Generative AI
Where AI tools may and may not be used, by authors, by reviewers and by editors.
The standards we follow
Research and Reviews in Sustainability follows the COPE position statement on authorship and AI tools and section II.A.4 of the ICMJE Recommendations.
Authors
- A generative AI system cannot be an author. Authorship carries accountability, and a tool cannot be accountable.
- Authors may use AI tools to improve the language and readability of a manuscript. Doing so must be declared, in a statement naming the tool and describing what it was used for.
- AI tools must not be used to generate or alter data, results, figures or images.
- Authors remain fully responsible for the content of their paper, including anything an AI tool contributed to it, and for any citation it produced.
Reviewers and editors
- Reviewers must not upload any part of a manuscript to a generative AI system. A manuscript under review is confidential, and uploading it is a breach of that confidence.
- Editors must not use a generative AI system to reach or draft an editorial decision.
This policy applies to the tools as they are today. It will be revised as the position of COPE and the ICMJE develops, and the date of the current version is shown at the foot of this page.
This policy applies to every journal we publish. Last revised 28 August 2026.