1. Plagiarism Policy

Journal of Sustainability and Intelligent Business is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, originality, and responsible scholarly publishing. All submitted manuscripts must represent original scholarly work and must appropriately acknowledge the contributions, ideas, data, methods, and findings of other researchers.

Plagiarism, in any form, is unacceptable. JPC reserves the right to screen submitted manuscripts using plagiarism-detection software, including iThenticate or an equivalent tool, before peer review and at other stages of the publication process when necessary.

1.1 Forms of Plagiarism and Publication Misconduct

The following practices are considered unacceptable:

·         Direct plagiarism: Reproducing text, data, figures, tables, or other material from another source without appropriate quotation, attribution, or permission where required.

·         Paraphrasing plagiarism: Rewriting another author's work without adequate acknowledgment of the original source.

·         Self-plagiarism and text recycling: Reusing substantial portions of one's previously published work without appropriate citation, disclosure, or justification.

·         Duplicate or redundant publication: Publishing substantially the same research findings in multiple publications without adequate disclosure and justification.

·         Data and image manipulation: Fabricating, falsifying, selectively altering, or misrepresenting experimental data, spectra, chromatograms, figures, images, or computational results.

·         Citation manipulation: Inappropriately adding references to inflate citation counts or influence journal metrics.

·         Authorship misconduct: Misrepresenting contributions, including gift, guest, or ghost authorship.

1.2 Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts may undergo a similarity check before being considered for peer review. The similarity report will be assessed by the editorial team to identify potentially problematic overlap with published literature, online sources, and previously submitted manuscripts.

A similarity score alone does not establish plagiarism. Editorial assessment will consider the nature, location, extent, and context of the overlap, including properly cited quotations, standard scientific terminology, references, and methodological descriptions.

JPC does not treat a single similarity percentage as a definitive measure of plagiarism. Manuscripts containing substantial unattributed overlap or other evidence of misconduct may be returned for clarification, rejected, or investigated further.

1.3 Consequences of Plagiarism

When plagiarism or other publication misconduct is suspected, the journal may:

1.      Request an explanation or supporting documentation from the authors.

2.      Return the manuscript for correction when the issue is minor and appropriately remediable.

3.      Reject the manuscript when serious or unacceptable overlap is identified.

4.      Suspend editorial processing while a credible concern is investigated.

5.      Publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction if misconduct is established after publication.

6.      Notify the relevant institution, publisher, or research-integrity authority where appropriate.

All allegations will be assessed fairly and proportionately, taking into account the available evidence and applicable publication-ethics guidance.

1.4 Authors’ Responsibilities

Authors must ensure that all sources are properly cited, permissions are obtained where required, and previously published material is reused transparently and appropriately. Submitted manuscripts must not be under simultaneous consideration by another journal.

By submitting a manuscript to JPC, authors confirm that their work complies with the journal's plagiarism policy and applicable standards of research integrity.

2. Article Processing Charges and Publication Fees

Journal of Sustainability and Intelligent Business aims to facilitate the dissemination of pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry research through open-access scholarly publishing.

Article Processing Charges (APCs): No APC, according to the journal's intended fee policy.

Under this policy, authors are not charged for manuscript submission, peer review, editorial assessment, or publication of accepted articles.

2.1 No Mandatory Publication Charges

JPC's intended no-fee policy covers the following:

·         Manuscript submission fees.

·         Article processing charges.

·         Mandatory peer-review fees.

·         Editorial handling charges.

·         Mandatory page or publication charges.

·         Mandatory online open-access publication fees.

Any optional services or exceptional charges, if introduced, must be disclosed clearly to authors in advance. No undisclosed charges should be imposed during the submission, review, acceptance, or publication process.

2.2 Editorial Independence

Publication decisions are based on the scientific quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and ethical compliance of submitted manuscripts. An author's ability or inability to pay publication-related fees must not influence editorial assessment or peer-review decisions.

2.3 Transparency of Fees

The journal's fee policy should be accessible on its official website and communicated clearly before manuscript submission. Any future change to the fee structure must be announced transparently and applied according to a clearly stated policy.

Authors who require clarification regarding publication charges may contact the editorial office before submitting their manuscripts.

3. Publication Policy and Editorial Process

JPC publishes original scientific contributions in pharmaceutical chemistry and related disciplines, including medicinal chemistry, organic synthesis, pharmaceutical formulation and analysis, phytochemistry, computational chemistry, drug discovery, biochemistry, and molecular pharmacology.

The journal accepts the manuscript categories specified in its author guidelines, including research articles, research communications, and review articles.

3.1 Manuscript Submission

Authors must submit manuscripts in accordance with JPC's author instructions. Submissions should include all required manuscript files, author information, declarations, supporting data, ethical approvals where applicable, and relevant permissions.

The corresponding author is responsible for confirming that all authors have approved the submitted version and agree to the submission.

3.2 Initial Editorial Screening

The editorial team assesses each manuscript for:

·         Alignment with the journal's aims and scope.

·         Originality and scientific significance.

·         Compliance with manuscript preparation requirements.

·         Appropriate research methodology and reporting.

·         Plagiarism and publication-ethics concerns.

·         Required ethical approvals and declarations.

Manuscripts that do not meet essential requirements may be returned to the authors or rejected without external peer review.

3.3 Double-Blind Peer Review

JPC's published policy specifies a double-blind peer-review process in which author and reviewer identities are concealed from one another to the extent supported by the journal's procedures.

According to the journal's published description, three reviewers are invited to assess each manuscript, and the opinions of two reviewers are required for consideration for publication. Reviewers are given a minimum of three weeks to submit their reports.

Reviewer recommendations inform the editorial decision but do not guarantee acceptance. The editor evaluates the reviews, the manuscript's scientific merit, and any relevant ethical concerns before determining the next step.

3.4 Editorial Decisions

Following editorial assessment and peer review, a manuscript may receive one of the following decisions:

·         Accept: The manuscript is suitable for publication, subject to any remaining production requirements.

·         Minor revision: Limited changes are required before a final decision.

·         Major revision: Substantial revisions or additional clarification are required, potentially followed by further peer review.

·         Reject: The manuscript does not meet the journal's requirements for publication.

Authors must address reviewer comments accurately and provide a point-by-point response when revisions are requested.

3.5 Revision and Final Acceptance

Revised manuscripts are evaluated by the editor and, where appropriate, returned to the original or other qualified reviewers. Additional revision rounds may be required.

Final acceptance is granted only when the editor determines that the manuscript satisfies the journal's scientific, editorial, and ethical requirements.

3.6 Copyediting, Proofreading, and Publication

After acceptance, the manuscript proceeds through the journal's production process, which may include copyediting, typesetting, reference checking, and preparation of publication proofs.

Authors may be asked to review proofs and correct production errors before publication. Substantive changes at this stage require editorial approval.

JPC's published policy indicates a transition from quarterly issues to annual issues and a publish-upon-acceptance model. Under this model, accepted articles may be published online as they complete the required production steps rather than waiting for a scheduled issue, subject to the journal's operational arrangements.

3.7 Open Access

JPC provides immediate open access to its published content, supporting the broad dissemination and accessibility of scientific research.

Copyright ownership, licensing conditions, and permitted reuse of published articles must be specified clearly in the journal's official copyright and licensing policies.

3.8 Research Ethics and Publication Integrity

All manuscripts must comply with applicable ethical and regulatory requirements. Authors must disclose relevant conflicts of interest, funding sources, contributions, and any required ethics approvals.

Research involving human participants, human-derived materials, or experimental animals must satisfy applicable institutional and regulatory standards. Animal studies must include appropriate ethics approval documentation where required.

The journal reserves the right to investigate suspected misconduct and take appropriate corrective action to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

4. Policy Implementation and Review

The editor-in-chief and publisher are responsible for implementing these policies consistently and ensuring that authors, reviewers, and editors understand their respective responsibilities.

JPC seeks to maintain transparent editorial procedures, responsible research practices, fair peer review, and accessible publication policies. These policies should be reviewed periodically and updated when necessary to reflect developments in scholarly publishing and research-integrity standards.

The journal's publication practices should be consistent with relevant recommendations from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and recognized principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing.