Environmental Systems Engineering: Insights and Innovations for 2025

Environmental Systems Engineering is pivotal in developing sustainable methods to address pressing environmental issues, bridging technological innovation and ecological balance. As we advance into the third decade of the 21st century, the field has seen exceptional progress in integrating engineering principles with environmental management, optimizing resource use, and mitigating environmental impacts. However, there remains a pressing need to enhance system efficiencies, solve resource distribution challenges, and establish resilient infrastructures against the backdrop of climate change.

Recent studies have underscored major advancements, including the development of sophisticated modeling and optimization techniques, innovative solutions for resource recovery, and enhanced systems for pollution control. These breakthroughs contribute significantly to sustainable practices and environmental protection, but also highlight ongoing challenges such as balancing economic costs with environmental benefits and updating traditional infrastructures.

This Research Topic aims to explore pioneering developments and continuing challenges within Environmental Systems Engineering. Highlighting accomplishments in systems modeling, technological innovation, and integrated solutions, it strives to pose critical questions and suggest strategic directions for future exploration. By presenting a comprehensive view of the contemporary advancements, this initiative seeks to illuminate pathways for overcoming current limitations and enhancing the efficacy of environmental systems.

To gather further insights into Environmental Systems Engineering, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Novel modeling and optimization techniques for environmental systems

• Innovative approaches to resource recovery and recycling

• Strategies for pollution reduction, circular economy, and sustainable waste management

• Development of resilient systems and infrastructures in response to climate change

• Integrated assessment methodologies for environmental engineering solutions

• Environmental management systems and material flow analyses

• AI technologies powering environmental systems engineering.

We invite authors to examine prevailing challenges and propose innovative strategies, advancing the field in its pursuit of sustainability and resilience. Article types welcomed include Perspectives, Case studies, and Opinion papers.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: environmental systems, environmental engineering solutions, environmental assessment, circular economy, resilient infrastructures

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.