19; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,890; median 243 days to acceptance (104 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 175 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Sustainability Science is published by Springer Japan and is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Sustainability and Climate Change Governance, Environmental Education and Sustainability and Land Use and Ecosystem Services, together about 30.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Aims and ScopeThe journal Sustainability Science offers insights into interactions within and between nature and the rest of human society, and the complex mechanisms that sustain both. The journal promotes science based predictions and impact assessments of global change, and seeks ways to ensure that such knowledge can be understood by society and be used to strengthen the resilience of global natural systems (such as ecosystems, ocean and atmospheric systems, nutrient cycles), social systems (economies, governments, industry) and human systems at the individual level (lifestyles, health, security, and human values).Sustainability Science journal provides a trans-disciplinary platform for contributing to building sustainability science as an evolving academic discipline focusing on topics not addressed by conventional disciplines. As a problem-driven discipline, sustainability science is concerned with addressing practical challenges caused by climate change, habitat and biodiversity loss, and poverty among others. At the same time it tries to investigate root causes of problems by uncovering new knowledge or combining current knowledge from more than one discipline in a holistic way to enhance understanding of sustainability. The journal especially encourages research on the needs of developing countries for poverty reduction, education, sustainable development and human and environmental security (open access is available to Sustainability Science through the Developing Country Initiative, including Online Access to Research on Environment (OARE): http://oare.oaresciences.org). Such new knowledge can directly inform policy and management decisions. Ultimately the journal sees the use of such research, in collaboration with industry, governments, and the public, as a basis for helping to build a resource-circulating society, alleviating population, food, water, climate-change pressures, and transforming the socioeconomic structure of contemporary society into a sustainable one. With this in mind, the journal provides a multidisciplinary forum for communication among researchers, policy makers, practitioners, educators, and the young generation.Preferred SubmissionsAuthors are encouraged to be problem oriented, proposing visions, methods, and policy recommendations for sustaining natural and human systems and their linkages. Submissions may be focused on practical problems, or alternatively they can review current multidisciplinary knowledge and show how
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Sciences
Editor-in-chief Kazuhiko TakeuchiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 9 in mainland China (about 5%); most named Japan 50, Germany 15, United States 13, Mainland China 9, Netherlands 8 (167 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceEnvironmental Science16.2%
- Environmental Education and SustainabilityEnvironmental Science7.4%
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science7.2%
- Sustainable Development and Environmental PolicyEnvironmental Science6.4%
- Sustainability in Higher EducationSocial Sciences6.1%
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental Science5.7%
- Complex Systems and Decision MakingDecision Sciences5.1%
- Interdisciplinary Research and CollaborationDecision Sciences3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
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 AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, Semantic Scholar
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
- 5.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 7.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 12.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.55LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.95LetPub ·
- h-index
- 42LetPub ·
- h-index
- 132OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,278OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.68OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 73.57%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 160LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 2,200,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,255 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 118 | 104 | 49 |
| 2025 | 175 | 143 | 774 |
| 2024 | 189 | 142 | 1,914 |
| 2023 | 201 | 136 | 2,973 |
| 2022 | 189 | 159 | 5,388 |
| 2021 | 195 | 151 | 6,968 |
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
243 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 189 days – 304 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 36 days (104 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 278 days
- Sample
- 104 articles with submission and acceptance dates (325 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
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 24 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 3,890 / EUR 2,990 / GBP 2,590 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted5
- case reportPlease choose an appropriate submission category. A maximum length, excluding References and Appendices, is suggested, but authors should be as clear and concis…Length not stated
- commentaryPlease choose an appropriate submission category. A maximum length, excluding References and Appendices, is suggested, but authors should be as clear and concis…Length not stated
- original articlePlease choose an appropriate submission category. A maximum length, excluding References and Appendices, is suggested, but authors should be as clear and concis…Length not stated
- review articlePlease choose an appropriate submission category. A maximum length, excluding References and Appendices, is suggested, but authors should be as clear and concis…Length not stated
- surveyPlease choose an appropriate submission category. A maximum length, excluding References and Appendices, is suggested, but authors should be as clear and concis…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access
- 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
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 ·- 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
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Sustainability Science, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
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 Japan
- Country or region
- JAPAN
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semiannual
- Founded
- 2006
- ISSN
- 1862-4065
- Electronic ISSN
- 1862-4057
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 21, Issue 4 (July 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Sustainability Science
What CAS zone is Sustainability Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Sustainability Science is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Environmental Sciences / Green & Sustainable Science & Technology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Sustainability Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.19; CiteScore 12.4, h-index 132.
How long does peer review take at Sustainability Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 104 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 243 days (interquartile range 189–304 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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 Sustainability Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≤ 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 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 Sustainability Science based?
Of the 167 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 9 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Japan (50), Germany (15) and United States (13). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Sustainability Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Sustainability Science is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Sustainability Science open access, and what is the APC?
Sustainability Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,890.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .