This post is part of the “Celebrating Five Years of the Discover Journals” series, highlighting Discover journals and the people who have played a key role in shaping their development. The series aims to spotlight the leadership, values, and vibrant communities behind the journals.
Discover Sustainability, launched in 2020, is an open access journal publishing research across all fields relevant to sustainability.
- Indexed in DOAJ, ESCI with a Journal Impact Factor of 5.2 (2025), and Scopus with a CiteScore 2025 of 3.3.
- Topics include food security, biodiversity conservation, circular economy, and more.
- A journal in Springer Nature’s Discover Series: Rigorous, representative and wide-reaching.
As we celebrate five years of the journal, we are delighted to share insights from the Editor-in-Chief: Walter Leal Filho @Walter Leal
Why did you join Discover?
I joined Discover Sustainability since it is a unique opportunity to support efforts to promote scholarly research on matters related to sustainable development.
What has changed over the past few years since you joined?
It is noticeable that sustainable development is no longer perceived as a niche topic, but permeates various areas of knowledge, from social sciences to engineering. This has been reflected in the increasing number of topical collections and normal submissions.
Looking ahead, what are your expectations or aspirations for the journals over the next five years?
The need for sustainable development research is becoming even greater, especially due to the urgent need to address many of the current socio-economic problems seen today. Discover Sustainability will continue to play a key role in documenting and promoting scholarly research, being one of the journals of choice to the sustainability community.
Is there a member of the Discover community who has particularly impressed you?
It is impressive how Prof. Rudi Pretorius, from South Africa, has been supportive in promoting the journal in Africa and his meticulous paper reviews.
Please stay tuned for more posts from our anniversary celebrations!