School of Sustainability
Organisational unit: Research School
- Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM)
- Institute of Ecology
- Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
- Institute of Sustainability Governance
- Institute of Sustainability Material Flows and Circularity
- Institute of Sustainability Psychology
- Institute of Sustainable Chemistry
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
- Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute
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.
- Published
Key Competencies for and beyond Sustainable Consumption: An Educational Contribution to the Debate
Fischer, D. & Barth, M., 01.07.2014, In: GAIA. 23, S1, p. 193-200 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Key competencies for sustainable consumption
Barth, M. & Fischer, D., 2012, Beyond Consumption: Pathways to Responsible Living. Fricke, V., Schrader, U. & Thoresen, V. W. (eds.). Berlin: Hedmark University College, p. 65-79 15 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review
- Published
Key competencies in sustainability in higher education - toward an agreed-upon reference framework
Brundiers, K., Barth, M., Cebrián, G., Cohen, M., Diaz, L., Doucette-Remington, S., Harré, N., Jarchow, M., Losch, K., Michel, J., Zint, M., Mochizuki, Y., Rieckmann, M., Parnell, R. & Walker, P., 01.2021, In: Sustainability Science. 16, 1, p. 13-29 17 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Key ecological research questions for Central European forests
Ammer, C., Fichtner, A., Fischer, A., Gossner, M. M., Meyer, P., Seidl, R., Thomas, F. M., Annighöfer, P., Kreyling, J., Ohse, B., Berger, U., Feldmann, E., Häberle, K.-H., Heer, K., Heinrichs, S., Huth, F., Krämer-Klement, K., Mölder, A., Müller, J., Mund, M., Opgenoorth, L., Schall, P., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Seidel, D., Vogt, J. & Wagner, S., 11.2018, In: Basic and Applied Ecology. 32, p. 3-25 23 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Key features for more successful place-based sustainability research on social-ecological systems: a Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) perspective
Balvanera, P., Daw, T. M., Gardner, T. A., Martín-López, B., Norström, A. V., Ifejika Speranza, C., Spierenburg, M., Bennett, E. M., Farfan, M., Hamann, M., Kittinger, J. N., Luthe, T., Maass, M., Peterson, G. D. & Perez-Verdin, G., 01.01.2017, In: Ecology and Society. 22, 1, 45 p., 14.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Key knowledge gaps to achieve global sustainability goals
Mastrángelo, M. E., Pérez-Harguindeguy, N., Enrico, L., Bennett, E., Lavorel, S., Cumming, G. S., Abeygunawardane, D., Amarilla, L. D., Burkhard, B., Egoh, B. N., Frishkoff, L., Galetto, L., Huber, S., Karp, D. S., Ke, A., Kowaljow, E., Kronenburg-García, A., Locatelli, B., Martín-López, B., Meyfroidt, P., Mwampamba, T. H., Nel, J., Nicholas, K. A., Nicholson, C., Oteros-Rozas, E., Rahlao, S. J., Raudsepp-Hearne, C., Ricketts, T., Shrestha, U. B., Torres, C., Winkler, K. J. & Zoeller, K., 01.12.2019, In: Nature Sustainability. 2, 12, p. 1115-1121 7 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Key landscape features in the provision of ecosystem services: Insights for management
Schmidt, K., Martín-López, B., Phillips, P. M., Julius, E., Makan, N. & Walz, A., 01.03.2019, In: Land Use Policy. 82, p. 353-366 14 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Key learnings from integrating sustainability in european higher education institutions: The value of networks and reflective leadership
Weiss, M., Mulà, I., Zimmermann, A. B. & Diethart, M., 20.02.2025, The Routledge Handbook of Global Sustainability Education and Thinking for the 21st Century. John, M. (ed.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 918-933 16 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
- Published
Kinder als Manager
Bolscho, D., 2009, Kinder erfahren nachhaltiges Wirtschaften: eine Handreichung für die Grundschulpraxis. Hauenschild, K. & Monschaw, B. (eds.). Frankfurt am Main [u.a.]: Peter Lang Verlag, p. 9-15 7 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research
- Published
Kinderflohmärkte: Nachdenken über eigene Flohmarkt-Erfahrungen und Alternativen zum Spielzeugverkauf
Holz, V., 2009, In: Grundschule Sachunterricht. 42, p. 22 1 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research