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. Published

    Conservation of Pollinators in Traditional Agricultural Landscapes: New Challenges in Transylvania (Romania) Posed by EU Accession and Recommendations for Future Research

    Kovács-Hostyánszki, A., Földesi, R., Mózes, E., Szirák, Á., Fischer, J., Hanspach, J. & Báldi, A., 10.06.2016, In: PLoS ONE. 11, 6, 20 p., e0151650.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Conservation of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) in mediterranean environments: A reassessment of current threats

    Lozano Mendoza, J. & Malo, A. F., 08.2012, Mediterranean Ecosystems: Dynamics, Management and Conservation. Williams, G. S. (ed.). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., p. 1-31 31 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  3. Published

    Conservation policy in traditional farming landscapes

    Fischer, J., Hartel, T. & Kuemmerle, T., 06.2012, In: Conservation Letters. 5, 3, p. 167-175 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Conservation value of moist evergreen Afromontane forest sites with different management and history in southwestern Ethiopia

    Shumi, G., Rodrigues, P., Schultner, J., Dorresteijn, I., Hanspach, J., Hylander, K., Senbeta, F. & Fischer, J., 01.04.2019, In: Biological Conservation. 232, p. 117-126 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Conservation value of semi-open habitats for ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Cicindelidae) in Central Europe

    Boutaud, E., Nolte, D., Harry, I., Aßmann, T. & Drees, C., 01.05.2022, In: Biodiversity and Conservation. 31, 5-6, p. 1469-1489 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Conserving the World's Finest Grassland Amidst Ambitious National Development

    Batsaikhan, N., Buuveibaatar, B., Chimed, B., Enkhtuya, O., Galbrakh, D., Ganbaatar, O., Lkhagvasuren, B., Nandintsetseg, D., Berger, J., Calabrese, J. M., Edwards, A. E., Fagan, W. F., Fuller, T. K., Heiner, M., Ito, T. Y., Kaczensky, P., Leimgruber, P., Lushchekina, A., Milner-Gulland, E. J., Mueller, T., Murray, M. G., Olson, K. A., Reading, R., Schaller, G. B., Stubbe, A., Stubbe, M., Walzer, C., Von Wehrden, H. & Whitten, T., 01.12.2014, In: Conservation Biology. 28, 6, p. 1736-1739 4 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Consistency and Credibility? Environmental Reporting, Environmental Performance Indicators and Economic Performance

    Wagner, M., 2004, Marburg: Tectum Verlag. 203 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesMonographsResearch

  8. Published

    Constellations of Transdisciplinary Practices: A Map and Research Agenda for the Responsible Management Learning Field

    Laasch, O., Moosmayer, D., Antonacopoulou, E. & Schaltegger, S., 01.04.2020, In: Journal of Business Ethics. 162, 4, p. 735-757 23 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Constraint breeds creativity: A brainstorming method to jumpstart out-of-the-box thinking for sustainability science

    Gould, R. K., Saito, T., Allen, K. E., Bonn, A., Chapman, M., Droz, L., Herrmann, T. M., Himes, A., Ishihara, H., Coelho-Junior, M. G., Katsue, F., Kenter, J. O., Muraca, B., Ortiz-Przychodzka, S., Pearson, J., Tadaki, M., Rono, B. J. & Tamura, N., 01.10.2023, In: BioScience. 73, 10, p. 703-710 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Constructed Wetlands Integrated with Advanced Oxidation Processes in Wastewater Treatment for Reuse

    Machado, E. L., Lourenço, A. M., Kist, L. T., Schneider, R. C. S., Kern, D., Lobo, E. A. A., Lutterbeck, C. A., Silveira, D. D., Horn, T. B. & Zerwes, F. V., 2016, Advanced Treatment Technologies for Urban Wastewater Reuse. Fatta-Kassinos, D., Dionysiou, D. D. & Kümmerer, K. (eds.). Cham: Springer, p. 197-222 26 p. (Handbook of Environmental Chemistry; vol. 45).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review