School of Sustainability
Organisational unit: Research School
- Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM)
- Institute of Ecology
- Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
- Institute of Sustainability Governance
- Institute of Sustainability Material Flows and Circularity
- Institute of Sustainability Psychology
- Institute of Sustainable Chemistry
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
- Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute
Organisation profile
Sustainability has many facets. Inter- and transdisciplinary research and teaching characterize the School of Sustainability. Scientists in our research projects work together in the laboratory, on the heath, in the grassland, in the classroom, with the city administration, with farmers, with non-governmental organizations, with companies, with students in the lecture hall and of course at their desks.
Furthermore, we work with regional and national political actors, e.g. ministries, as well as international organizations, e.g. UNEP, UNESCO, EU. We are part of national and international bodies, e.g. sustainability advisory boards of companies, member of the German Sustainability Award, World Biodiversity Council (IPBES), in order to contribute to social change with scientific findings.
Main research areas
Vision
Sustainability science investigates on a theoretical, conceptual and empirical level how to promote sustainable development and how to find and implement effective solutions for current social and ecological challenges. The aim is to create a more sustainable future.
Sustainability researchers are called upon to take responsibility for their research, which is anchored in existing scientific knowledge and methods and serves to make the world a better place for everyone.
Mission
We promote change towards a sustainable future by developing theories, concepts and practices of inclusive education for sustainability, research, governance and management.
We acknowledge the diversity and dynamics of values, norms and behaviour and contribute with transdisciplinary methods to ensuring that tensions and differences between different disciplines, methods, topics and standards are fruitfully taken up and used with productive compromises and further developments towards sustainable development.
Principles
The School of Sustainability is guided by the normative concepts of ecological system integrity and social and economic justice.
Ecological system integrity refers to the safeguarding of life-support systems, as well as the maintenance of the well-being of life on Earth.
With social and economic justice we strive for a world in which all people can fulfil their potential without endangering system integrity and the well-being of others.
Information about the School
The School of Sustainability includes...
... ca. 25 professors
... ca. 100 research assistants
... ca. 1000 students in Bachelor and Master courses
In various inter- and transdisciplinary projects we are constantly researching and working together on changes and solutions for current challenges.
TTT: Tundra Trait Team
Haider, S. (Project staff), Bjorkmann, A. (Project manager, academic) & Myers-Smith, I. H. (Project manager, academic)
10.05.18 → …
Project: Research
GLOCULL: Globally and Locally-sustainable Food-Water-Energy Innovation in Urban Living Labs
Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Bernert, P. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.05.18 → 31.03.22
Project: Research
Durchführung innovativer Bildungsmaßnahmen und Erprobung neuer Bildungsformate zur Förderung von Nachhaltigkeitshandeln in Kommunen am Beispiel Niedersachsen
Heinrichs, H. (Project manager, academic) & Laws, N. (Project manager, academic)
German Federal Environmental Foundation
09.04.18 → 31.01.20
Project: Transfer (R&D project)
A biodiversity hotspot faces intensification of viticulture: the role of Fynbos remnants for the conservation of plants and butterflies
Loos, J. (Project manager, academic), Topp, E. (Project staff), Burghardt, S. (Project staff), Talanow, K. (Project staff), Martín-López, B. (Partner), Underhill, L. (Partner) & Edge, D. (Partner, non-academic)
01.04.18 → 30.06.20
Project: Research
TRANSFORM: Accelerating sustainability entrepreneurship experiments in local spaces
Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Schaltegger, S. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.18 → 31.03.25
Project: Other
Conservation of the endangered Danube Clouded Yellow butterfly (Colias myrmidone) in Natura 2000 sites of Romania
Loos, J. (Project manager, academic), Börsch, J. (Project staff), Gallersdörfer, J. (Project staff), Kortmann, E. (Project staff), Nippen, P. (Partner), Dolek, M. (Partner, non-academic), Kastal, A. (Partner, non-academic), Lengyel, P. (Partner, non-academic) & Vizauer, T.-C. (Partner, non-academic)
01.04.18 → 30.09.22
Project: Research
INPLAMINT II: Increasing agricultural nutrient-use efficiency by optimizing plant–soil-microorganism interactions
Temperton, V. (Project manager, academic)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.04.18 → 31.05.21
Project: Research
Mental Accounting in Negotiations
Trötschel, R. (Project manager, academic), Zhang, H. (Project manager, academic) & Majer, J. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.18 → …
Project: Research
Nawi-In: Naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht inklusiv gestalten - Kompetenzentwicklung von Lehramtsstudierenden für und mit der Praxis
Abels, S. (Project manager, academic), Barth, M. (Project manager, academic), Egger, D. (Project staff), Brauns, S. (Project staff) & Sellin, K. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.04.18 → 30.09.21
Project: Research
TreeDi: TreeDiversity Interactions (TreeDi): The role of tree-tree interactions in local neighbourhoods in Chinese subtropical forests - International Research Training Group funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)
Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic), von Oheimb, G. (Project manager, academic), Fichtner, A. (Project manager, academic), Perles-García, M. D. (Project staff), Bruelheide, H. (Project manager, academic) & Wang, Y. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.18 → 30.09.22
Project: Research