Front cover: The title page shows the Overview Page of Int J LCA in ESS, our new Electronic Submission System for peer-reviewed papers (http://www.scientificjournals.com/sj/all/ESS). ESS is designed along the requirements of our journals by Enterprise Technologies (http://www.enterprise-technologies.de). ESS is user-friendly, self-explanatory and easy to handle. ESS enhances the quality of the review process by transparency and accelerates the flow from the abstract submission through the publication in OnlineFirst. Authors, ESS-Subject Editors and Referees can track the course of their papers on the Overview Page as well as in the individual pages. The column 'Status' on the Overview Page shows the current state of a paper, and the column 'Next Step' indicates the forthcoming action. 'Next Step' describes the forthcoming action as being executed. Automatic ESS emails notify authors, editors and referees to check ESS when a new stage is reached or an action is to be taken. Further information on ESS can be found on p. 2A. Cover design: Edwin Grondinger, abavo GmbH, Nebelhornstraße 8, 86807 Buchloe, Germany (edwin.grondinger@abavo.de; http://www.abavo.de)
