Three years after its launch, Cambridge Prisms: Plastics has achieved a major milestone, earning a prestigious Q1 ranking in the environmental studies category according to the latest journal metrics released this week.
The achievement highlights the journal's emergence as one of the leading international publications focused on the urgent and societal challenges posed by plastics and examines possible solutions.
Published by Cambridge University Press and led by Editor-in-Chief Professor Steve Fletcher , Co-Director of the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth, the journal was established to provide an interdisciplinary platform dedicated to understanding and solving the global plastics crisis.
The journal has demonstrated that addressing plastic pollution requires expertise from across the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities and policy communities. We are proud to provide a home for this vital research and look forward to continuing to support evidence-based solutions for one of the world's most urgent environmental challenges.
Professor Steve Fletcher , Editor-in-Chief of Cambridge Prisms: Plastics and Co-Director of the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth
The newly confirmed metrics demonstrate the journal's growing influence across the international research community. Cambridge Prisms: Plastics has achieved an impact factor of 5.3, placing it in the first quartile (Q1) of Environmental Studies journals and the second quartile (Q2) of Environmental Sciences journals. The journal has also achieved a citescore of 4.2. Its reach and engagement are reflected in 879 altmetric mentions, and more than 280,000 article downloads.
The achievement reflects the journals success in bringing together researchers, policymakers, industry experts and practitioners from across disciplines to address one of the defining environmental challenges of our time.
Professor Steve Fletcher, Editor-in-Chief of Cambridge Prisms: Plastics and Co-Director of the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth, said: "When we launched Cambridge Prisms: Plastics in 2023, our ambition was to create an interdisciplinary platform that could help accelerate solutions to the global plastics crisis. Achieving Q1 status within three years is an endorsement of that vision and of the outstanding contributions made by our authors, reviewers and editorial team. The journal has demonstrated that addressing plastic pollution requires expertise from across the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities and policy communities. We are proud to provide a home for this vital research and look forward to continuing to support evidence-based solutions for one of the world's most urgent environmental challenges."
The journal has quickly established itself as a leading voice in global plastics research. Among its most impactful contributions was a landmark collection of open letters published in July 2025, ahead of the fifth session (5.2) of the United Nations negotiations on a Global Plastics Treaty. The letters, authored by more than 60 leading scientists from around the world, called on governments to agree ambitious and enforceable measures to tackle plastic pollution, including reducing plastic production, phasing out toxic additives and prioritising human health.
We are so pleased to see Cambridge Prisms: Plastics making a large impact in the plastics research community and adding real value.
Dr Jess Jones , Senior Publisher at Cambridge University Press
Dr Jess Jones, Senior Publisher at Cambridge University Press, said: "We are so pleased to see Cambridge Prisms: Plastics making a large impact in the plastics research community and adding real value. Professor Steve Fletcher and the Editorial Board have worked tirelessly to ensure the journal delivered its original vision of publishing interdisciplinary research with diversity and representation remaining a core focus. We are so pleased the metrics reflect this extraordinary effort. Thank you to all editorial board members, reviewers and authors who have and continue to support the journal and its vision."
Launched in May 2023, Cambridge Prisms: Plastics was designed as an open access journal covering the full breadth of plastics research. Its scope spans science, policy, environmental and human health, environmental justice, human rights, economics, behaviour change and the arts, recognising that solutions to plastic pollution require collaboration across sectors and disciplines.
