Journal of Sustainability

Ethics and Editorial Policy

The Journal of Sustainability (JoS) is committed to ethical, transparent, and rigorous publishing in service of a sustainable future. We adhere to recognised best-practice standards so that researchers, policymakers, and practitioners can rely on the integrity, accessibility, and usefulness of the work we publish. All participants in JoS’s publishing process, editors, reviewers, authors, and staff, are expected to act professionally and respectfully and to avoid discrimination, harassment, and bullying.

Our approach aligns with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. The sections below set out our policies on independence, conflicts of interest, licensing, responsible metrics, complaints and appeals, misconduct, corrections, roles and responsibilities, and long-term preservation.

Role-Specific Guidance

For statements concerning specific actors at JoS (editors, reviewers, and authors) please consult the guidance below. Each page outlines roles and responsibilities, best practices, and the steps to take when questions or issues arise.

Independence From Commercial Bias

The Journal of Sustainability (JoS) does not allow advertising on its website or related platforms. JoS declares that any potential for commercialisation of our work or that of authors has no impact on editorial decisions.

Policies for Editorial Members

All JoS staff, reviewers, and editors must declare any interests that could negatively affect their editorial judgement. Such interests must be reported to the General Administrative Manager as soon as possible so that appropriate actions can be taken to ensure fair, ethical, and scientifically accurate publishing. Editorial board members and staff must refrain from:

Using any information gained during the publishing process for personal gain.
Sharing submitted papers before the publication process is finalised without the author’s consent.
Breaching the confidentiality of Authors and Peer Reviewers.
Requiring or suggesting references to JoS content for the purpose of artificially increasing the journal’s performance.
Uploading manuscripts to unauthorised platforms that use AI models at any time during the publication process.

Recusal Requirements
All actors at JoS must recuse themselves from handling any paper where:

They have written or knowingly contributed to the work.
The authors are family members.
The authors are colleagues.
There is any competing or conflicting personal interest.

Licensing

JoS applies the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0 license to all published works. Under this license, authors retain copyright and grant anyone the right to use, share, adapt, distribute, and reproduce the work in any medium or format, for any purpose including commercial use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author or authors and the source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated. See our Open Access page for details.

Transparency

Publishing processes at JoS are designed and communicated transparently to ensure that editors, authors, reviewers, and readers clearly understand what collaboration with the journal entails. All editorial and peer review decisions are expected to be fully informed and guided by clarity and transparency, with a focus on accountability.

Plagiarism & Similarity Screening

JoS conducts editorial screening for inappropriate textual and figure overlap using a combination of manual checks, targeted web searches, and freely available similarity tools where appropriate. Editors assess any detected overlap in context (e.g., quotations, references, standard methods text, and legitimate reuse) and do not apply a single pass/fail percentage. Suspected plagiarism, duplicate submission/publication, text recycling, or image/data manipulation is handled in accordance with COPE guidance and may result in rejection, corrections, or retraction. Authors are responsible for proper citation and for obtaining permissions for any third-party material.

Independent Metrics

JoS is committed to ensuring that our metrics are independent, showcasing only the real impact of our work. It should never be required from authors to use references from our journal, nor the editor’s own work, with the intention to artificially increase the journal’s or the editor’s performance.

Complaints and Appeals

Complaints and appeals are evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Complaints and Appeals Committee, led by the Editor in Chief. Please direct complaints and appeals to [email protected].

Allegations of Misconduct

Allegations of research or publication misconduct are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Editorial Ethics & Integrity Committee. The Ethics & Integrity Committee, comprised of Julian Kirchherr (Roskilde University & Utrecht University) and Kris Hartley (Arizona State University), may be contacted by email at [email protected]. If the allegation involves a potential conflict of interest or requires additional confidentiality, a secondary contact is available via the General Administration Manager at [email protected]. All allegations are handled with strict confidentiality and in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Retractions and Corrections

It is important that all corrections are communicated in a single response. Additional changes that are submitted later may not be guaranteed for inclusion. Proofreading remains the author’s responsibility. Retractions and corrections are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Author responsibilities:

Promptly notify the JoS editorial office upon discovering a significant error or inaccuracy.
Cooperate fully with the journal to issue a correction, retraction, or statement of concern, as appropriate.

JoS may take corrective action if concerns are raised by third parties and will contact the author or authors for clarification or evidence as needed. Failure to disclose known errors may result in retraction or further editorial investigation.

Types of post-publication changes:

Erratum for errors introduced by the journal during production, for example layout, author name, or affiliations.
Corrigendum for author errors that affect accuracy or clarity but not scientific integrity.
Retraction for serious issues such as data fabrication, plagiarism, or ethical breaches, in line with COPE guidance.
Addendum for additional information or clarification that enhances the original article without changing conclusions.

Correction process:

Requests may be submitted by authors, readers, or editors to [email protected].
The journal assesses the request and consults relevant parties as necessary.
If approved, a correction notice is published online, clearly linked to the original article and indexed accordingly.

This policy in its revised form takes effect on 23 September 2025.

Roles and Responsibilities

Editorial Board. The editorial board consists of experts in their fields. Every submission to a regular issue will be assigned a handling editor from the board.
Handling Editor. The handling editor decides which submissions are sent for peer review and which are accepted for publication. The handling editor approves peer reviews before they are shared with the author and is not bound by reviewers’ recommendations. If a review is insufficient, the handling editor may request an additional review.
Peer Reviewer. Peer reviewers are identified by the editorial office and remain anonymous. Neither handling editors nor authors may influence their selection or learn their identities. Peer reviewers may receive a modest honorarium as a token of appreciation.
Guest Editor. A guest editor is a handling editor who is not a board member. Any guest editor must be approved by the Editor in Chief and must possess expertise equivalent to that of a board member.
Editorial Office. The editorial office facilitates review logistics, including assigning a handling editor, recruiting reviewers, and preparing the final manuscript. The editorial office does not hold editorial decision-making powers.
General Administrative Manager. The General Administrative Manager oversees the editorial office and coordinates the review process. The General Administrative Manager does not hold editorial decision-making powers.

Post Publication Discussions and Feedback

JoS encourages constructive academic dialogue after publication and welcomes comments, critiques, and requests for clarification related to published work. Readers and researchers may:

Submit a formal comment or a letter to the editor regarding a published article.
Raise concerns about validity, methodology, or ethics.
Suggest follow-up studies or alternative interpretations.
Request access to the underlying data that is not published.
Contact authors independently for any scholarly reason.

Submissions must be respectful, evidence-based, and directly relevant to the published work. Communications intended for the journal should be sent to [email protected]. Where appropriate, responses from original authors may be invited and published alongside the comment as a formal response or erratum. The journal reserves the right to decline submissions that do not meet scholarly or ethical standards.

Intellectual Property

JoS respects intellectual property rights and requires authors to confirm that:

The submitted content is their original work or is used with permission.
Permissions for third-party materials, for example, figures, datasets, and images, have been obtained and are properly credited.

Disputes over intellectual property, including copyright infringement or misattribution, will be investigated on a case-by-case basis. The journal may issue corrections or retractions and notify relevant institutions when necessary.

Preservation and Archiving

JoS is committed to long-term preservation of the scholarly record. Our articles are preserved through the PKP Preservation Network. This ensures permanent public access and safeguards the integrity of published content. Authors are also encouraged to share their work through additional relevant repositories under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.