Dear Colleagues,

In order to achieve a sustainable future, the present generations’ needs and actions must not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. One of the major goals in these efforts is to secure global environmental stability. A plethora of current problems, such as dramatic human population growth, “dirty” industries, extensive agriculture production, and high-energy-demand transportation have become major sustainability threats. All the above concerns lead to global climate change, ecosystem pollution, soil erosion, altered interactions between living species, and jeopardize sustainable development.

To mitigate the consequences of these harmful effects on human societies, and to maintain a clean and stable environment with potential for the future, one of the main goals of today’s science has become the development and promotion of the use of natural resources for sustainable economic development. With about 500,000 species spread over the Earth’s land surface, the kingdom of plants provides a huge reservoir of chemicals, products, and materials that can reduce dependency on different synthetic chemicals and the adverse effects they have on the environment.

In view of the above, this Special Issue aims to collect high-quality original research papers, reviews, or opinions related to studies reporting on the usage of plant-based resources in improving sustainability in the modern world. The Special Issue welcomes both specialized and interdisciplinary studies, which will stimulate knowledge exchange, discussions, and debate within the scientific community but also impact policymakers and stakeholders to implement the advance of knowledge and good practices in improving sustainability.        

The use of plant-based natural products in a sustainable manner is foreseen in many different sectors, so we welcome original articles focusing on the application of green approaches in obtaining:

1. food biopreservatives
2. alternatives to chemical and synthetic pesticides
3. solutions for the replacement of synthetic fertilizers in agriculture
4. new ingredients in natural cosmetics
5. biopharmaceutical products
6. bioenergy
7. green electronic devices
8. alternatives to plastics

Dr. Jelena M. Savić
Dr. Nina Devrnja
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• plant metabolites
• biotechnology
• genetic and metabolic engineering
• green industry