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

    Long-term stream invertebrate community alterations induced by the insecticide thiacloprid: Effect concentrations and recovery dynamics

    Beketov, M. A., Marwitz, A., Paschke, A., Liess, M. & Schäfer, R. B., 01.11.2008, In: The Science of The Total Environment. 405, 1-3, p. 96-108 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Long-term trends in tree-ring width and isotope signatures (δ13C, δ15N) of Fagus sylvatica L. on soils with contrasting water supply

    Härdtle, W., Niemeyer, T., Aßmann, T., Baiboks, S., Fichtner, A., Friedrich, U., Lang, A. C., Neuwirth, B., Pfister, L., Ries, C., Schuldt, A., Simon, N. & Oheimb, G., 12.2013, In: Ecosystems. 16, 8, p. 1413-1428 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Long-term vegetation changes in a south Swedish deciduous forest

    Oheimb, G. & Brunet, J., 2006, Abstracts of the talks and posters presented at the 36th Annual Conference of the Ecological Society in Bremen, September 11 - 15, 2006. Hoffmeister, T. S. & Diekmann, M. (eds.). Bremen: Gesellschaft für Ökologie, p. 173 1 p.

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

  4. Published

    Los activos intangibles de la agricultura familiar en los sistemas agroalimentarios: Marco conceptual y consideraciones metodológicas

    Ortiz-Przychodzka, S., Rodríguez Fazzone, M., Dueñas, J. D., Hernández, F. & Hernández, C., 2021, Bogotá: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Kolumbien. 64 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesBook

  5. Published

    Lost in translation? Tanzanian students’ views on sustainability and language, and the implications for the pledge to leave no one behind

    Ulmer, N., Divine, N. & Wydra, K., 13.11.2023, In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 24, 7, p. 1381-1397 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Loving the mess: navigating diversity and conflict in social values for sustainability

    Kenter, J. O., Raymond, C. M., van Riper, C. J., Azzopardi, E., Brear, M. R., Calcagni, F., Christie, I., Christie, M., Fordham, A., Gould, R. K., Ives, C. D., Hejnowicz, A. P., Gunton, R., Horcea-Milcu, A. I., Kendal, D., Kronenberg, J., Massenberg, J. R., O’Connor, S., Ravenscroft, N., Rawluk, A., Raymond, I. J., Rodríguez-Morales, J. & Thankappan, S., 02.09.2019, In: Sustainability Science. 14, 5, p. 1439-1461 23 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Low-Carbon Energy Transformation in China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan: An Overview

    Fahimi, A. & Stepputat, K., 2023, Electricity Access, Decarbonization, and Integration of Renewables: Insights and Lessons from the Energy Transformation in Bangladesh, South Asia, and Sub-Sahara Africa. Groh, S., Barner, L., Heinemann, G. & von Hirschhauen, C. (eds.). Springer, p. 87-112 26 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapter

  8. Published

    Low genetic diversity of a high mountain burnet moth species in the Pyrenees

    Dieker, P., Drees, C., Schmitt, T. & Aßmann, T., 02.2013, In: Conservation Genetics. 14, 1, p. 231-236 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Low-intensity agricultural landscapes in Transylvania support high butterfly diversity: Implications for conservation

    Loos, J., Dorresteijn, I., Hanspach, J., Fust, P., Rakosy, L. & Fischer, J., 24.07.2014, In: PLoS ONE. 9, 7, 11 p., e103256.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Low-Profit im Kontext der UN-Nachhaltigkeitsziele

    Fahrbach, C. & Weiser, A., 2021, Wirtschaft neu lehren: Erfahrungen aus der pluralen, sozioökonomischen Hochschulbildung. Urban, J., Schröder, L.-M., Hantke, H. & Bäuerle, L. (eds.). Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, p. 107-124 18 p. (Sozioökonomische Bildung und Wissenschaft).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review