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.
Can Subjective Indicators Make Sustainability Assessment More Community Relevant? The Important Role of the Stakeholders’ Participation and the Use of Indicators Set towards the Localization of Sustainable Development
Hatakeyama, T. (Project manager, academic) & Heinrichs, H. (Project manager, academic)
01.10.16 → 28.02.22
Project: Dissertation project
Der partizipative Weg in die nachhaltige Gesellschaft? Formative Evaluation der Gestaltung neuer Partizipationssituationen in Politik und Wirtschaft zur Förderung nachhaltiger Entwicklung auf der Basis systemübergreifender Prinzipien der Partizipation
Basmer-Birkenfeld, S.-V. (Project manager, academic), Heinrichs, H. (Project manager, academic) & Wulfsberg, J. P. (Project manager, academic)
01.10.16 → …
Project: Dissertation project
NEMo: NEMo - Nachhaltige Erfüllung von Mobilitätsbedürfnissen im ländlichen Raum
Henkel, A. (Project manager, academic), Halberstadt, J. (Project manager, academic), Samland, U. (Project staff), Marx Gómez, J. (Project manager, academic), Hahn, A. (Project manager, academic), Köster, F. (Project manager, academic), Taeger, J. (Project manager, academic), Winter, A. J. (Project manager, academic) & Woisetschläger, D. M. (Project manager, academic)
Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony
01.10.16 → 30.04.19
Project: Research
Untersuchungen zum Abbau siliziumorganischer Verbindungen mithilfe von Labor-Experimenten
Grabitz, E. (Project staff), Olsson, O. (Project manager, academic) & Kümmerer, K. (Project manager, academic)
01.10.16 → 30.11.20
Project: Dissertation project
BOTTOM-UP SUSTAINABILITY TRANSFORMATIONS: Supporting local actors fostering change towards sustainability
Lam, D. (Project manager, academic)
01.09.16 → 31.12.20
Project: Dissertation project
Minderung der Barrierewirkung von Agrarflächen mittels halboffener Verbundkorridore
Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic), Aßmann, T. (Project manager, academic), Drees, C. (Partner), Hein, S. (Project staff) & Grabener, S. (Project staff)
01.09.16 → 30.04.22
Project: Research
Monitoring Neubau Zentralgebäude, Teilvorhaben: Ambient Intelligence, Nutzereinbindung, Innovative Bauteile
Bollow, E. (Project manager, academic)
01.09.16 → 30.06.21
Project: Research
ÖkoKult: Securing the Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity of Extensively Managed Cultural Landscapes (Ökokult): - Subproject 1: Ecosystem Functioning and Services of Cultural Landscapes
Temperton, V. (Project manager, academic), Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic), Aßmann, T. (Project manager, academic), Walmsley, D. (Coordination) & Schuldt, A. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.08.16 → 31.01.23
Project: Research
Problemstoffe in Oberflächengewässer 3
Ruck, W. (Project manager, academic)
Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency
01.07.16 → 30.06.17
Project: Research
Bridging The Great Divide in Sustainability Science: Bridging The Great Divide in Sustainability Science: Linking High-Performance Modeling and Transition Experiments to Foster Transformational Change Towards Sustainability
Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Kümmerer, K. (Project manager, academic), von Wehrden, H. (Project manager, academic), Forrest, N. (Project staff), Engler, J.-O. (Project staff), Zimmermann, H. (Project staff), Wiek, A. (Project manager, academic), Laubichler, M. (Project manager, academic), Ghosh, A. (Project staff), Reich, M. (Project staff), John, B. (Project staff) & Feller, R. L. (Project staff)
Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony
01.06.16 → 30.09.19
Project: Research
