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Sustainability Science
H-index 44

Sustainability Science

1862-4065

Published by: Springer

https://www.springer.com/journal/11625

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 71 34 49 22
Ecology and Evolution 75 163 181 32
Environmental Sciences 140 92 151 30

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 362
Documents by Best Scientists*: 376
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 15
SCIMAGO H-index: 96
SCIMAGO SJR: 1.515
Impact Factor: 5.3

Overview

Top Research Topics at Sustainability Science?

Sustainable development, Sustainability, Landscape ecology, Environmental resource management and Sustainability science are among the topics commonly tackled in Sustainability Science. The studies in Sustainable development featured incorporate elements of Engineering ethics, Ecosystem services, Environmental planning, Corporate governance and Natural resource economics. Issues in Sustainability were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Transformative learning, Agriculture and Public relations.

Topics in Environmental resource management were tackled in line with various other fields like Natural resource, Climate change, Vulnerability and Land use. The studies on Sustainability science discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Discipline and Social science.

  • Sustainable development (76.71%)
  • Sustainability (45.59%)
  • Landscape ecology (22.75%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: practice, principles, and challenges (1246 citations)
  • Key competencies in sustainability: a reference framework for academic program development (1017 citations)
  • Adaptation planning for climate change: concepts, assessment approaches, and key lessons (591 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Sustainability Science:

The published papers facilitate discussions on Sustainable development, Sustainability, Environmental resource management, Sustainability science and Sustainability organizations. The journal articles with studies in Sustainable development featured incorporate elements of Economic growth, Conceptual framework, Engineering ethics, Corporate governance and Landscape ecology. Aside from discussions in Environmental resource management, the most cited articles also deal with the subject of Climate change which intersects with Climatology disciplines.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Law
  • Sustainability
  • Ecology

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Sustainability Science primarily tackles Sustainable development, Sustainability, Landscape ecology, Environmental planning and Sustainability science. Sustainable development research presented in it encompasses a variety of subjects, including Corporate governance, Public relations, Transformative learning, Natural resource economics and Politics. Public relations and Indigenous are closely related fields of research discussed in Sustainability Science.

The Sustainability works featured in it incorporate elements from Management science, Engineering ethics, Knowledge management, Leverage (negotiation) and Citizen journalism. In addition to Landscape ecology research, the journal aims to explore topics under Government, Climate change and Environmental resource management.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Key competencies in sustainability in higher education : toward an agreed-upon reference framework (34 citations)
  • Current practice of assessing students’ sustainability competencies: a review of tools (16 citations)
  • EMF 35 JMIP study for Japan’s long-term climate and energy policy: scenario designs and key findings (13 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Sustainability Science (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Osamu Saito (39 papers) published 8 papers at the last edition, 5 more than at the previous edition,
  • Kazuhiko Takeuchi (33 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition,
  • Shizuka Hashimoto (22 papers) published 7 papers at the last edition, 5 more than at the previous edition,
  • Arnim Wiek (16 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Daniel J. Lang (14 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Sustainability Science (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Tokyo (113 papers) published 29 papers at the last edition, 19 more than at the previous edition,
  • United Nations University (64 papers) published 9 papers at the last edition, 5 more than at the previous edition,
  • Arizona State University (42 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • Lüneburg University (39 papers) published 14 papers at the last edition, 12 more than at the previous edition,
  • National Institute for Environmental Studies (38 papers) published 14 papers at the last edition, 9 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 7.11% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 34.18% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 11.73% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 13.27% of all publications and 40.82% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Pathways to Sustainability Science Careers

For a tangible understanding of sustainability science, it is often insightful to explore the career pathways of those successfully embracing this interdisciplinary field. One such career that draws upon sustainability science knowledge is that of a mental health counselor. In this context, they apply principles of sustainability to healthcare, ensuring therapies and treatment plans consider the ecological impact and are sustainable in the long run.

A journey towards this career in sustainability science might seem daunting. However, to help provide a roadmap on how to perform this role in a sustainable context, a detailed investigation on becoming a mental health counselor, particularly in the area of Kentucky, is available. You can learn more about the qualifications, skills, and experiences required to thrive in this sustainable career through our in-depth article, 'How to become a mental health counselor in Kentucky'.

This and other careers in sustainability science are often interdisciplinary, requiring an understanding of both natural sciences and social sciences. The practicum experiences and continued professional development opportunities in such roles often contribute to sustainable initiatives and the promotion of mental health in a holistic and environmentally conscious way. So, while the path may seem unconventional, the outcomes significantly contribute to sustainable development and healthy community ecosystems.

Top Publications

  • Mapping citizen science contributions to the UN sustainable development goals

    Dilek Fraisl;Dilek Fraisl;Jillian Campbell;Linda See;Uta Wehn

    (2020)
    394 Citations
  • The Sustainable Development Goals prioritize economic growth over sustainable resource use: a critical reflection on the SDGs from a socio-ecological perspective

    Nina Eisenmenger;Melanie Pichler;Nora Krenmayr;Dominik Noll

    (2020)
    372 Citations
  • Transdisciplinary sustainability research in real-world labs: success factors and methods for change

    Matthias Bergmann;Niko Alexander Schäpke;Niko Alexander Schäpke;Oskar Marg;Franziska Stelzer

    (2021)
    216 Citations
  • The contribution of small-scale food production in urban areas to the sustainable development goals: a review and case study

    Elizabeth Nicholls;Adrian Ely;Linda Birkin;Parthiba Basu

    (2020)
    184 Citations
  • Towards understanding interactions between Sustainable Development Goals: the role of environment–human linkages

    Jörn P. W. Scharlemann;Jörn P. W. Scharlemann;Rebecca C. Brock;Nicholas J. Balfour;Claire Brown

    (2020)
    163 Citations
  • Loss and Damage and limits to adaptation: recent IPCC insights and implications for climate science and policy

    Reinhard Mechler;Chandni Singh;Kristie L. Ebi;Riyanti Djalante

    (2020)
    143 Citations
  • Current practice of assessing students’ sustainability competencies: a review of tools

    Aaron Redman;Aaron Redman;Arnim Wiek;Arnim Wiek;Matthias Barth;Matthias Barth

    (2021)
    132 Citations
  • Transformative spaces in the making: key lessons from nine cases in the Global South

    Laura Pereira;Laura Pereira;Laura Pereira;Niki Frantzeskaki;Aniek Hebinck;Lakshmi Charli-Joseph

    (2020)
    128 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Exploring environmental sciences in the USA opens doors to a variety of specialized online degree programs tailored to different interests and career goals. For students interested in combining engineering principles with sustainability, environmental engineering schools online offer affordable programs that prepare graduates to tackle environmental challenges through innovative solutions.

Beyond engineering, environmental health is a critical area. Online options such as the environmental health and safety bachelor degree online provide essential training for careers focused on maintaining safe and healthy environments in workplaces and communities.

Interestingly, some career paths connected to environmental well-being extend into health sciences, where communication plays a key role. Programs like accelerated slp programs prepare students quickly for roles supporting individuals affected by environmental factors impacting speech and language.

Moreover, leadership in behavioral analysis, which can intersect with environmental behavioral studies, is accessible through flexible options like bcba masters programs, offering professional certification to guide change at both individual and organizational levels.

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