Environmental management as a pillar for sustainable development.

There is a growing concern about how to minimize the impact of human activities on the environment. Already nowadays, in some places adaptation efforts are needed in order to avoid the irreversibility of negative human activities. Due to climate changes, and corresponding environmental and social changes, there is a great need for a more sustainable development of mankind. Over the years, research studies that analyzed the sustainable development of different communities with a multi-disciplinary approach, stressed the necessity of preserving the environment for next generations. Therefore, responsible and conscientious management of the environment is a pillar of the sustainable development concept. This review introduction article provides an overview of the recent top scientific publications related to sustainable development that mostly originated from previous SDEWES conferences.