Strengthening Our Commitment to Global Sustainability: ACS Publications Joins the SDG Publishers Compact

ACS Publications recently joined the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Publishers Compact, reinforcing our ongoing dedication to a more sustainable and equitable future. By signing on we are pledging our support across all 17 SDGs, with a particular focus on the following three:

• Goal 2: Zero Hunger
• Goal 7: Affordable & Clean Energy
• Goal 9: Industries, Innovation & Infrastructure

Many journals across the ACS Publications portfolio already exist at the forefront of sustainable discovery and innovation in these fields, publishing cutting-edge work across numerous areas of research and driving progress toward more sustainable solutions worldwide. Read on to learn more about the journals, research, and initiatives supporting each of these goals.

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Hunger remains one of the most persistent and crucial global challenges facing us today. Millions of people worldwide continue to suffer from undernourishment, and despite years of progress, the issue is now worsening. The Zero Hunger SDG aims to eliminate world hunger and malnourishment by 2030, and chemistry plays a vital role in helping to achieve this goal—particularly in the fields of agriculture, food production, preservation, and safety.

Addressing world hunger is a primary area of focus for our Agricultural and Food Chemistry family of journals: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, ACS Agricultural Science & Technology, and ACS Food Science & Technology. Notably, these journals recently published a joint Virtual Special Issue—The Future of Agriculture and Food: Sustainable Approaches to Achieve Zero Hunger—in direct support of Goal 2. This Special Issue contains 39 articles showcasing advances in food or agricultural research that contribute to more plentiful, sustainable food systems. It also supports the ACS Campaign for a Sustainable Future Initiative by emphasizing the need for rapid innovation and development of more sustainable production methods.

The fight to eliminate world hunger and meet the growing demand for food can unfortunately at times result in other types of environmental damage. Certain practices designed to boost food production often introduce emerging contaminants (such as PFAS) into agroecosystems, threatening food safety, the environment, and human health—and more research is needed to better understand these contaminants and how to mitigate them.

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, ACS Agricultural Science & Technology, and ACS ES&T Water are currently seeking submissions to an upcoming Virtual Special Issue featuring advances and insights into emerging contaminants in agroecosystems, better management practices, and more sustainable strategies to ensure food safety in our quest to eliminate global hunger.

Learn more about how you can submit your work to this Special Issue below:

Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

Goal 7 aims to ensure access to both affordable and clean energy, which is vital for advancement across numerous industries, but there is still much progress to be made. Chemical advancements and technologies are contributing significantly towards this goal by developing new materials for renewable energy production, including wind turbines, batteries, thermal and solar storage materials, and more.

ACS Publications has a strong presence in this field, with journals such as ACS Applied Energy Materials, ACS Energy Letters, and Energy & Fuels publishing leading-edge results dedicated to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions. A recent Virtual Special Issue from Energy & Fuels highlights the latest advances and new trends in the research on sustainable energy and clean fuels at the State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering (SKL-MCE) in China. From rechargeable batteries to hydrogen storage materials, this Special Issue contains 33 papers across eight key topics that reflect SKL-MCE’s latest research and technology development in sustainable energy and clean fuels.

Additionally, ACS Applied Engineering Materials is actively seeking submissions to an upcoming Forum showcasing recent research advances in thermal energy storage, with an emphasis on materials chemistry. The journal welcomes your latest work in this topic area by August 18, 2023.

Learn more below about how to submit:

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

ACS has identified three key areas in which the chemistry community can significantly contribute to the Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure goal:

• Upgrading infrastructure and retrofit production facilities to become more sustainable
• Designing, synthesizing, and manufacturing innovative advanced materials and coatings that make infrastructure more sustainable and resilient
• Encouraging chemistry research that enhances innovation for commercial applications

Our family of environmental and sustainability journals remains a leading force in publishing research that drives innovation and technological developments across numerous applications and industries. A Virtual Issue on Industrial Sustainability from ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering and Organic Process Research & Development includes a selection of recently published papers that demonstrate some of the different ways chemists and engineers are tackling the challenge of meeting sustainability goals. “The chemical industry has played a pivotal role in society through research, innovation, and delivering products of great utility,” write the Editors in the Virtual Issue’s editorial. “Now,…there is an important opportunity and challenge for the chemical sector to help the world make a transition to full sustainability in order to continue to provide for our communities while protecting the future of our planet.”

Growing Towards a Greener Future

Our family continues to grow! We are proud to announce the recent launch of ACS ES&T Air, the newest member of the Environmental Science & Technology journal portfolio; and ACS Sustainable Resource Management, a sister publication to ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering and newest addition to the ACS Sustainability portfolio.

Learn more about each of the journals below:

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