Our publishing models

As part of the ongoing changes in scientific publishing, which aim to increase the readership, reach and impact of published research, many journals are moving from a traditional, subscription-based publishing model to an Open Access (OA) model. Under the OA model, an article is made freely available online when published, rather than being behind a paywall. Payment for publication is made by the authors’ institutions or funding bodies, who pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) when the research is accepted.

From January 2021, authors submitting primary research articles* to Nature Sustainability  will be able to choose to publish their work using either the traditional publishing route OR Open Access.

*Non-primary research (e.g. Reviews, Comments, News & Views) is not eligible for Open Access and is only published using the traditional publishing route.

Find out more about publishing in Nature Sustainability

Authors may need to take specific actions to achieve compliance with funder and institutional open access mandates. If your research is supported by a funder that requires immediate open access (e.g. according to Plan S principles or the NIH public access policy) then you should select the gold OA route, and we will direct you to the compliant route where possible. Because authors warrant under our subscription licensing terms that they haven’t committed to licensing any version of their article under a licence inconsistent with the terms of our agreement – including the applicable embargo period - publication under the subscription model isn’t suitable for authors whose funders require no embargo.