Journal profile · Multiple
Sustainable Development
ISSN 0968-0802 · eISSN 1099-1719 · Wiley-Blackwell
Sustainable Development: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 9.06; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,250; median 156 days to acceptance (177 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 10% (journal website); 852 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Sustainable Development is published by Wiley-Blackwell 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 Energy, Environment, Economic Growth, Environmental Sustainability in Business and Sustainable Supply Chain Management, together about 36.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
This journal is an interdisciplinary publication which seeks to address and discuss ways to deliver sustainable development. Papers must address issues associated with the achievement of sustainable development or one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals. All contributions are refereed with the aim of providing the readership with high quality, original material.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 8%); most named Italy 13, United States 5, United Kingdom 5, Mainland China 4, Spain 4 (53 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 Finance15.8%
- Environmental Sustainability in BusinessBusiness, Management and Accounting12.4%
- Sustainable Supply Chain ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting8.4%
- Corporate Social Responsibility ReportingBusiness, Management and Accounting5.7%
- Sustainable Development and Environmental PolicyEnvironmental Science5.2%
- Environmental Impact and SustainabilityEnvironmental Science5.1%
- Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceEnvironmental Science4.7%
- Environmental Education and SustainabilityEnvironmental Science4.3%
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 | Development Studies | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Regional & Urban Planning | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Development Studies | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Regional & Urban Planning | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Development Studies | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Regional & Urban Planning | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
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
- 9.06LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 9.3Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 9.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 13.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 13.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 13.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.8LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.9LetPub ·
- h-index
- 148OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,873OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 6.56OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 38.06%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 820LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 820Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,314,767Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,489 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,125 | 493 | 801 |
| 2025 | 852 | 476 | 5,581 |
| 2024 | 467 | 320 | 9,643 |
| 2023 | 386 | 245 | 11,838 |
| 2022 | 210 | 90 | 8,412 |
| 2021 | 126 | 53 | 7,624 |
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
156 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 110 days – 234 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 13 days (177 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 171 days
- Sample
- 177 articles with submission and acceptance dates (2,059 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 10%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 10%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 130 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 13 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 4,250 / EUR 3,520 / GBP 2,840 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 350 | — | — |
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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics
- Publication ethics 5. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Editorial Review and AcceptanceThe acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to our readership. Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are double-blind peer reviewed. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements.
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0968-0802
- Electronic ISSN
- 1099-1719
- Society / sponsor
- ERP Environment
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 34, Issue 5 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Sustainable Development
What CAS zone is Sustainable Development in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Sustainable Development is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Development Studies / Regional & Urban Planning / Green & Sustainable Science & Technology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Sustainable Development?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 9.06; CiteScore 13.6, h-index 148.
How long does peer review take at Sustainable Development?
Based on the dates recorded on 177 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 156 days (interquartile range 110–234 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 10% (2025). 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 Sustainable Development?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA. 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 Sustainable Development based?
Of the 53 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (13), United States (5) and United Kingdom (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Sustainable Development?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Sustainable Development is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Sustainable Development open access, and what is the APC?
Sustainable Development is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,250.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .