Announcements

Opening Thoughts

Our Commitment to Sustainability

As a pioneer in academic open access publishing since 1996, MDPI has always been dedicated to facilitating scientific exchange across all disciplines. Our approach to open science is guided by principles such as Open Access (OA), Timeliness and Efficiency, Simplicity, High-Quality Service, Flexibility, and a commitment to Sustainability. This commitment involves preserving published papers for the long term and supporting the future of science through partnerships, sponsorships, and awards.

In this edition of the CEO Letter, I will delve into MDPI’s various sustainability initiatives. As a leader in OA publishing, we are able to provide the public with a significant amount of environment-related content at no cost.

MDPI and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

In 2020, the SDG Publishers Compact was launched to accelerate implementation of the SDGs by promoting content that informs, develops, and inspires action. MDPI joined this initiative in 2021 and subsequently launched the MDPI SDG Hub in 2022, offering free access to recent research within the scope of each of the 17 SDGs. We also support authors from underrepresented communities by waiving publication charges for selected SDG-related papers. Detailed sustainability practices and supported publications are available in the report under each Goal page.

“More than 80% of MDPI articles and reviews published in 2022 relate to the Sustainable Development Goals.” [source: InCites, Accessed on 21.08.2023]

As at August 2023, MDPI boasts 14 journals dedicated to sustainability-related topics. Our first journal in this area, Sustainability, has published over 29,000 articles on the SDGs, accumulating over 240,000 citations (source: InCites, as at 1 January 2023). These journals serve as vital platforms for researchers to share insights and address environmental challenges. In addition:

MDPI journals specializing in sustainability-related topics:

• 2009: Sustainability
• 2012: Resources
• 2013: Climate
• 2014: Environments
• 2016: Recycling
• 2019: Clean Technologies
• 2020: Sustainable Chemistry
• 2021: Wind, Biomass, Conservation, Pollutants, Solar
• 2022: Waste, Microplastics

Read more:

• MDPI SDG Hub
• MDPI’s Content for 2022 Open Access Week—Climate Justice
• 2022 MDPI Annual Report—Sustainability Initiatives

Impactful Research

Highly Cited Articles in Sustainability

In 2022, content published in Sustainability and indexed in Journal Citation Reports (JCR) received nearly 190,000 citations. This highlights the fact that Sustainability publishes highly cited research articles related to environmental sciences and SDG-related topics such as climate action.

We are pleased to share that Sustainability received a 2022 CiteScore of 5.8, marking a 16% increase from the 2021 metric. Specifically, the CiteScore positions Sustainability as follows: Q1 (27 out of 163) in the “Environmental Science (miscellaneous)” category, and Q1 (101 out of 779) in the “Geography Planning and Development” category. For additional journal statistics, please visit here.

“Sustainability received a 2022 CiteScore of 5.8”

While MDPI journals such as Climate and Atmosphere have a distinct focus on atmosphere pollution and its impact on climate processes, journals like Sustainability, Environments, Water, Remote Sensing, and IJERPH publish content related to climate change. These journals have published over 32,300 articles related to SDG 13: Climate Action.

Highly Cited Papers in Sustainability

Below are several highly cited papers published in Sustainability over the past three years. Citation metrics are current as at 15 August 2023.

This paper addresses one of the most significant challenges of climate change – achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2050. The meta-analysis suggests that while difficult, this transition is possible through the concerted application of pathways, lifestyle changes, and global cooperation.

This paper has received substantial media attention, including coverage by The Guardian, BBC, Vice, and CNBC. An interview with Dr. Panu Pihkala, a leading interdisciplinary researcher on the topic, can be found on MDPI’s podcast: Insight Faster, Episode 1.

This paper reviews literature on climate change, addressing its causes, future projections, impact on agriculture, including plant physiology, growth, productivity, pest infestation, and the economic implications of mitigation strategies.

This review aims to assess the adverse effects of plastic pollution on ecosystems, link the management of plastic with the SDGs, and propose policy measures using transdisciplinary approaches. Empowering communities to reduce plastic use is crucial. Addressing global plastic pollution is a priority.

Sustainability is an international, cross-disciplinary, open access journal that explores environmental, cultural, economic, and social sustainability of human beings. It provides a forward-looking platform for research on sustainability and sustainable development, and is published semi-monthly online by MDPI. Sustainability is affiliated with The Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) and The International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB).

Read more:

• Testimonials: See what our editors and authors say about Sustainability.

Inside MDPI

President of Ireland Authors Editorial in MDPI Journal Sustainability

It’s a very special occasion when the president of a country takes the initiative to write an editorial for a journal. Michael D. Higgins, President of the Republic of Ireland, has contributed his insights to a forthcoming Special Issue in Sustainability:

Read the completed editorial here:

Special Issue “Faith and Sustainable Development: Exploring Practice, Progress and Challenges among Faith Communities and Institutions”: Foreword by the President of Ireland
Author: Michael D. Higgins
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9683; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129683

Coming Together for Science

The World Sustainability Forum 2023

The World Sustainability Forum (WSF) is a biennial MDPI event focused on sustainability. WSF 2023 marks the tenth anniversary of the conference series, taking place on 14 September. For the first time, the event will be hosted as a 24-hour conference across three locations – Singapore, Basel in Switzerland, and Toronto in Canada – alongside virtual streaming.

This unique format allows us to span three time zones, providing live coverage of critical sustainability-related topics throughout the day:

• The Singapore Hub, chaired by Professor Horn Mun Cheah and Associate Professor Renee Tan, will explore “Sustainability for Social and Community Impact”.
• The Basel Hub, chaired by Prof. Dr. Anet Režek Jambrak and Dr. Lela Mélon, will delve into “Sustainability in the industry, and at university and corporate settings”.
• The Toronto Hub, led by Dr. Umberto Berardi, will discuss “The Sustainable Built Environment”.

MDPI Sustainability Foundation: Recognizing Excellence in Sustainability Research

The MDPI Sustainability Foundation supports researchers through two sustainability-focused awards:

1. The World Sustainability Award, amounting to USD 100,000, is given to senior researchers.
2. The Emerging Sustainability Leader Award, valued at USD 20,000, sponsored by the journal Sustainability, is presented to early-career researchers.

The winners of the Sustainability Foundation will be formally awarded during the WSF2023 on 14 September. Interviews with the award winners and finalists are available below.

2023 World Sustainability Award Winners

1. Professor Michael R. Templeton
2. Professor Tom Lyon
3. Dr Krithi K. Karanth

Interviews with 2023 Emerging Sustainability Leader Award Finalists

• Dr. Bahareh Kamranzad
• Dr. Youjin Kim
• Dr. Julia Lohmann

As a hybrid event, WSF23 provides scholars with the option to attend in person at one of the conference sites or, for a more sustainable approach, virtually. All sessions will be recorded and archived for future access. Registration is open until 3 September 2023, with in-person and virtual tickets available here.

Read more:

• The 10^th World Sustainability Forum
• The MDPI Sustainability Foundation

Closing Thoughts

“Co-opetition”: Collaboration Plus Healthy Competition – A Visit to Elsevier

I firmly believe in fostering collaboration and at the same time promoting healthy competition within the academic publishing industry. The market offers ample room for publishers and related companies to provide valuable services and products that enrich the academic community. While MDPI is recognized for its efficient and streamlined processes –thanks to our over 6,000 colleagues, in-house tools, and initiatives that support the author journey – our ethos has always involved learning from and collaborating with other organizations.

MDPI’s Interaction with Elsevier

In January 2023, I had a brief conversation with Judy Verses, President of Global Academic and Government Markets at Elsevier, following her participation in a panel discussion at the Academic Publishers Europe event in Berlin. One of the highlights for me was Judy’s insight into the impact of research, particularly her emphasis on the role of collaboration, including policy and showing the impact of research to influence on funding decisions.

“Such collaborations drive forward-looking strategies to elevate our support for the scholarly community”

‘Fully OA’ Organizations Dedicated to Open Access

MDPI proudly aligns with the ‘Fully OA’ group, a collaborative initiative comprising nine organizations dedicated to Open Access. Our monthly meetings, including an OASPA representative, serve as platforms to share non-confidential information, resources, and projects. These gatherings also facilitate discussions on topics relevant to fully OA organizations. Occasionally, joint actions spring from these interactions, such as collaborative blog posts on pertinent subjects and joint statements, such as a recent response to the House Appropriations Committee.

This display of cooperation among competing entities forms a strategic alliance focused on nurturing the best interests of the OA publishing model.

As I wrap up this third edition of the CEO Letter, I encourage you to seize opportunities for collaboration and contribute to advancing our shared academic culture. As the African proverb has it, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

Opening Thoughts

Open Peer Review Reports

Continuing the topic of openness from my inaugural monthly CEO letter, in these Opening Thoughts, I highlight the growth and importance of open peer-review reports at MDPI. Open peer reports align with the principles of open science, making the publishing process more transparent and facilitating rigorous peer review.

MDPI journals operate an open peer-review option by default, allowing authors to publish review reports and author responses (often referred to as open reports) together with the published paper. Publishing the reviewer reports and author responses together with the article provides greater transparency and trust for readers, as this allows them to track the editorial decision-making process. Open peer-review also encourages reviewers and editors to provide high-quality comments, as these will be made public if the article is accepted for publication.

Start and Growth of Open Peer Review at MDPI

The MDPI journal Life was a pioneer in offering this opportunity to its authors in 2014. The first MDPI article with peer-review reports openly published was a review by the Nobel Laureate Werner Arber, in which the review reports were published as supplementary material. By 2018, open peer-review was available across all MDPI journals. As such, MDPI authors have embraced the open peer-review model, providing a steady increase in the number of MDPI articles. As of 2023, approximately one-third (34.0%) of MDPI articles were published with open review reports.

As at July 2023, the percentage of MDPI articles published with open peer review has increased to 36.2% of the total papers published in 2023 so far, indicating ongoing growth in adoption.

Open peer review continues to play a critical role in the assessment of the peer-review process in Life. For further insights, please see the recent editorial by Dr. Pabulo Henrique Rampelotto, the former Editor-in-Chief of Life, who spearheaded the implementation of the open peer-review process.

Benefits of Open Peer Review

The benefits of open peer review include increased transparency, trust and constructive feedback. To promote open communication further and increase the robustness of the peer-review process, we encourage reviewers to sign their reports so that their name appears on the review report (this process is referred to as open identity). The default option is for reviewers to remain anonymous; however, by signing the reports, reviewers receive direct credit for their contribution to the peer-review process and show their commitment towards open science.

As the leading open access publisher, MDPI remains committed to promoting open peer-review and encourages authors to choose this approach. Our goal is to provide a rigorous and transparent peer-review process that benefits the scientific community, and we believe that open peer-review is a vital step in fostering openness and collaboration in scientific communication.

Impactful Research

MDPI Papers Cited in the News – IJERPH edition

Every month, our corporate marketing team compiles data from Altmetrics to create a list of MDPI papers that have been cited in the news. This list continues to grow as renowned news outlets regularly reference research published by MDPI in their articles.

During 2022, a total of 111,965 MDPI research papers were mentioned in prominent news outlets such as National Geographic, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Guardian, the BBC, CNN, Time, and Harvard Business Review.

Highly Cited Journal Publications

IJERPH, known for publishing impactful research, received the most news mentions among all MDPI journals in 2022, based on Altmetrics data:

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: 3509 mentions
• Nutrients: 2698 mentions
• International Journal of Molecular Sciences: 1701 mentions
• Journal of Clinical Medicine: 1131 mentions
• Viruses: 1111 mentions

These numbers show the recognition and impact of the articles published in IJERPH. For a more detailed view of the journal’s most cited and viewed papers, you can visit here. In total, IJERPH has garnered over 28,000 mentions in prominent news outlets, and as at July 2023, an impressive count of over 17,000 papers cited 10 times or more. These figures highlight the impactful contribution of IJERPH publications to the scientific community.

Example of Recent Mentions

During May and June 2023, a noteworthy selection of articles from IJERPH was cited in news articles, including:

The Washington Post: “Bringing nature inside can improve your health. Here’s how to do it.”
IJERPH paper: “Physiological Benefits of Viewing Nature: A Systematic Review of Indoor Experiments”

Harvard Business Review: “How to Take Better Breaks at Work, According to Research”
IJERPH paper: “Canine-Assisted Therapy Improves Well-Being in Nurses”

National Geographic: “Lyme disease is spreading fast—but a vaccine may be on the way”
IJERPH paper: “Range Expansion of Tick Disease Vectors in North America: Implications for Spread of Tick-Borne Disease”

Inside MDPI

MDPI Develops an Artificial Intelligence Tool to Enhance the Peer-Review Process

At MDPI, we believe that rigorous peer-review is the corner-stone of high-quality academic publishing. We are grateful to the scholars who generously dedicate their time to peer-review articles submitted to MDPI journals. Their contributions are invaluable to the advancement of science.

Peer-review is a critical part of the publication process, ensuring that MDPI upholds the highest quality standards for the papers we publish. Every manuscript submitted to our journals undergoes a comprehensive peer-review process conducted by subject-matter experts.

To further enhance our peer-review process, our Data Analytics team has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool designed to support the selection of reviewers. This proprietary tool utilizes Natural Language Processing (NLP), a specially designed AI language model, to extract information from the title and abstract of submitted papers. It then searches our database for similar manuscripts and suggests potential reviewers based on this analysis. Integrated with MDPI's submission system (SuSy), the AI tool cross-references the suggested candidates with our reviewer database to verify their invitation status and availability.

The goal of this tool is to provide better targeted peer-review invitations, reducing the number of emails sent for each paper and increasing the efficiency of our editorial staff.

In the near future, our Data Analytics team plans to deploy similar AI projects to improve other critical aspects of our services, offering an enhanced experience to our authors and readers.

Click here to learn about MDPI’s review process, including procedures, responsibilities, and benefits.

Read more:

• Four Ways AI Supports Healthcare
• Should You Be Worried About ChatGPT?
• Art and Technology in the Age of AI

Coming Together for Science

The Future of IJERPH

On 5 July 2023, Prof. Dr. Paul B. Tchounwou, the founding Editor-in-Chief of IJERPH, along with five Section Editors in Chief (Prof. Dr. Germán Vicente-Rodríguez, Prof. Dr. Karl Goodkin, Prof. Dr. William A. Toscano, Prof. Dr. Jimmy T. Efird, and Prof. Dr. William Douglas Evans), gathered in Basel to discuss the future of the journal. The meeting provided an opportunity to address the recent decision by The Web of Science to delist IJERPH due to the journal failing the Content Relevance criterion, and propose best strategies that will ensure high scientific rigor as well as a clear scope and aim of IJERPH, going forward.

While the delisting is disappointing for IJERPH, as well as for our authors, academic editors, and the entire scientific community supporting our journal, we see it as an opportunity to reflect and prepare for the future direction of the journal.

Since its launch in 2004, IJERPH’s vision and mission have evolved to be more complete and comprehensive in engaging scientific communities. In light of this, we will refresh the journal’s aims and scope, ensuring they align with the organic expansion of IJERPH. Additionally, we will restructure the journal sections into broader categories, encouraging collaborative research and transdisciplinary approaches for authors. This is designed to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among diverse fields, contributing to a holistic understanding of health promotion and disease prevention. We are confident that these next steps will enhance the scientific strength and societal impact of our journal.

Journal Achievements

In addition to the productive discussions, we took the time to celebrate some of the remarkable achievements of IJERPH, which I highlight below:

• Founded by Prof. Dr. Paul B. Tchounwou in 2004
• Indexed in PubMed in 2008
• Received its first Impact Factor in 2012
• Published its 5000th paper in 2017
• Over 60,000 papers published as at June 30, 2023
• 131,628,173 paper views in 2018–2022
• Over 28,000 mentions in prominent news outlets
• 17,000 papers cited 10 times or more as at June 30, 2023
• No.1 journal in the 2022 Google Scholar Metrics in the category of Public Health
• Awarded several editions of Young Investigator Awards, Travel Awards, and Outstanding Reviewer Awards since 2018.

These achievements showcase the journal’s significant contributions to the field and its impact on global health. We are proud of the exceptional work accomplished by the IJERPH team and look forward to building upon this success in the years to come.

Closing Thoughts

MDPI’s Impact in Spain

The Numbers

Out of the 1,680,000 total MDPI articles published as at 25 July, almost 80,000 articles are contributed by Spanish authors, representing nearly 40,000 unique authors affiliated with Spanish institutions. Remarkably, over 6,300 of these authors hold editorial board member (EBM) positions within MDPI journals, with 30 of them serving as Editors-in-Chief (EiCs).

Our commitment to working with institutions is very evident in Spain, where we have successfully established over 40 Institutional Open Access Programs (IOAP) with esteemed institutions such as the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Pompeu Fabra University, the University of Navarre, and Complutense University of Madrid.

Over the past five years, we have successfully organized eight in-person conferences in Barcelona, attracting over 1,150 registrations, with two forthcoming events scheduled for 2024. Barcelona's excellent connectivity to international airports makes it easily accessible to participants from around the world. Its welcoming atmosphere provides us with the perfect environment for knowledge-sharing, networking, and contributing to the local economy.

Our growth and presence in Spain are a true testament to the incredible service we provide to the scholarly community and the relationships we foster through responsive and collaborative communication. We look forward to continuing to support Spanish scholars, providing them a valuable and trusted experience with MDPI, the leader in open access publishing.

Testimonials

I close this letter as I did in the first edition, by sharing testimonials from our stakeholders. Here are a few IJERPH testimonials from a Spanish guest editor and an author:

Guest Editor
“I want to thank the kindness, attention and professionalism of the MDPI team throughout the editorial process of the Special Issue. I believe that it is a very professional and quality editorial process.”
- Professor Víctor Arufe-Giráldez, University of A Coruña
Special Issue in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: Physical Activity in Childhood and Adolescence
Special Issue in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: Physical Education: Present and Future
__
Author
“I want to thank the rigor of the revisions made to the manuscripts to improve their quality, the support to the authors for the editor assignment system they have and the follow-up they carry out, for the speed in answering and in carrying out the entire process of the revision, and for doing all this at an affordable price.”
- Dr. María Paz García-Caro, University of Granada
Article in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: Factors Associated with Suicide Attempts and Suicides in the General Population of Andalusia (Spain)