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. 2021
  2. Published

    Sustainable Public Administration, Special Issue in Sustainability

    Heinrichs, H. (Editor) & Laws, N. (Editor), 04.06.2021, Basel: MDPI AG. (Sustainability; vol. 13, no. 11)

    Research output: Books and anthologiesSpecial Journal issueTransfer

  3. Published

    Boundary speak in sustainability studies: Computational reading of a transversal field

    Herberg, J., Schmitz, S., Stasiak, D. & Schmieg, G., 10.06.2021, In: Science and Public Policy. 48, 3, p. 398-411 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  4. Published

    Complexity in Water Management and Governance

    Kirschke, S. & Newig, J., 12.06.2021, Handbook of Water Resources Management: Discourses, Concepts and Examples. Bogardi, J. J., Gupta, J., Nandalal, K. D. W., Salamé, L., van Nooijen, R. R. P., Kumar, N., Tingsanchali, T., Bhaduri, A. & Kolechkina, A. G. (eds.). Cham: Springer Nature AG, p. 801-810 10 p.

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

  5. Published

    Machine learning for optimization of energy and plastic consumption in the production of thermoplastic parts in SME

    Willenbacher, M., Scholten, J. & Wohlgemuth, V., 16.06.2021, In: Sustainability. 13, 12, 20 p., 6800.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Terry Erwin’s legacy: from taxonomy and natural history to biodiversity research and conservation biology

    Assmann, T., 16.06.2021, In: ZooKeys. 1044, p. 23-39 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    The ground beetle tribe platynini bonelli, 1810 (Coleoptera, carabidae) in the southern levant: Dichotomous and interactive identification tools, ecological traits, and distribution

    Assmann, T., Boutaud, E., Buse, J., Drees, C., Friedman, A. L. L., Harry, I., Khoury, F., Orbach, E., Renan, I., Schmidt, C., Schmidt, K., Wrase, D. W. & Zumstein, P., 16.06.2021, In: ZooKeys. 2021, 1044, p. 449-478 30 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    What shapes ground beetle assemblages in a tree species-rich subtropical forest?

    Zumstein, P., Bruelheide, H., Fichtner, A., Schuldt, A., Staab, M., Härdtle, W., Zhou, H. & Aßmann, T., 16.06.2021, In: ZooKeys. 2021, 1044, p. 907-927 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Towards a caring transdisciplinary research practice: navigating science, society and self

    Sellberg, M. M., Cockburn, J., Holden, P. B. & Lam, D. P. M., 23.06.2021, In: Ecosystems and People. 17, 1, p. 292-305 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Concentrations and sources of methylxanthines in a Northern German river system

    Löher, F., Palm, W. U., Schaffer, M. & Olsson, O., 25.06.2021, In: Science of the Total Environment. 775, 145898.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Sustainability in Business: Integrated Management of Value Creation and Disvalue Mitigation

    Beckmann, M. & Schaltegger, S., 28.06.2021, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management. Aldag, R. J. (ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 24 p. (Oxford Research Encyclopedias).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticles for encyclopediaResearch