Launched in December 2022, Frontiers in Environmental Engineering stands as a gold open access journal dedicated to advancing the environmental engineering community, with a core mission to disseminate high-impact, rigorous research that safeguards and restores natural ecosystems through scientific principles and engineered solutions. This Research Topic, “Celebrating 1 Year of Frontiers in Environmental Engineering,” was conceived to showcase the breadth and depth of the field by inviting contributions from the Specialty Chief Editors themselves. The resulting Research Topic of six articles, comprising one original research, two reviews, and three mini-reviews, aptly reflects the journal’s core mission: to apply scientific principles and engineering tools for the improvement and maintenance of natural ecosystems. The articles gathered here span the journal’s four specialty sections, offering a microcosm of current environmental engineering challenges and innovations.

Environmental Impact Assessment is brought to the fore in the mini review on Sustainability impact assessment tools and frameworks (Mulligan), which interrogates the critical tools that underpin evidence-based environmental decision-making. As global sustainability goals demand more robust, holistic assessment methodologies, this work offers timely insights into refining frameworks that bridge technical rigor and real-world applicability, a cornerstone of responsible environmental engineering practice.

Air Pollution Management emerges as a focal area across two key contributions. The mini review on Bioprocesses for the treatment and valorisation of gas emissions, odours, volatile compounds and greenhouse gases (Naveira-Pazos et al.) explores sustainable biological approaches to mitigating gaseous pollutants—an urgent priority as the world seeks low-carbon solutions for industrial and environmental emissions. Complementing this, the original research on Two-decade spatiotemporal variations in ground-level ozone over Ontario, Canada (Zang et al.), delivers empirical, long-term data on a pervasive air pollutant, filling critical knowledge gaps in regional air quality dynamics and providing a foundational dataset for future mitigation and policy design. These works together illustrate the journal’s dual focus on innovative treatment technologies and data-driven environmental monitoring for air pollution control.

Environmental Catalysis is represented by the mini review on Enzyme catalyzed oxidative humification reactions (ECOHRs): PFAS remediation and thatch management (Munir et al.), a pioneering exploration of enzymatic catalysis for addressing a class of persistent organic pollutants posing global environmental and human health risks, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), alongside agricultural waste management. This work exemplifies the creative, cross-disciplinary approaches defining modern environmental catalysis, leveraging biological processes for hard-to-treat contaminants. The critical review on Synthesis and application of Al trimesate-based metal-organic framework (Zheng et al.) further advances catalysis research, delving into the design and real-world utility of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for environmental applications, a rapidly evolving field with immense potential for pollutant capture and degradation.

Finally, Water, Waste, and Wastewater Engineering is addressed in the mini review on Microbial decolorization of anthraquinone dyes: batch and continuous treatment systems (Mohanty and Kumar), which focuses on biological remediation of dye-contaminated wastewater—a major challenge for textile and manufacturing industries. This work compares batch and continuous treatment systems, offering practical guidance for scaling microbial decolorization technologies, a key step in translating lab-scale research to industrial environmental solutions.

Collectively, these six articles do more than mark an anniversary; they chart a testament to the journal’s vision of fostering a collaborative, global community of environmental engineers dedicated to solving the planet’s most pressing ecological challenges. They demonstrate that the future of environmental engineering lies in integrating advanced materials and biological processes, embracing systemic assessment tools, and finding value in what was once considered waste. As the journal enters its next phase, we look forward to building on this foundation, welcoming innovative research, and continuing to serve as a vital platform for sharing knowledge that empowers the environmental engineering community to protect and restore natural ecosystems for future generations.

We extend our gratitude to all the contributing authors, the journal’s editorial boards, and the Frontiers team for their support in making this anniversary Research Topic possible. It is our hope that these works inspire further inquiry, collaboration, and action—core tenets of Frontiers in Environmental Engineering as we move forward in our mission to advance environmental engineering for a sustainable world.