Sustainable Futures: Scopus Journal Profile, Selection and Submission Guide

Key Takeaways

• Publisher: Elsevier; online ISSN: 2666-1888.
• The supplied Scopus source record identifies Source ID 21101065044, while Elsevier lists Scopus among the journal’s indexing services.
• The journal is open access and currently lists an APC of USD 2,340 excluding taxes.
• Elsevier currently displays a CiteScore of 4.0 and an Impact Factor of 4.9; always verify the applicable reporting year.
• Peer review is single anonymized, typically with at least two independent reviewers after editorial screening.
• Major article types include full-length articles, reviews, opinion papers, short communications and special-issue papers.
• Strong fit depends on a substantive sustainability contribution, not simply adding sustainability terminology to a discipline-specific manuscript.

Journal Information at a Glance

What This Page Covers

• Aims and scope
• Scopus and other indexing
• Current metrics and their limits
• Article types and length guidance
• APC and open-access model
• Manuscript preparation
• Peer review and timelines
• Ethics and declarations
• Journal-fit evaluation

Methodology and Sources

This profile was prepared from the official Sustainable Futures journal page, its Guide for Authors, the publisher’s Journal Insights information, the DOAJ record for ISSN 2666-1888, and the supplied Scopus source identifier. The journal identity was matched using title, publisher and ISSN.

Facts were checked on 10 August 2026. Metrics, APCs, indexing, editorial appointments, article types and publisher policies can change. For any rule tied to a doctoral programme or institutional assessment, save a current copy or screenshot of the relevant official database record and record the metric year/category.

What Does Sustainable Futures Aim to Publish?

The official scope positions the journal at the intersection of sustainability, environment and technology, viewed through multiple social-science disciplines and through their implications for corporations, governments, educational institutions, regions and society. It explicitly welcomes theoretical and practical research and describes its methodological stance as broad rather than restricted to one research design.

That breadth is visible in the topics the journal names: emerging technologies in sustainable management; innovation; water and food security; climate, environment and weather; energy consumption; life-cycle management; economic and social growth; environmental economics and circular economy; urbanization; knowledge management; marketing and environmental attitudes; corporate sustainability and CSR; sustainable products, services and operations; sustainability measurement and forecasting; governance and policy; green supply chain management; sustainable urban and rural development; sustainable transportation; and sustainable hospitality and ecotourism.

Editorial interpretation: a manuscript is likely to be stronger when sustainability is central to the research question, mechanisms, evidence and implications. A conventional business, technology or environmental study that adds sustainability only in the introduction may struggle to demonstrate why Sustainable Futures is the most appropriate readership.

Understanding Its Scopus Coverage and Journal Metrics

For researchers whose universities recognize Scopus-indexed journals, Sustainable Futures has an important visibility signal: Elsevier lists the journal in Scopus, and the supplied record identifies Scopus Source ID 21101065044. Elsevier also lists DOAJ and the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). DOAJ independently records the journal under online ISSN 2666-1888 and identifies Elsevier as publisher.

As checked on 10 August 2026, the publisher page displays a CiteScore of 4.0 and an Impact Factor of 4.9. Those numbers should not be detached from their reporting context. The public Elsevier page consulted displays them without an explicit metric year beside the values. If your university requires, for example, “Q1 in 2025” or a particular JCR year, verify that exact year and category in the live source database.

What Types of Manuscripts Does the Journal Publish?

The Guide for Authors distinguishes several article forms. Choosing the right type affects expected length, rhetorical structure and the kind of contribution reviewers will look for.

Is Sustainable Futures a Good Match for Your Research?

A strong journal-selection decision can be made in three passes. First, test topic fit: does the paper address a sustainability problem that clearly belongs within the journal’s interdisciplinary remit? Second, test contribution fit: does it produce new knowledge, a rigorous review, a defensible opinion contribution or a concise original investigation of the type the journal accepts? Third, test audience fit: would readers interested in sustainable management, policy, technology, environment, operations or social implications learn something they are likely to use or cite?

Examples of potentially aligned projects include a data-driven model for sustainable supply-chain decisions that explains managerial implications; a policy study of renewable-energy transition barriers; a circular-economy analysis linking technology adoption to business models; an empirical study of environmental attitudes and sustainable consumption; or a climate-resilience study connecting resource systems to governance and socio-economic outcomes.

Examples of weaker fit may include a purely technical optimization paper with no meaningful sustainability contribution, a generic management study that only labels its outcome “sustainable,” or a local case description without a clear contribution beyond the setting. These are practical interpretations of the scope, not formal rejection rules.

Preparing and Submitting a Manuscript

Core file and title-page requirements

The official guide requests editable source files. Word manuscripts should be supplied as .doc or .docx in a single-column layout; LaTeX may be submitted as .tex. A PDF is not accepted as the source file. The title page should provide a concise article title, accurate author names, affiliations, a clearly designated corresponding author and updated contact details.

Abstract, keywords and highlights

The abstract must be concise and factual and should not exceed 250 words. The journal asks for 1–7 English keywords. Highlights are encouraged and should capture novel results and any new methods. These elements matter because editors need to understand the contribution quickly before deciding whether a manuscript should proceed to external review.

References, data and declarations

References cited in the text must appear in the reference list and vice versa. Elsevier encourages DOI links where available. The guide also addresses research-data sharing and data references. Corresponding authors are required to describe co-author contributions using CRediT roles. Funding, competing interests and other declarations should be prepared before final submission rather than treated as production-stage details.

Submission checklist

1. Confirm the manuscript matches Sustainable Futures rather than only a broad sustainability keyword.
2. Select the correct article type and align length/structure with that type.
3. Provide an editable source file, title-page information, abstract and 1–7 keywords.
4. Check figures, tables, captions, supplementary files and permissions.
5. Make every in-text citation match a reference-list entry and verify bibliographic data.
6. Prepare CRediT, funding, competing-interest and any required AI-use declarations.
7. Recheck the current APC and author instructions on the day of submission.

What Happens After You Submit a Manuscript?

Sustainable Futures uses single-anonymized peer review. The editors first assess whether the submission is suitable for the journal. If it proceeds, the publisher states that it is typically sent to at least two reviewers for independent expert assessment of scientific quality. Editors make the final acceptance or rejection decision.

The current Journal Insights page reports 16 days from submission to first decision, 70 days from submission to a decision after review, 142 days from submission to acceptance and 3 days from acceptance to online publication. Treat these as descriptive journal-level insights, not deadlines or promises for an individual manuscript. A paper requiring extensive revision, specialist reviewers or additional checks can take longer.

The guide also states that authors may submit a formal appeal where Elsevier’s appeal requirements are met. Special issues follow the same overall peer-review standards, although a guest editor may coordinate reviewer invitations and recommend a decision while the journal editor retains oversight.

Open Access, Publication Fee and Licensing

Sustainable Futures is fully open access. As checked on 10 August 2026, Elsevier lists an article publishing charge of USD 2,340, excluding taxes. DOAJ also records the journal as open access and notes that a waiver policy exists, although the amount shown in DOAJ can differ from the live publisher fee because records update at different times.

For budgeting, rely on the publisher’s current APC page at the point of submission and then check whether your institution or funder has an agreement that covers or discounts the charge. Payment is associated with accepted open-access publication; paying an APC does not substitute for peer review and does not guarantee acceptance.

Publication Ethics and Author Responsibility

The Guide for Authors directs contributors to Elsevier’s publishing-ethics policy. Submission implies that the work has not been published previously except in permitted forms, is not under consideration elsewhere, has approval from all authors and relevant responsible authorities, and will not be republished in the same form without appropriate permission if accepted.

Authorship should reflect substantial contributions to study conception/design or data work, drafting or critical revision, and final approval, with accountability for the integrity of the work. The journal asks authors to finalize authorship carefully at original submission, because later changes are restricted and require documented agreement.

Competing interests must be disclosed. The guide also requires transparency when generative AI or AI-assisted technologies are used in manuscript preparation beyond basic grammar, spelling or reference tools. Authors remain responsible for accuracy, sources, originality, privacy and intellectual-property compliance, and AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

A Practical Publication-Readiness Checklist

How Contentxprtz Can Support Publication Readiness

Contentxprtz can ethically support researchers with manuscript assessment, academic editing, proofreading, language polishing, journal-format alignment, reference and citation consistency, cover-letter editing, reviewer-response editing and publication-readiness review. The purpose is to help authors communicate their own research more clearly and prepare files that align with stated journal requirements.

That support does not guarantee publication, acceptance, a particular review outcome, indexing, citations or a specific timeline. Editorial decisions belong to the journal, and authors remain responsible for their research, evidence, ethics, authorship and final submission.