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. 2020
  2. Published

    Alpha and beta diversity across coastal marine social-ecological systems: Implications for conservation

    Lazzari, N., Martín-López, B., Sanabria-Fernandez, J. A. & Becerro, M. A., 02.2020, In: Ecological Indicators. 109, 8 p., 105786.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Applying the energy cultures framework to understand energy systems in the context of rural sustainability transformation

    Klaniecki, K., Duse, I. A., Lutz, L. M., Leventon, J. & Abson, D. J., 02.2020, In: Energy Policy. 137, 12 p., 111092.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Inter-individual nectar chemistry changes of field scabious, Knautia arvensis

    Venjakob, C., Leonhardt, S. & Klein, A. M., 02.2020, In: Insects. 11, 2, 15 p., 75.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    International Trends in Research on Environmental and Sustainability Education in Teacher Education

    King, J., Rieckmann, M., Fischer, D., Barth, M., Büssing, A. G., Hemmer, I. & Lindau-Bank, D., 02.2020, Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. Peters, M. A. (ed.). Singapore: Springer Singapore, p. 1-6 6 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticles for encyclopediaResearch

  6. Published

    A tale of scale: Plot but not neighbourhood tree diversity increases leaf litter ant diversity

    Skarbek, C. J., Noack, M., Bruelheide, H., Härdtle, W., Oheimb, G., Scholten, T., Seitz, S. & Staab, M., 01.02.2020, In: Journal of Animal Ecology. 89, 2, p. 299-308 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Climate – grazing interactions in Mongolian rangelands: Effects of grazing change along a large-scale environmental gradient

    Ahlborn, J., von Wehrden, H., Lang, B., Römermann, C., Oyunbileg, M., Oyuntsetseg, B. & Wesche, K., 01.02.2020, In: Journal of Arid Environments. 173, 10 p., 104043.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Editorial overview: Selected articles from green and sustainable chemistry conference

    Kümmerer, K. & Liu, Z., 01.02.2020, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 21, p. A4-A5 2 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsOther (editorial matter etc.)Research

  9. Published

    Estimation of the economy of heterotrophic microalgae- and insect-based food waste utilization processes

    Pleissner, D. & Smetana, S., 01.02.2020, In: Waste Management. 102, p. 198-203 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    German forest management stakeholders at the science-society interface: Their views on problem definition, knowledge production and research utilization

    Juerges, N. & Jahn, S., 01.02.2020, In: Forest Policy and Economics. 111, 10 p., 102076.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Integrating the underlying structure of stochasticity into community ecology

    Shoemaker, L. G., Sullivan, L. L., Donohue, I., Cabral, J. S., Williams, R. J., Mayfield, M. M., Chase, J. M., Chu, C., Harpole, W. S., Huth, A., HilleRisLambers, J., James, A. R. M., Kraft, N. J. B., May, F., Muthukrishnan, R., Satterlee, S., Taubert, F., Wang, X., Wiegand, T., Yang, Q. & Abbott, K. C., 01.02.2020, In: Ecology. 101, 2, 17 p., e02922.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review