Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain: Scopus Indexing, Scope, Metrics & Submission Guide

Quick Answer: What Is Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain?

Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain (CLSCN) is an Elsevier journal dedicated to sustainability-oriented logistics and supply-chain research. Its scope includes green, sustainable and circular operations; procurement; manufacturing and supply-chain design; reverse and closed-loop systems; digitalization; resilience; transport and warehousing; routing and scheduling; risk management; corporate social responsibility; and policy or stakeholder questions connected with cleaner logistics.

The journal accepts multiple methodological traditions, including empirical, conceptual, modeling, quantitative and qualitative studies. A notable scope requirement is that empirical research should contribute to theory. Technology applications are welcome when they advance sustainability, but the publisher explicitly indicates that technology development by itself is not sufficient for a research paper in this journal.

Researchers may consider CLSCN when the manuscript has a clear logistics or supply-chain core and a substantive sustainability, circularity, decarbonization or cleaner-production contribution. Before submission, confirm the latest author instructions, fees, metrics and any special-issue requirements on the official journal site.

Key Takeaways for Prospective Authors

• Publisher and model: Elsevier; fully open access.
• Verified identifier: online ISSN 2772-3909; supplied Scopus Source ID 21101098869.
• Scope: green, sustainable and circular logistics and supply-chain management, with an SDG and zero-carbon orientation.
• Methods: empirical, conceptual, modeling, quantitative and qualitative work; empirical studies should contribute to theory.
• Article types: original articles, review articles and short communications are listed in the Guide for Authors.
• Peer review: single anonymized, with an initial editorial suitability assessment.
• Open-access charge: Elsevier currently displays USD 2,200 excluding taxes; verify current waivers or agreements.
• No acceptance guarantee: strong fit and preparation can improve readiness, but editorial decisions remain with the journal.

Journal Information at a Glance

Metrics are time-sensitive. The SJR, SNIP and quartile values above are explicitly labeled to their 2024 Scopus reporting context; confirm the latest source profile before formal use.

What This Page Covers

• journal identity, publisher and scholarly positioning;
• aims, scope and subject areas;
• Scopus and other indexing information;
• CiteScore, Impact Factor, SJR, SNIP and quartile interpretation;
• article types and manuscript-fit assessment;
• author guidelines, formatting and submission workflow;
• peer review, open access, APCs and publication timelines;
• publication ethics and practical readiness checks;
• ethical Contentxprtz support for manuscript preparation.

Methodology and Sources Used for This Journal Profile

This profile was prepared by checking the official Elsevier/ScienceDirect journal page, the journal’s Guide for Authors and Journal Insights, together with Scopus-linked information and DOAJ. For SJR, SNIP and category quartiles, a university journal-information service reporting 2024 Scopus metrics was used because the accessible Elsevier page confirms the indicators but does not display their numeric values.

Journal metrics, fees, editorial teams, indexing coverage and policies can change. Researchers should therefore treat this page as a decision-support resource and reconfirm critical facts on the official journal and database pages immediately before submission or institutional reporting.

Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain Aims and Scope

The journal’s center of gravity is not logistics in general; it is cleaner logistics and supply-chain management. The publisher describes CLSCN as international and transdisciplinary, focused on green, sustainable and circular logistics and supply chains. The journal also expects authors to connect their work to sustainable-development outcomes and a zero-carbon society.

Topics clearly aligned with the stated scope

Officially listed themes include sustainable and circular operations; sustainable business-model innovation; green procurement and supply management; sustainable manufacturing and supply chains; performance measurement and sustainability indicators; reverse and closed-loop supply chains; sustainability in globalized and emerging-economy supply chains; Industry 4.0 and digitalization applied to cleaner logistics; sustainability risk management; resilient planning; freight transportation and warehouse management; routing and scheduling; logistics planning and decision-making; CSR; sustainable urban operations; stakeholder interactions; government and regulatory relationships; agility and flexibility; and policy or behavioral concerns.

Methods the journal welcomes

CLSCN covers empirical, conceptual, modeling, quantitative and qualitative studies. This breadth makes the journal potentially suitable for operations-research models, survey-based studies, case research, multi-criteria decision models, optimization, qualitative inquiry, theory-building and integrative conceptual work, provided the research question remains strongly connected to cleaner logistics or supply-chain sustainability.

What may be outside scope

A paper can be technically sophisticated and still be a weak fit. The journal specifically cautions that technology development alone is not sufficient. A new algorithm, AI system, IoT architecture or optimization technique therefore needs a convincing sustainability and logistics/supply-chain contribution rather than a purely technical novelty. Similarly, general sustainability studies with little logistics or supply-chain content may be better suited elsewhere.

Indexing, Visibility and Journal Metrics

Elsevier lists Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain as indexed or covered by Scopus, the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), DOAJ, SJR and SNIP. The journal’s online ISSN is 2772-3909, and the source record supplied with this task is Scopus Source ID 21101098869.

The current Elsevier journal pages reviewed for this guide display a CiteScore of 13.0 and an Impact Factor of 6.8. A Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam journal guide reports the journal’s 2024 Scopus metrics as SJR 1.528 and SNIP 1.943, with Q1 placement across the listed Scopus categories. These figures are useful for context, but authors should not mix metric years or present a quartile without its category and reporting year.

For PhD or promotion requirements, “Scopus indexed” may not be enough by itself. Universities can impose additional rules about active coverage, quartile, database year, journal category, publication date or approved lists. Always apply your institution’s exact policy to the latest database record.

Who Should Consider Submitting?

The journal may be a strong candidate for researchers whose central contribution concerns sustainable logistics, circular supply chains, decarbonization, cleaner transport, supply-chain resilience with sustainability implications, sustainable procurement, green warehousing, reverse logistics, circular business models or sustainability-focused digital transformation.

It can also suit interdisciplinary work connecting engineering, environmental science, operations research, technology management, business and policy. The key is not the author’s department; it is whether the manuscript makes a clear contribution to cleaner logistics or sustainable supply-chain knowledge and speaks to the journal’s transdisciplinary audience.

For doctoral researchers, the journal can be relevant when a thesis chapter has been developed into a self-contained article with a clear theory contribution, rigorous methods and journal-specific framing. A thesis chapter should not simply be shortened mechanically; the argument, literature positioning, methods, results and discussion must work as a journal article on their own.

Article Types and Length Expectations

The publisher’s broader journal description also mentions technical notes. Because article-type menus can evolve, authors should select the exact current submission category shown in the live submission system.

Manuscript and Formatting Requirements

The Guide for Authors asks for editable source files: Word manuscripts should be submitted as .doc or .docx, and LaTeX as .tex; a PDF is not accepted as the source file. Word files should use a single-column layout. The title page should include the article title, correctly ordered author names, affiliations and a clearly designated corresponding author.

The abstract should be concise and factual and should not exceed 250 words. Authors are asked to provide 1–7 English keywords. Highlights are encouraged as a separate editable file and should contain 3–5 bullets, each no more than 85 characters including spaces. A graphical abstract is also encouraged and must follow Elsevier’s file and dimension requirements.

Tables should be editable text rather than images, cited in sequence and supplied with captions and notes where needed. Figures should be submitted as separate files, cited in the manuscript and accompanied by captions. The guide also specifies resolution expectations for photographs, line drawings and combination artwork.

References

The journal does not require rigid reference formatting at first submission as long as the style is consistent and essential bibliographic information is complete. The guide recommends DOI links and uses an author–date citation approach, with the final journal style applied after acceptance. That flexibility should not be treated as permission for incomplete or inconsistent references.

Submission Workflow and Checklist

1. Confirm scope fit. Compare your research question and contribution with the official aims and several recent CLSCN papers.
2. Select the right article type. Match the manuscript to the current submission categories rather than forcing a paper into an unsuitable format.
3. Prepare editable files. Include manuscript, figures, tables, captions, supplementary files and any encouraged highlights or graphical abstract.
4. Check authorship and declarations. Finalize author order, corresponding-author details, competing interests, funding, permissions and any required generative-AI disclosure.
5. Audit references. Ensure every in-text citation appears in the reference list and vice versa, and verify DOIs and source metadata.
6. Submit through Elsevier’s online system. The system collects manuscript details, files and declarations and produces a review PDF.
7. Respond carefully to editorial requests. If revisions are invited, answer reviewer comments point by point and document changes accurately.

Peer Review and Publishing Timelines

The journal follows a single-anonymized peer-review process. The submission is first assessed by editors for suitability. Manuscripts that are outside scope, insufficiently developed or not competitive for the journal can therefore be declined before external peer review.

Elsevier’s Journal Insights page currently reports journal-level indicators of 9 days to first decision, 89 days to decision after review, 185 days from submission to acceptance and 4 days from acceptance to online publication. These are historical or aggregated indicators, not promised service levels. An individual paper may move faster or slower depending on editorial triage, reviewer availability, revision rounds and author response time.

The journal does not publicly state an official acceptance rate in the authoritative sources reviewed. Any third-party estimate should therefore not be presented as an official acceptance probability.

Open Access, APC and Licensing

Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain is fully open access. Elsevier currently displays an APC of USD 2,200 excluding taxes. The journal also participates in Elsevier’s GPOA program. Funding agreements, institutional arrangements, waivers and taxes can affect the final amount, so authors should confirm eligibility and the current fee before making budget commitments.

DOAJ lists the journal as open access since 2021 and notes Creative Commons licensing options. Authors should review the license offered during publication and check any funder requirement before selecting a license.

Publication Ethics Authors Should Check Before Submission

The journal follows Elsevier’s publishing-ethics framework. The Guide for Authors states that the submitted work should not be under consideration elsewhere and should not have been previously published except in permitted forms such as a preprint, abstract, lecture, thesis or registered report. All authors should approve the submission and meet authorship responsibilities.

Authors must disclose competing interests and funding, obtain permissions for copyrighted material, and follow the journal’s policies on authorship changes. The guide also requires transparency about generative AI or AI-assisted technologies used in manuscript preparation when the policy applies. Authors remain responsible for checking AI-generated material, verifying references, protecting confidential information and ensuring that the final manuscript represents their own contribution.

As a practical publication-readiness step, run a final integrity audit: verify every citation against the original source, confirm that data and figures are traceable, identify reused text that needs quotation or paraphrase, preserve original analysis, and make sure acknowledgements and disclosures accurately describe assistance received.

How to Decide Whether Your Manuscript Fits CLSCN

Do not decide from metrics alone. Read several recent research and review articles, note recurring theoretical lenses and methods, and compare how authors frame sustainability significance. This is an editorial-fit exercise, not an attempt to imitate published work.

How to Prepare a Stronger Journal-Aligned Manuscript

Start by writing a one-sentence fit statement: “This paper contributes to cleaner logistics and supply-chain research by…” If that sentence is difficult to complete without vague language, the manuscript may need reframing or a different journal. Then make the introduction establish the logistics/supply-chain problem, the sustainability challenge, the research gap and the contribution in a direct sequence.

For empirical work, make the theory contribution explicit. For modeling or optimization research, explain how the model advances sustainability decisions rather than only improving computational performance. For digitalization studies, connect the technology to cleaner logistics outcomes. For review articles, document how literature was selected and move beyond counting themes toward synthesis, contradictions, gaps and a future research agenda.

Finally, perform a submission-readiness audit against the live Guide for Authors: abstract length, keywords, title-page details, editable files, tables, figure resolution, highlights, declarations, references, permissions and corresponding-author information. A technically strong paper can still create avoidable delays when required files or disclosures are incomplete.

How Contentxprtz Can Ethically Support Publication Readiness

Preparing for submission involves more than correcting grammar. Authors need to demonstrate scope fit, communicate the contribution clearly, follow journal requirements, present tables and figures consistently, and ensure references and disclosures are accurate.

Contentxprtz can support researchers with academic editing, manuscript editing, proofreading, journal formatting, reference and citation consistency, manuscript assessment, journal-selection guidance, cover-letter editing, reviewer-response editing and publication-readiness review. For researchers working in English as an additional language, language polishing can improve readability while preserving the author’s meaning and disciplinary terminology.

Contentxprtz does not control editorial decisions and does not guarantee journal acceptance or publication. Ethical support should improve how the author’s own research is presented, not fabricate results, invent references, conceal authorship or misrepresent originality.

Explore Contentxprtz journal publication services if you want a manuscript-readiness review before submission.

Summary: Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain

Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain is an Elsevier open-access journal for research on green, sustainable and circular logistics and supply-chain management. The verified online ISSN is 2772-3909, and the supplied Scopus Source ID is 21101098869. Elsevier lists Scopus, ESCI and DOAJ among its indexing and abstracting services and currently displays a CiteScore of 13.0 and Impact Factor of 6.8.

The journal is best suited to papers with a strong logistics or supply-chain core and a substantive sustainability contribution. Original articles, review articles and short communications are explicitly listed in the Guide for Authors, and the peer-review model is single anonymized. Because metrics, fees and policies change, authors should verify current values immediately before submission.

Authoritative Sources and Verification Links

• Elsevier / ScienceDirect journal page
• Official Guide for Authors
• Official Journal Insights
• Scopus Source Profile
• DOAJ journal record