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
Making education for sustainable development happen in elementary schools: the role of teachers
Timm, J.-M. & Barth, M., 02.01.2021, In: Environmental Education Research. 27, 1, p. 50-66 17 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Making mutual learning tangible: Mixed-method Delphi as a tool for measuring the convergence of participants’ reciprocal understanding in transdisciplinary processes
Pfendtner-Heise, J., Ackerschott, A., Schwenck, C., Lang, D. J. & von Wehrden, H., 01.05.2024, In: Futures. 159, 15 p., 103365.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Making REDD+ pay: Shifting rationales and tactics of private finance and the governance of avoided deforestation in Indonesia’
Dixon, R. & Challies, E., 01.04.2015, In: Asia Pacific Viewpoint. 56, 1, p. 6-20 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Making sense of sustainability transitions locally: how action research contributes to addressing societal challenges
Wittmayer, J. M., Schäpke, N., van Steenbergen, F. & Omann, I., 02.10.2014, In: Critical Policy Studies. 8, 4, p. 465-485 21 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Making the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration a Social-Ecological Endeavour
Fischer, J., Riechers, M., Loos, J., Martín-López, B. & Temperton, V. M., 01.01.2021, In: Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 36, 1, p. 20-28 9 p., 2749.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Making transdisciplinarity happen: Phase 0, or before the beginning
Horcea-Milcu, A. I., Leventon, J. & Lang, D. J., 01.10.2022, In: Environmental Science and Policy. 136, p. 187-197 11 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Makroökonomische Wirkungen umweltökonomischer Instrumente: eine Untersuchung der Substitutionseffekte anhand ausgewählter volkswirtschaftlicher Modelle für Deutschland
Kemfert, C., 1998, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Verlag. 280 p.Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Research
- Published
Malt and beer-related by-products as potential antioxidant skin-lightening agents for cosmetics
Almendinger, M., Rohn, S. & Pleissner, D., 01.09.2020, In: Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy. 17, 9 p., 100282.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Management Control for Sustainability: Exploring patterns in Large European Firms
Crutzen, N., Zvezdov, D. & Schaltegger, S., 2013, EMAN-EU 2013 conference on Material Flow Cost Accounting: Conference Proceedings. Guenther, E. & Bergmann, A. (eds.). TU Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, p. 17-21 5 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review
- Published
Management der betrieblichen Ressourceneffizienz: die Balanced Scorecard als Konzept für die ganzheitliche Betrachtung von Stoff- und Energieströmen in Organisationen
Möller, A. & Schaltegger, S., 2006, In: Umweltwirtschaftsforum. 14, 4, p. 13-18 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research