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. 2017
  2. Published

    Revisiting Carbon Disclosure and Performance: Legitimacy and Management Views

    Qian, W. & Schaltegger, S., 07.2017, In: The British Accounting Review. 49, 4, p. 365–379 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Delineating boundaries of social-ecological systems for landscape planning: A comprehensive spatial approach

    Martín-López, B., Palomo, I., García-Llorente, M., Iniesta-Arandia, I., Castro, A. J., García Del Amo, D., Gómez-Baggethun, E. & Montes, C., 01.07.2017, In: Land Use Policy. 66, p. 90-104 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Does problem complexity matter for environmental policy delivery? How public authorities address problems of water governance

    Kirschke, S., Newig, J., Völker, J. & Borchardt, D., 01.07.2017, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 196, p. 1-7 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    From competition to facilitation: how tree species respond to neighbourhood diversity

    Fichtner, A., Härdtle, W., Li, Y., Bruelheide, H., Kunz, M. & von Oheimb, G., 01.07.2017, In: Ecology Letters. 20, 7, p. 892-900 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Linking the multi-level perspective with social representations theory: Gasifiers as a niche innovation reinforcing the energy-from-waste (EfW) regime

    Levidow, L. & Upham, P., 01.07.2017, In: Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 120, p. 1-13 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Mismatches between supply and demand in wildlife tourism: Insights for assessing cultural ecosystem services

    Arbieu, U., Grünewald, C., Martín-López, B., Schleuning, M. & Böhning-Gaese, K., 01.07.2017, In: Ecological Indicators. 78, p. 282-291 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    The impact of mindfulness on well-being and performance in the workplace: an inclusive systematic review of the empirical literature

    Lomas, T., Medina, J. C., Ivtzan, I., Rupprecht, S., Hart, R. & Eiroa-Orosa, F. J., 04.07.2017, In: European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 26, 4, p. 492-513 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Eindeutig uneindeutig: Popkulturelle Akteur_innen und Narrationen als Anknüpfungspunkte für die politische Bildung

    Offen, S., 11.07.2017, Queertheoretische Perspektiven auf Bildung: Pädagogische Kritik der Heteronormativität. Hartmann, J., Messerschmidt, A. & Thon, C. (eds.). Opladen: Verlag Babara Budrich, p. 121-138 18 p. (Jahrbuch Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung in der Erziehungswissenschaft; vol. 13).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Sources of nitrogen heterocyclic PAHs (N-HETs) along a riverine course

    Siemers, A.-K., Palm, W.-U., Faubel, C., Mänz, J. S., Steffen, D. & Ruck, W., 15.07.2017, In: The Science of The Total Environment. 590-591, p. 69-79 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Feeding ecology of the Andean fox in southern Ecuador: Wild ungulates being the main prey

    Guntiñas, M., Lozano, J., Cisneros, R., Narváez, C. & Armijos, J., 19.07.2017, In: Contributions to Zoology. 86, 2, p. 169-180 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review