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

    Actors in transitions: narratives of roles and change in the German e-mobility transition

    Upham, P. & Gathen, L., 01.09.2021, In: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 40, p. 450-460 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    A cultural comparison of children’s emotion knowledge: Data from two cultures

    Schapira, R., von Salisch, M. & Voltmer, K., 01.2025, In: International Journal of Behavioral Development. 49, 1, p. 38-48 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    A Daily Breathing Practice Bolsters Girls’ Prosocial Behavior and Third and Fourth Graders’ Supportive Peer Relationships: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    von Salisch, M. & Voltmer, K., 01.07.2023, In: Mindfulness. 14, 7, p. 1622-1635 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Adaptation of the Brine Shrimp Artemia Salina (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) to Filter-Feeding: Effects of Body Size and Temperature on Filtration and Respiration Rates

    Riisgard, H. U., Zalacain, D., Jeune, N., Wiersma, J. B., Lueskow, F. & Pleissner, D., 09.2015, In: Journal of Crustacean Biology. 35, 5, p. 650-658 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Adaptation strategies for sustainable water management of lake Nasser, Egypt, to climate change

    Elba, E., Urban, B. & Farghaly, D., 2011, International Conference on the Status and Future of the World’s Large Rivers: Conference Abstract Book. Habersack, H., Schober, B. & Walling, D. (eds.). Tribun EU, p. 385 1 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksPublished abstract in conference proceedingsResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Adapting energy infrastructure to climate change - Is there a need for government interventions and legal obligations within the German "energiewende"?

    Cortekar, J. & Groth, M., 01.06.2015, In: Energy Procedia. 73, p. 12-17 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsConference article in journalResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Adapting livestock management to spatio-temporal heterogeneity in semi-arid rangelands

    Jakoby, O., Quaas, M. F., Baumgärtner, S. & Frank, K., 01.10.2015, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 162, p. 179-189 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  8. Published

    Adaption der Dokumentarischen Methode zur Bearbeitung von naturwissenschaftsdidaktischen Fragestellungen

    Plotz, T., Koliander, B. & Abels, S., 01.07.2022, Dokumentarische Unterrichtsforschung in den Fachdidaktiken : Theoretische Grundlagen und Forschungspraxis. Martnes, M., Asbrand, B., Buchborn, T. & Menthe, J. (eds.). Wiesbaden: Springer, p. 155-175 21 p. (Rekonstruktive Bildungsforschung; vol. 31).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapter

  9. Published

    Adaptive Planung kontextorientierten Naturwissenschaftsunterrichts

    Hüfner, S. & Abels, S., 18.03.2024, In: PFLB: PraxisForschungLehrer*innenBildung . 6, 2, p. 43-62 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesEducationpeer-review

  10. Published

    A data-driven methodological routine to identify key indicators for social-ecological system archetype mapping

    Pacheco-Romero, M., Vallejos, M., Paruelo, J. M., Alcaraz-Segura, D., Torres-García, M. T., Salinas-Bonillo, M. J. & Cabello, J., 01.04.2022, In: Environmental Research Letters. 17, 4, 12 p., 045019.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review