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.

  1. 2015
  2. Published

    Removal of the anti-cancer drug methotrexate from water by advanced oxidation processes: Aerobic biodegradation and toxicity studies after treatment

    Lutterbeck, C. A., Baginska, E., Machado, Ê. L. & Kümmerer, K., 12.2015, In: Chemosphere. 141, p. 290-296 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Spatial scale affects seed predation and dispersal in contrasting anthropogenic landscapes

    Pufal, G. & Klein, A. M., 12.2015, In: Basic and Applied Ecology. 16, 8, p. 726-736 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    The ethics of offsetting nature

    Ives, C. D. & Bekessy, S. A., 12.2015, In: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 13, 10, p. 568-573 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Vasodilatierende Substanzen in Kläranlagenabläufen und Oberflächengewässern

    Hensen, B., Faubel, C., Palm, W. U. & Steffen, D., 12.2015, In: Wasser und Abfall. 17, 12, p. 44-49 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Addressing the complexity of water chemistry in environmental fate modeling for engineered nanoparticles

    Sani-Kast, N., Scheringer, M., Slomberg, D., Labille, J., Praetorius, A., Ollivier, P. & Hungerbühler, K., 01.12.2015, In: The Science of The Total Environment. 535, p. 150 - 159 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    A three-dimensional framework to explore corporate sustainability activities in the mining industry: Current status and challenges ahead

    Fuisz-Kehrbach, S.-K., 01.12.2015, In: Resources Policy. 46, 1, p. 101-115 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Butterfly communities in miombo woodland: Biodiversity declines with increasing woodland utilisation

    Jew, E. K. K., Loos, J., Dougill, A. J., Sallu, S. M. & Benton, T. G., 01.12.2015, In: Biological Conservation. 192, p. 436-444 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Characterizing the Lower Paleolithic bone industry from Schöningen 12 II: A multi-proxy study.

    Julien, M. A., Hardy, B., Stahlschmidt, M., Urban, B., Serangeli, J. & Conard, N. J., 01.12.2015, In: Journal of Human Evolution. 89, p. 264-286 23 p., 89.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Environmental effects of sustainability management tools: An empirical analysis of large companies

    Hörisch, J., Ortas, E., Schaltegger, S. & Álvarez, I., 01.12.2015, In: Ecological Economics. 120, p. 241-249 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Environmental reconstruction and biostratigraphy of late Middle Pleistocene lakeshore deposits at Schöningen

    Urban, B. & Bigga, G., 01.12.2015, In: Journal of Human Evolution. 89, p. 57-70 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review