Why Discover journals and Collections are an ideal outlet for SDG-focused research

Author: Siobhan Bates

In an era where global challenges demand urgent, coordinated action, research aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) plays a vital role. But producing impactful research is only part of the equation—ensuring it reaches the right audiences, is accessible to all, and sparks real-world change is just as important.

This is where the Discover journals stand out. With their strong emphasis on open access, inclusive publishing practices, and multidisciplinary collaboration, Discover journals create a unique publishing environment where SDG-related research can thrive. They are designed not only to disseminate knowledge but to amplify its societal relevance, helping bridge the gap between research and implementation.

In this blog, we take a closer look at how Discover journals—and their growing portfolio of guest-edited Collections—offer researchers a targeted and powerful platform to publish work aligned with the SDGs. Whether it’s climate action, global health, quality education, or sustainable innovation, these journals provide a home for research that’s meant to be seen, shared, and acted upon.

From accessibility and visibility to community building and global impact, we explore the many ways Discover journals support the goals of researchers committed to solving the world’s most pressing challenges.

The Discover journals’ commitment to open access (OA), inclusive publishing, and multidisciplinary research significantly enhances the impact of research aligned with the SDGs. This commitment creates a publishing space in which the visibility and usability of research is amplified across sectors and geographies.

“The Discover series advances the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through rigorous, rapid, and representative research that reaches global audiences. Every journal in the series contributes to this mission, openly sharing critical knowledge — from climate science to social equity, clean energy to public health, and cutting-edge education research to sustainable urban development — to empower researchers and policymakers. By bridging high-quality scholarship with inclusive publishing, we accelerate collaborative solutions for a sustainable future.” 

- Sweater Shi, Executive Publisher, Discover at Springer Nature

Open Access: Making your work available via OA publication accelerates the translation of research findings into real-world applications. It gives access to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners across the globe, particularly where resources are limited. You work can be freely and immediately applied to sustainable development challenges.

Inclusive: Welcoming participation of diverse voices and perspective in publishing means that underrepresented communities can share context-specific research and insights.

Multidisciplinary: Suitable to the inherently interconnected nature of the SDGs, multidisciplinary research addresses complex global challenges in an integrated way. It encourages collaboration across fields and specialties to reach robust solutions that address the multi-dimensions of life.

Discover’s publications are accessible, inclusive, rigorous, and actionable, and support the efforts to accelerate progress toward achieving the SDGs. When you publish in a Discover journal, you amplify your work’s societal relevance, and position it to drive real-world impact.

Dedication to the SDGs across the Discover portfolio

The Discover portfolio in its entirety contributes to progress on the SDGs. As early on as the journal proposal stage, Discover titles are asked to consider their support for the SDGs and align with SDGs relevant to their subject matter.

Leading the portfolio’s support of the SDGs is Discover Sustainability, dedicated to supporting all 17 SDGs. The journal publishes multidisciplinary research addressing sustainability challenges and is intended to help researchers, policymakers, and the general public understand how to ensure the wellbeing of current and future generations considering the global challenges facing the world.

Other Discover journals that focus on specific SDG topics include Discover Environment, Discover Education, Discover Life, Discover Public Health, Discover Water, Discover Civil Engineering, Discover Energy, Discover Cities, and Discover Agriculture.

SDG-related publications in the Discover journals show higher engagement compared with non-SDG content. With a 53.9% higher average Altmetric score and 12.6% more citations (Dimensions) on average, this research is clearly not only academically influential. Its resonance with broader audiences signals that it has societal relevance and impact.

“In my role overseeing Discover Sustainability, Discover Water, and Discover Energy, I've seen firsthand how our journals drive progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. What inspires me most is how we turn open access into tangible impact — from urban sustainability solutions shaping policy to renewable energy research fueling the green transition.” 

- Angela Yang, Associate Publisher, Discover at Springer Nature

Discover editors and publisher recommend articles on the SDGs:

“Sustainable development goal 12 and its synergies with other SDGs: identification of key research contributions and policy insights,” Discover Sustainability

“Effects of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Discover Sustainability

“Addressing malaria incidence in Africa through health care expenditure and access to basic sanitation services,” Discover Health

 “Artificial intelligence for sustainability: opportunities and risks of utilizing Earth observation technologies to protect forests,” Discover Conservation

“Collections play an important role in helping Discover highlight and promote research related to the SDGs. Led by expert guest editors, they focus on timely global issues and provide a platform for impactful research to reach a wider audience.” 

-  Jing Guo, Team Lead, Collections Management and Acquisition, Springer Nature

Collecting momentum: How Discover Collections go beyond in support of the SDGs

In the Discover journals, guest editors lead the publication of Collections on emerging topics in their fields. These Collections allow authors to publish their work alongside relevant research centred on a specific topic. Collections help readers to quickly identify research that is of interest to them. The thematic focus and targeted audience mean that articles published as part of a Discover Collection receive more downloads and reads.

While defining and conceptualising their Collection, guest editors are also invited to identify SDGs related to their Collection’s topic. Discover Collections are also linked to Springer Nature’s SDG Programme hub, which makes it even easier for readers with an interest in specific SDGs to find this important content.

Collections are therefore a prime tool to support the SDGs. By curating focused, interdisciplinary research, they foster collaboration and bring together researchers working on similar issues from varying aspect. By collating expertise and knowledge, they amplify visibility and make it easier to access actionable knowledge and to translate it into policy and practice.

In 2024 alone, Discover journals opened no less than 559 Collections related to the SDGs to submission. These accounted for over 50% of all Collections launched that year. Discover Sustainability alone opened 82 Collections related to the SDGs in 2024, attracting 843 submissions so far, with 154 articles already published online.

Table: Discover Collections opened in 2024 that are related to SDGs

Example Discover Collections that support and amplify SDG-related research:

• Fishes in Changing Ecosystems
• Health, Well-being, and SDG: Determinants and Policies
• Cities of Tomorrow: towards Sustainable Urban Mobility
• Sustainable Use and Management of Natural Resources under Changing Climate 
• Response of Ocean Biogeochemistry to the Climate Change and Plausible Future Changes
• Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Water Challenges: From Pollution to Management

Proudly supporting the SDGs: How you can easily identify SDG content

You can easily identify which Discover journals support the SDGs by their SDG badge on their homepage. The SDG badge indicates that over 50% of the journal’s publications are SDG-related. And when you publish there, your work will find a home alongside other impactful and relevant articles on topics relating to the SDGs.

Visit Discover journals to find the right one for your next SDG publication.