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.
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
SteuerBoard Energie: Governance Mechanisms in the Future Polycentric Energy System - Sub-Project: Institutional Analysis of Polycentric Governance
Holstenkamp, L. (Project manager, academic) & Memon, N. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.09.20 → 31.08.25
Project: Research
GOVERNECT: Governance of Environmental Sustainability in Telecoupled Systems of Global Inter-Regional Connectedness
Lenschow, A. (Project manager, academic), Newig, J. (Project manager, academic), Challies, E. (Project manager, academic) & Cotta, B. (Project staff)
01.04.17 → 31.12.20
Project: Research
GrassSyn - Biodiversity of Brazilian grasslands and savannas: patterns and drivers, ecosystem services, and strategies for conservation and restoration
Overbeck, G. E. (Project manager, academic), Temperton, V. (Partner), Anand, M. (Partner), Santiago, B. (Partner), Carlucci, M. (Partner), Dechoum, M. (Partner), Durigan, G. (Partner), Fidelis, A. (Partner), Guido, A. (Partner), Menezes, L. (Partner), Müller, S. (Partner), Rosenfield, M. F. (Partner), Sampaio, A. (Partner), Sosinski, E. (Partner), Staude, I. (Partner), Tornquist, C. G. (Partner), Turchetto, C. (Partner), Veldman, J. W. (Partner), Vélez-Martin, E. (Partner) & Wiesmeier, M. (Partner)
01.01.20 → 31.12.22
Project: Research
Greenpeace Nachhaltigkeitsbarometer - Applied Science
Michelsen, G. (Project manager, academic) & Grunenberg, H. (Project staff)
01.10.12 → 31.10.13
Project: Research
Nachhaltigkeitsbarometer: Greenpeace Nachhaltigkeitsbarometer: Was bewegt die Jugend?
Michelsen, G. (Project manager, academic), Grunenberg, H. (Project staff) & Rode, H. (Project staff)
01.09.10 → 30.06.18
Project: Research
GrünlandVielfalt: Ökologische und gesellschaftliche Grünland-Transformation in der Ise-Niederung"
Petersen-Schlapkohl, U. (Project manager, academic), Temperton, V. (Partner) & Ernst, L. M. (Project staff)
01.10.22 → …
Project: Research
Halboffene Weidelandschaft Höltigbaum
Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic)
10.03.00 → 26.03.09
Project: Research
HyperSys: High Perfomance Analytical System
Kümmerer, K. (Project manager, academic)
15.11.21 → 31.03.23
Project: Research
HR ion trap LC: Hochauflösendes ion trap-Massenspektrometer mit Flüssigkeitschromatographieanlage (I)
Kümmerer, K. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.12 → 04.12.12
Project: Research
HR ion trap LC: Hochauflösendes ion trap-Massenspektrometer mit Flüssigkeitschromatographieanlage (II)
Kümmerer, K. (Project manager, academic)
Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony
16.05.12 → 16.11.12
Project: Research
KuNaH: Hochschulen in Gesellschaft – Realexperimente transformativer Lern- und Forschungsprozesse für eine Kultur der Nachhaltigkeit an Hochschulen: Teilprojekt D - Begleitung Realexperimente und Synthese
Schaltegger, S. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Partner), Potthast, T. (Coordination), Singer-Brodowski, M. (Partner), Nölting, B. (Partner), Parodi, O. (Partner) & Scheiding, C. (Project staff)
01.10.22 → 30.09.25
Project: Research
MERU: “Holistic management of energy- and resource efficiency in companies” (MERU)
Schaltegger, S. (Project manager, academic), Wüst, S. (Project staff) & Norris, S. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.11.18 → 31.12.22
Project: Research
HYACINTH: Hydrogen acceptance in the transition phase
Upham, P. (Project manager, academic) & Bögel, P. M. (Project staff)
01.09.14 → 01.06.18
Project: Research
Identifikation, Vernetzung und Stärkung von Akteuren im Bereich Care in der Green Economy
Hofmeister, S. (Project manager, academic)
01.11.13 → 30.04.15
Project: Research
SESyP: Identifying social-ecological System Properties benefiting Biodiversity and Food Security
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic), Hanspach, J. (Coordination), Schultner, J. (Coordination), Dorresteijn, I. (Coordination), Collier, N. (Coordination), Dugo, G. S. (Project staff), Rodrigues, P. (Project staff), Jiren, T. S. (Project staff) & Manlosa, A. O. (Project staff)
01.06.14 → 31.05.19
Project: Research
PopGeneLand: Impact of contemporary and historical landscape structure an neutral and adaptive genetic markers in ground beetle populations
Aßmann, T. (Project manager, academic) & Drees, C. (Project staff)
01.03.11 → 30.04.18
Project: Research
Impacts of plant invasions on the taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional homogeni-zation of mountain ecosystems across a broad latitudinal gradient
Haider, S. (Project staff), Pauchard, A. (Project manager, academic), Cavieres, L. (Project manager, academic), Bustamante, R. (Project manager, academic), García, R. A. (Project manager, academic) & Marticorena, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.01.18 → 31.12.22
Project: Research
I4C: IMPETUS4CHANGE (I4C): Improving near-term climate predictions for societal transformation
Kause, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.11.22 → 31.10.26
Project: Research