Open Access Policy

Journal: Journal of Materials for the Built Environment (JMBE)
Policy Version: 1.0
Effective Date: September 2026

1. Open Access Commitment

Journal of Materials for the Built Environment (JMBE) is a Gold Open Access journal.

All research articles and other published content are made freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication, without subscription or access charges for readers.

JMBE is committed to making scholarly research widely accessible while maintaining rigorous editorial standards, peer review, and research integrity.

2. Copyright and Licensing

Unless otherwise agreed for specific content, authors retain copyright in their published work.

Articles published in JMBE are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Under the CC BY 4.0 license, readers may:

• read and access the article freely;

• share and redistribute the published work;

• adapt, remix, or otherwise build upon the work; and

• use the work for commercial or non-commercial purposes,

provided that appropriate credit is given to the original authors and source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated as required by the license.

Authors should review the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license before publication.

3. Author Rights

Authors retain copyright in their published work unless a different copyright arrangement is explicitly agreed in writing.

Publication in JMBE does not transfer ownership of the underlying scholarly work to the publisher.

Authors may share and disseminate their published work in accordance with the applicable CC BY 4.0 license.

Where appropriate, authors may also deposit the published article in:

• institutional repositories;

• subject repositories;

• funder repositories; and

• other lawful research-sharing platforms.

4. Article Processing Charges

As a Gold Open Access journal, JMBE does not charge readers or institutions subscription fees to access published articles.

An Article Processing Charge (APC) is used to support the costs associated with editorial administration, peer-review coordination, production, digital publication, hosting, and long-term access to published content.

The APC is charged only after acceptance.

Payment of an APC, eligibility for a waiver, or an author's ability to pay must not influence editorial assessment or publication decisions.

The current APC is provided on the journal's Article Processing Charges page.

5. Founding-Stage APC

To support authors during the launch and development of the journal, JMBE currently operates a founding-stage APC arrangement.

The journal may revise its APC as its publishing program develops.

Any future APC changes will be announced publicly on the journal website and will not normally apply retroactively to manuscripts already accepted.

6. Waivers and Discounts

JMBE may provide full or partial APC waivers or discounts in accordance with its current waiver policy.

Consideration may be given to:

• authors based in eligible low-income economies;

• early-career researchers, where applicable;

• authors with demonstrated financial constraints; and

• other exceptional circumstances approved under the journal's applicable policy.

Requests for APC support are handled separately from academic evaluation.

A request for an APC waiver or discount does not influence peer review or editorial decision-making.

7. Separation of Editorial Decisions and APCs

JMBE maintains a clear separation between academic editorial decisions and commercial or financial considerations.

Editors and reviewers should not consider:

• whether an author will pay an APC;

• whether an APC waiver has been requested;

• the author's institution or funding status; or

• the potential financial value of a manuscript

when assessing the academic suitability of a submission.

Editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, relevance, methodological quality, research integrity, and compliance with journal policy.

The publisher does not override academic editorial decisions for commercial reasons.

8. Access to Published Articles

Published articles are freely accessible to readers worldwide.

No subscription, registration, or individual payment is required to access the full text of articles published under the journal's standard open access license.

JMBE encourages the responsible sharing and reuse of published research in support of education, research, innovation, and public knowledge.

9. Third-Party Materials

Open access licensing applies to content for which the authors or publisher hold the necessary rights.

Third-party material incorporated into an article may be subject to separate copyright or licensing terms.

Where third-party material is not covered by the article's CC BY 4.0 license, the relevant credit line or rights statement should identify the applicable restrictions.

Readers are responsible for determining whether additional permission is required for reuse of third-party content.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions for copyrighted material where required before publication.

10. Data and Supplementary Materials

Where research data, software, code, images, videos, or other supplementary materials are published alongside an article, the applicable license or access conditions will be identified where necessary.

Authors are encouraged to share supporting research outputs through appropriate repositories when ethically, legally, and practically possible.

Data sharing does not override:

• participant privacy;

• confidentiality obligations;

• intellectual property rights;

• contractual restrictions; or

• applicable legal and ethical requirements.

11. Preprints and Prior Dissemination

JMBE permits authors to disseminate manuscripts through appropriate preprint servers and repositories, subject to the journal's applicable policies.

Publication of a manuscript as a preprint does not in itself prevent submission to or publication in JMBE.

After publication, authors should ensure that