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

    A web- And mobile-based intervention for comorbid, recurrent depression in patients with chronic back pain on sick leave (get.back): Pilot randomized controlled trial on feasibility, user satisfaction, and effectiveness

    Schlicker, S., Baumeister, H., Buntrock, C., Sander, L., Paganini, S., Lin, J., Berking, M., Lehr, D. & Ebert, D. D., 15.04.2020, In: JMIR Mental Health. 7, 4, 21 p., e16398.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published
  4. Published

    Discursos economicistas de la sostenibilidad: Los momentos determinantes y la pregunta por alternativas

    Meyer, E. & Vilsmaier, U., 30.04.2020, In: Sustentabilidade em Debate. 11, 1, p. 98-110 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Climate and land use affect genetic structure of Stipa glareosa P. A. Smirn. in Mongolia

    Oyundelger, K., Ritz, C. M., Munkhzul, O., Lang, B., Ahlborn, J., Oyuntsetseg, B., Römermann, C. & Wesche, K., 05.2020, In: Flora: Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants. 266, 151572.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Freundschaft als Resilienzfaktor

    Salisch, M., 05.2020, Was Kinder stärkt.: Erziehung zwischen Risiko und Resilienz. Fingerle, M., Opp, G. & Suess, G. (eds.). 4. Auflage ed. München: Ernst Reinhardt Verlag, p. 194-201 8 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearch

  7. Published

    Diurnal raptors of West Africa woodland-farmland mosaics: Data from walking-transects in eastern Guinea-Bissau

    Rodrigues, P., Mirinha, M. & Palma, L., 01.05.2020, In: Avian Biology Research. 13, 1-2, p. 18-23 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Drivers of above-ground understorey biomass and nutrient stocks in temperate deciduous forests

    Landuyt, D., Maes, S. L., Depauw, L., Ampoorter, E., Blondeel, H., Perring, M. P., Brūmelis, G., Brunet, J., Decocq, G., den Ouden, J., Härdtle, W., Hédl, R., Heinken, T., Heinrichs, S., Jaroszewicz, B., Kirby, K. J., Kopecký, M., Máliš, F., Wulf, M. & Verheyen, K., 01.05.2020, In: Journal of Ecology. 108, 3, p. 982-997 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Leverage points for sustainability transformation: a review on interventions in food and energy systems

    Dorninger, C., Abson, D. J., Apetrei, C. I., Derwort, P., Ives, C. D., Klaniecki, K., Lam, D., Langsenlehner, M., Riechers, M., Spittler, N. & von Wehrden, H., 01.05.2020, In: Ecological Economics. 171, 9 p., 106570.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  10. Published

    Neighbourhood diversity mitigates drought impacts on tree growth

    Fichtner, A., Schnabel, F., Bruelheide, H., Kunz, M., Mausolf, K., Schuldt, A., Härdtle, W. & von Oheimb, G., 01.05.2020, In: Journal of Ecology. 108, 3, p. 865-875 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Plant functional trait response to environmental drivers across European temperate forest understorey communities

    Maes, S. L., Perring, M. P., Depauw, L., Bernhardt-Römermann, M., Blondeel, H., Brūmelis, G., Brunet, J., Decocq, G., den Ouden, J., Govaert, S., Härdtle, W., Hédl, R., Heinken, T., Heinrichs, S., Hertzog, L., Jaroszewicz, B., Kirby, K., Kopecký, M., Landuyt, D., Máliš, F., Vanneste, T., Wulf, M. & Verheyen, K., 01.05.2020, In: Plant Biology. 22, 3, p. 410-424 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review