Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy (SSPP) <http://ejournal.nbii.org> is a peer-reviewed, open access, online, academic publication for the cross-disciplinary study and discussion of sustainability.  In each article, authors address the social, economic, political, and environmental interactions that provide solutions to sustainability problems.  Through the journal’s Web-based professional platform, SSPP widely disseminates useful information and perspectives and, through open access to this knowledge, facilitates consensus on the viability of new practices and policies. Notably, copyright is retained by the author.

In spring 2005, the inaugural issue launched with an editorial by Harvard University Professor E.O. Wilson recognizing the journal’s role in “creating achievable sustainable practices through buy-in and consensus.” The editorial endorsed the journal’s goal to establish a forum for forward-looking discussions on sustainability from experts trying to affect change. In the past two years, SSPP has been increasingly identified within the literature as a leading sustainability science journal (Kueffer, et al. 2007; Bridges & Wilhelm, 2008; Kajikawa, 2008). Work published in SSPP has already been cited in twenty-three academic journals and is having an impact on the field of sustainability.

The online, open access structure of SSPP is essential in realizing the mission of the journal to support a greater global exchange of knowledge by the far-reaching and rapid distribution of information on sustainability science.  SSPP’s author copyright retention policy is a leading-edge, salient feature of the journal.  This is of major significance to an ever-growing number of authors who wish to break away from the long-standing tradition of publisher-held copyrights and to move toward the more rational policy of author ownership of the works they create. The efficient, online editorial process of SSPP enables accepted articles to be published within 24 hours after galleys are approved. The journal’s time table is not constrained by production schedules as in print journals, but the time needed to expertly review and edit an article is no different than other academic publications. This online journal does not have a subscriber listing; however, more than 10,000 users visit SSPP each month and download almost 400 articles each day from the seven completed issues. More than 1,200 of these readers are registered for and receive new content e-mail alerts.

SSPP publishes beyond the standard editorials and research papers.  Community Essays provide a forum for a more reflective, personal voice essay that brings forth new sustainability ideas and/or solutions or promotes new projects. Book Review Perspectives assemble multiple commentaries on the same  book and offer readers a range of personal viewpoints by a cross-disciplinary group of reviewers. This section often includes a rejoinder essay from the author. The journal also supports an online moderated discussion of sustainability issues by accepting responses to published articles, editorials, and essays via e-Letters. Authors are encouraged to respond to the comments which create another venue to study divergent perspectives addressing practical aspects at the intersection of environment, social, and economic issues within sustainability.

This  publication is the product of a government/private industry partnership between the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) <www.nbii.gov>  and ProQuest-CSA <http://www.csa.com>.  The journal’s partnership-produced articles are available free to all to read, download, copy, and reproduce for any scientific purpose.

For more information, contact: Amy Forrester, Managing Editor- Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy, 7200 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 601, Bethesda, MD 20814 USA by e-mail <amy.forrester@proquest.com> or phone (301-961-6722).
References:

Bridges, C. & Wilhelm, W. 2008. Going beyond green: The “why and how” of integrating sustainability into the marketing curriculum. Journal of Marketing Education 30(1): 33–46.
Kajikawa, Y. 2008 Research core and framework of sustainability science. Sustainability Science<http://www.springerlink.com/content/d06k2q37j8606h46/>. Accessed 10/7/08.
Kueffer, C., Hadorn, G., Bammer, G., van Kerkhoff, L., & Pohl, C. 2007. Towards a publication culture in transdisciplinary research. GAIA 16(1): 22–26.

The NBII is a broad, collaborative program to provide increased access to data and information on the nation’s biological resources.  Coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey, the NBII links diverse, high-quality biological databases, information products, and analytical tools maintained by NBII partners and other contributors in government agencies, academic institutions, non-government organizations, and private industry. NBII partners and collaborators also work on new standards, tools, and technologies that make it easier to find, integrate, and apply biological resources information.