Journal of Cleaner Production Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

JCP uses an unstructured abstract, which is simpler than some other Elsevier environmental journals that require structured abstracts.

• Word limit: 200 words for research articles, 250 for reviews
• Structure: Unstructured (single paragraph)
• Citations: Not allowed
• Content: Should cover the purpose, methodology, main findings, and implications for cleaner production

The abstract is your paper's elevator pitch. JCP readers come from diverse backgrounds (engineering, management, environmental science, economics), so the abstract needs to be accessible. Avoid highly specialized terminology without context.

Start the abstract with the specific problem or gap, not generic background. "Industrial wastewater treatment accounts for 15% of manufacturing energy costs" is better than "Environmental pollution is a growing concern worldwide."

Graphical abstract: Optional but recommended. JCP displays graphical abstracts prominently on ScienceDirect, and they increase article visibility.

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 531 x 1328 pixels minimum
• Format: TIFF, EPS, or high-resolution JPEG
• Single image (not a multi-panel figure)
• Minimal text; visual communication of the main concept
• Should be distinct from figures in the manuscript

The graphical abstract is separate from the highlights and the text abstract. Each serves a different purpose: the text abstract summarizes, the highlights list key points, and the graphical abstract provides a visual overview.

JCP doesn't specify a strict figure count, but research articles typically include 4-8 figures and 2-4 tables. The display items should support your narrative without redundancy.

Figure specifications:

JCP-specific figure considerations:

JCP papers frequently include flow diagrams, system boundary diagrams (for LCA studies), process schematics, and maps. These should be:

• Created as vector graphics when possible (not screenshots from software)
• Clearly labeled with consistent fonts and sizes
• Self-explanatory with a descriptive caption

Table formatting:

• Every column must have a header with units specified
• Horizontal rules only (top, below header, bottom)
• No vertical rules
• Title above the table
• Footnotes below using superscript lowercase letters
• Editable format (not images of tables)

Maps and geographic data: JCP papers often include study area maps. If your map shows national boundaries, be aware that Elsevier has a content policy regarding territorial disputes. Use neutral representations or consult Elsevier's map policy if your study area involves disputed regions.

JCP uses the standard Elsevier numbered reference style, consistent with other Elsevier journals.

In-text citations: Square brackets with numbers, e.g., [1], [2,3], [4-7]. Sequential by order of first appearance.

Reference list format:

[1] A.B. Author, C.D. Author, Title of article, J. Abbrev. Name Volume (Year) Pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Key formatting details:

• Author initials before last name (J.K. Smith)
• Journal titles abbreviated per ISO 4
• Volume in bold
• DOIs included at the end
• Web references include URL and access date
• Reports and gray literature: include organization, title, year, and URL

JCP papers often cite a wider range of source types than typical engineering journals. Government reports, international organization publications (UN, OECD, EU), industry standards, and policy documents are common. Format these consistently:

• Government report: Organization, Title of Report, Publication Number, Year. URL.
• Standard: Organization, Standard Number: Title, Year.

There's no formal reference cap. Most JCP research articles cite 50-80 references. Review articles commonly cite 100-200. Sustainability research draws on multiple fields, so reference lists tend to be longer than in narrow-scope journals.

JCP uses Elsevier's standard supplementary material system. Supplementary content is hosted on ScienceDirect alongside the article.

What belongs in supplementary material:

• Extended methodological details (LCA inventory data, survey questionnaires)
• Additional data tables (full datasets, sensitivity analysis results)
• Supporting figures (process flow diagrams at higher detail, additional maps)
• Code or models (Excel-based tools, R scripts)
• Interview guides or qualitative coding schemes

File requirements:

• Self-contained with own captions and numbering (Figure S1, Table S1)
• Maximum 50 MB per file
• PDF, Word, Excel, TIFF, or JPEG format
• Every supplementary item must be cited in the main text

Given JCP's 8,000-word limit, the supplementary material often carries substantial content. It's common for JCP papers to have 10-20 pages of supplementary tables, figures, and methodological detail. Reviewers have access to all supplementary files and will check them.

Data in Brief: JCP supports Elsevier's Data in Brief companion journal. If you have a substantial dataset, you can submit a Data Article to Data in Brief simultaneously with your JCP paper. The data article will be linked to your JCP paper if both are accepted.

JCP requires several components beyond the manuscript.

Cover letter: Mandatory. Should include:

• Statement of novelty and contribution to cleaner production
• Confirmation that the work is original and not under consideration elsewhere
• Identification of the most relevant section of JCP (the journal covers many topics)
• Suggested and excluded reviewers (3-5 suggestions)

Highlights: Mandatory for all research articles. 3-5 bullet points, each 85 characters maximum including spaces. The 85-character limit is strictly enforced.

Writing effective highlights for JCP papers requires focusing on outcomes, not methods. "Life cycle assessment of three packaging alternatives" describes what you did. "Reusable packaging reduces carbon footprint by 63% over 10-year horizon" tells the reader what you found.

Keywords: 4-6 keywords, not duplicating title terms. JCP covers a wide scope, so use keywords that help your paper reach the right audience. If your paper is about circular economy in the textile industry, include both "circular economy" and "textile industry" as keywords.

CRediT author statement: Required. List each author's contributions using the 14 CRediT roles.

Data availability statement: Required. Select from Elsevier's standard templates or write a custom statement.

Declaration of competing interests: Mandatory.

These are the formatting details that experienced JCP authors know:

Highlights are strictly required. JCP won't process submissions without highlights. The 85-character limit per bullet point is enforced by the system. Write your highlights before starting the online submission.

The 8,000-word limit is hard. Unlike some journals where word limits are suggestions, JCP enforces theirs at the editorial screening stage. If your manuscript is over 8,000 words, cut before submitting.

Contribution to cleaner production must be explicit. JCP requires that papers clearly state their contribution to cleaner production or sustainability. A generic environmental study without a clear cleaner production angle will be desk rejected. Include a statement of contribution in both the cover letter and the manuscript's Introduction or Conclusions.

Section structure. JCP expects a standard structure: Introduction, Literature Review (optional, can be merged with Introduction), Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusions. Separate Results and Discussion sections are preferred over a combined section, but combined is accepted if it serves the paper better.

Practical implications section. JCP encourages (and some editors require) a "Practical implications" or "Managerial implications" subsection. This is where you explain how your findings can be applied by industry practitioners, policymakers, or other stakeholders. It's not a requirement listed in the formal guidelines, but reviewers frequently ask for it.

International scope considerations. JCP has a global readership. If your study is location-specific (a case study from a particular country or region), explicitly discuss the transferability of your findings to other contexts. Single-case studies without broader applicability discussion are a common reason for rejection.

Abbreviations. Define all abbreviations at first use. JCP covers many subfields, and an abbreviation that's obvious in your specialty (LCA, GHG, EPR) may not be clear to all readers.

These trip up JCP authors regularly:

1. Highlights character count. 85 characters per bullet point, including spaces. This is the most commonly missed formatting requirement. Count before submitting.

1. Word count enforcement. 8,000 words is firm. Don't submit at 8,500 hoping the editors won't notice.

1. Cleaner production relevance. Every paper must clearly connect to cleaner production or sustainability. Papers that read as pure environmental science without a production/management angle get desk rejected.

1. Line numbers. Required for the review version. Use continuous numbering, not per-page.

1. Double spacing. Required for review submission. Single-spaced manuscripts are returned.

1. Data availability statement. Required since 2023. This is checked during technical screening.

In our pre-submission review work on JCleP-targeted manuscripts, three patterns consistently predict formatting desk-screen failure at Journal of Cleaner Production. The patterns below are the same ones Cecilia Maria Villas Bôas de Almeida and outside reviewers flag at first-pass triage.

Scope-fit ambiguity in the abstract. JCleP editors move fastest on manuscripts whose contribution is obviously aligned with sustainability research with quantified environmental-impact metrics and practical implementation pathway. The named failure pattern: papers without explicit LCA or quantified sustainability metrics get extended revision rounds. Check whether your abstract reads to JCleP's scope

Methods package incomplete for the journal's reviewer pool. JCleP reviewers expect specific methodological detail. Case-study papers without comparison to baseline alternatives extend reviewer assignment. Check if your methods package is reviewer-complete

Reference-list and clean-citation failure mode. Editorial team at Journal of Cleaner Production screens reference lists for retracted-paper inclusion. Recent retractions in the JCleP corpus we audit include 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135789, 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128643, and 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137925. Citing any of these without a retraction-notice acknowledgment is an automatic desk-screen flag. Check whether your reference list is clean against Crossref + Retraction Watch

Manusights submission-corpus signal for Journal of Cleaner Production. Of the manuscripts our team screened before submission to JCleP and peer venues in 2025, the editorial-culture mismatch most consistent across the cohort is jclep reviewers expect explicit life-cycle assessment (lca) or quantified sustainability metrics; qualitative-only sustainability framing gets extended revision. In our analysis of anonymized JCleP-targeted submissions, Recent retractions in the JCleP corpus include 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135789, 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128643, and 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137925.

In our pre-submission review work with manuscripts targeting Journal of Cleaner Production, four patterns generate the most consistent desk-rejection outcomes.

Highlights missing or incorrectly formatted. Journal of Cleaner Production is an Elsevier journal requiring 3-5 bullet highlights, each under 85 characters including spaces. Papers without highlights or with bullets exceeding the character limit are returned through Editorial Manager before peer review. This is the most consistent administrative return at this journal.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) or equivalent environmental quantification absent. JCP's scope demands quantitative environmental impact assessment, not just qualitative claims of sustainability. Papers proposing a cleaner process, material substitution, or circular economy strategy without LCA, techno-economic analysis (TEA), or carbon footprint quantification are desk-rejected. The guide for authors explicitly requires quantitative environmental performance data, not narrative sustainability framing.

Study scope is process efficiency without environmental improvement justification. JCP publishes work on cleaner production: reducing environmental impact, waste, and resource consumption in industrial and production contexts. Papers reporting efficiency improvements (higher yield, faster reaction time) without demonstrating that the improvement reduces environmental impact are desk-rejected. The environmental improvement must be the central contribution, not a byproduct of efficiency.

Data availability statement absent. Elsevier requires a data availability statement for all JCP submissions. Papers missing this statement are returned before review. The statement must indicate where the underlying data supporting the figures and tables are available.

A Journal of Cleaner Production submission readiness check evaluates manuscript scope, Elsevier formatting compliance, and environmental quantification completeness against these desk-rejection patterns.