Journal Guide
Publishing in Building and Environment: Fit, Timeline & Submission Guide
Building and Environment fits manuscripts where the building-environment system is the scientific protagonist, not just the study location.
Should you submit here?
Submit if the paper should teach readers something about buildings, indoor environments, or building operation beyond a local case report. Be careful if a study conducted in a building is not automatically a built-environment contribution.
Best fit if
The paper should teach readers something about buildings, indoor environments, or building operation beyond a local case report
Not ideal if
A study conducted in a building is not automatically a built-environment contribution
Also compare
7.4
Impact Factor (2024)
Selective Elsevier built-environment journal
Acceptance Rate
Editorial screening first; peer review after editor fit
Time to First Decision
Readiness Scan
See whether your manuscript clears Building and Environment’s editorial screen.
Free 1 to 2 minute scan. Get a fit score, top issues, and the specific Building and Environment desk-reject patterns flagged before you submit.
Anthropic Privacy Partner. Zero-retention manuscript processing.
What Building and Environment Publishes
Building and Environment publishes research on built-environment science, including indoor environmental quality, building physics, energy performance, ventilation, thermal comfort, occupant behavior, and sustainable building systems.
- Built-environment manuscripts with transferable analytical contribution beyond one case site
- Indoor environmental quality, ventilation, thermal comfort, building-energy, and building-physics studies
- Measurement, modeling, simulation, and intervention studies where building context changes the scientific question
Editor Insight
“Building and Environment readiness depends on whether the manuscript proves a transferable built-environment contribution, not only a technically sound site study.”
What Building and Environment Editors Look For
Built-environment contribution
The paper should teach readers something about buildings, indoor environments, or building operation beyond a local case report.
Analytical structure
Methods, figures, and validation should support a clear causal, mechanistic, or transferable claim.
Correct adjacent-venue routing
Authors should know why Building and Environment is cleaner than Energy and Buildings, Indoor Air, Building Simulation, or Applied Energy.
Why Papers Get Rejected
These patterns appear repeatedly in manuscripts that don't make it past Building and Environment's editorial review:
Building is only the location
A study conducted in a building is not automatically a built-environment contribution.
Performance results without analytical claim
Editors need to see what the measurements or model change about building science.
Generic engineering cover letter
A strong cover letter explains why Building and Environment owns the manuscript.
Does your manuscript avoid these patterns?
The Free Readiness Scan reads your full manuscript against Building and Environment's criteria and flags the specific issues most likely to cause rejection.
Insider Tips from Building and Environment Authors
Name the building-environment mechanism early
The abstract should tell editors what changes about building science, design, operation, or exposure interpretation.
Make validation visible
Boundary conditions, uncertainty, calibration, and sensitivity checks help distinguish analysis from case reporting.
The Building and Environment Submission Process
Scope fit
Before uploadConfirm the manuscript is a built-environment contribution rather than generic engineering or local monitoring.
Prepare Elsevier package
Pre-submissionFinalize manuscript, figures, highlights, declarations, data availability, and supplementary files.
Submit online
Day 0Upload through Elsevier Editorial Manager following the live guide for authors.
Editorial assessment
Initial screenEditors screen scope, analytical contribution, evidence quality, and reviewer fit.
Peer review
After editor invitationReviewers assess model validity, measurement design, uncertainty, transferability, and practical implications.
Building and Environment by the Numbers
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Core scope | Built environment and indoor environmental quality |
| Submission system | Elsevier Editorial Manager |
Before you submit
Building and Environment accepts a small fraction of submissions. Make your attempt count.
Start with the Free Readiness Scan. Unlock the Full Review from $29, with local pricing shown before checkout. If you need deeper submission planning, choose the Submission-Ready Dossier. The full report is calibrated to Building and Environment.
Article Types
Research Paper
Original built-environment research article
Review
Synthesis of built-environment research or methods
Landmark Building and Environment Papers
Papers that defined fields and changed science:
- Indoor environmental quality studies
- Building-energy modeling papers
- Thermal comfort and ventilation analyses
Preparing a Building and Environment Submission?
Get pre-submission feedback from reviewers who've published in Building and Environment and know exactly what editors look for.
Run Free Readiness ScanNeed expert depth? See Expert Review Options
Primary Fields
Ready to submit to Building and Environment?
A desk rejection costs months. Get expert feedback before you submit, from scientists who know exactly what Building and Environment editors look for.
Avoid Desk Rejection
Get expert pre-submission review before you submit to Building and Environment. 3-7 day turnaround.
Manuscript Rejected?
Expert revision help to strengthen your manuscript and resubmit with confidence.
Reviewer Response Help
Get expert guidance crafting your response to Building and Environment reviewers.
Need field-expert depth? See Expert Review Options