Publication Ethics and Guidelines

Sustainable Letters (Sustain. Lett.) is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing. The journal adheres to the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and follows international best practices to ensure integrity, transparency, and accountability in research publication.

  1. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting to Sustain. Lett. must adhere to the following ethical guidelines:

1.1 Originality and Plagiarism

  • Submitted manuscripts must be original and not published or under consideration elsewhere.
  • Proper attribution and citation of previous work are required.
  • Manuscripts will be screened for plagiarism using Turnitin/iThenticate software. Submissions with similarity index above 15% (excluding references) may be rejected.

1.2 Authorship Criteria

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to:

  • Conceptualization, methodology, or data analysis.
  • Drafting or critically revising the manuscript.
  • Final approval before submission.

All listed authors must have agreed to the final version and be accountable for the research content. Ghost, honorary, and gift authorship are strictly prohibited.

1.3 Data Integrity and Reproducibility

  • Authors must ensure that data presented in the manuscript is accurate, reliable, and reproducible.
  • Fabrication, falsification, or selective reporting of data will result in immediate rejection and reporting to the author’s institution.

1.4 Conflicts of Interest

  • Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, personal, or academic) that could influence the research.
  • If no conflicts exist, authors should state: "The authors declare no competing interests."

1.5 Acknowledgment of Funding Sources

All funding sources, institutional support, and grants must be fully disclosed in the manuscript.

1.6 Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Humans or Animals

  • Studies involving human participants must comply with the Helsinki Declaration and receive approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB).
  • Studies involving animals must follow international ethical guidelines (e.g., ARRIVE, OECD) and receive ethical clearance.
  • A statement on ethical approval must be included in the manuscript.
  1. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer reviewers play a crucial role in maintaining research quality. Reviewers must:

  • Maintain confidentiality and not share or use unpublished data.
  • Provide constructive, unbiased, and timely reviews.
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest that may compromise their objectivity.
  • Avoid plagiarism or misappropriation of the author’s work.

Reviewers found violating ethical guidelines will be removed from the journal’s reviewer pool.

  1. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

The editorial team ensures fair and transparent peer review. Editors must:

  • Make decisions based solely on the manuscript’s academic merit.
  • Maintain confidentiality throughout the review process.
  • Prevent any conflicts of interest between authors, reviewers, and editors.
  • Take corrective action in cases of research misconduct, plagiarism, or ethical violations.
  1. Handling Research Misconduct

Sustainable Chemistry Letters follows COPE guidelines for investigating and handling ethical violations, including:

4.1 Plagiarism and Duplicate Submission

  • Manuscripts with plagiarism >15% will be rejected immediately.
  • If plagiarism is detected after publication, the article may be retracted with a notice.

4.2 Data Fabrication and Falsification

If data manipulation or falsification is found:

  • The article may be rejected or retracted.
  • The author’s institution may be notified.

4.3 Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

Failure to disclose conflicts of interest may result in article retraction or correction.

4.4 Retraction and Corrections

  • Articles may be retracted in cases of serious ethical breaches.
  • Minor errors that do not affect the study’s conclusions will be corrected via a published erratum.
  1. Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a formal appeal letter with justification. Complaints about publication ethics can be sent to:

Email: info@rpmt-india.org