This Special Issue (SI) section is of interest to international community, academia and industry experts, policy makers and general public, which are working in the multi-disciplinary field of sustainable development research. The purpose of this SI section was to increase public awareness on current environmental problems and to stimulate exchange of novel ideas, experience and research results, between the people that are directly involved in the research, planning and implementing of sustainable development projects. The SI section is focused upon seven research topics that are of strategic importance to sustainable development, and are an extension of the previously generated Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) knowledge. The papers included here are the result of the integrative approach to sustainability issue developed by the SDEWES conference series.

In 2015, in the beautiful medieval city of Dubrovnik, the SDEWES Conference served as a venue for academia and industry experts, of different disciplines, from all over the world, to meet and to share technical information and offer the opportunity for multi-disciplinary discourse on science, technology and environmental policy that would lead to the development, demonstration, and commercialization of cleaner products and processes and effective environmental policy strategies.

The 10th SDEWES Conference brought together an impressive number of 538 participants from 65 countries, to strengthen the scientific capacities around the world and to ensure that the sciences are responsive to the emerging international challenges, especially in terms of sustainability of human activities.

The SDEWES conference series, covering a variety of topics, from the economic, environmental and social studies, to the studies which assessed and measured the sustainability of energy, transport, water, environment and food production systems and their many combinations, from the beginning of the twenty-first century serve as a platform that supports the interdisciplinary research approach. The Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy Journal has started a new cooperation with SDEWES Conference series, launching this SI dedicated to the 10th SDEWES Conference.

After careful selection procedure, 31 invitations were sent to the SDEWES 2015 authors to prepare articles out of which, after thorough reviewing procedures, 17 were finally accepted for this Special Issue section of Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. The topics of submitted papers can be classified into following groups:

  • Life cycle assessment (2 papers).

  • Future energy systems (2 papers).

  • Water-energy nexus and water networks (2 papers).

  • Waste management (2 papers).

  • CO2 emission from industry and due to land use change for biofuel cultivation (3 papers).

  • Mathematical modelling and numerical simulations (2 papers).

  • Social and economic studies (4 papers).

From its beginning, the SDEWES conference series significantly contributed to the knowledge increase in the named seven research topics. Some of the published papers have been notably cited, meaning that the quality and knowledge that they provide to the scientific community is of great importance.

This SI section, dedicated to the 10th SDEWES Conference, provides an overview of topics related to sustainable development. The authors of the editorial have confidence that the selected papers and addressed issues will substantially contribute to the increase of the body of knowledge published in the Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy journal and will be of interest to its readers.

Future SDEWES Conferences, in close cooperation with the Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy journal, will continue to disseminate the new knowledge on all aspects of sustainability. Information on the upcoming events and other related activities can be found in the Web site of the International Centre for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES Centre) at <www.sdewes.org>.

The Guest Editors of this SI section have the pleasure thanking the international team of reviewers who dedicated a great deal of their time and efforts on adjusting the quality of the submitted manuscripts to reach the high standards of the Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy journal.