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

    Negotiation complexity: a review and an integrative model

    Zhang, H., Zhang, K., Warsitzka, M. & Trötschel, R., 27.07.2021, In: International Journal of Conflict Management. 32, 4, p. 554-573 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Neighbourhood diversity mitigates drought impacts on tree growth

    Fichtner, A., Schnabel, F., Bruelheide, H., Kunz, M., Mausolf, K., Schuldt, A., Härdtle, W. & von Oheimb, G., 01.05.2020, In: Journal of Ecology. 108, 3, p. 865-875 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Neighbourhood interactions drive overyielding in mixed-species tree communities

    Fichtner, A., Härdtle, W., Bruehlheide, H., Kunz, M., Li, Y. & von Oheimb, G., 01.12.2018, In: Nature Communications. 9, 1, 8 p., 1144.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Neighbourhood‐mediated shifts in tree biomass allocation drive overyielding in tropical species mixtures

    Guillemot, J., Kunz, M., Schnabel, F., Fichtner, A., Madsen, C. P., Gebauer, T., Härdtle, W., von Oheimb, G. & Potvin, C., 01.11.2020, In: New Phytologist. 228, 4, p. 1256-1268 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Neighbourhood Species Richness Reduces Crown Asymmetry of Subtropical Trees in Sloping Terrain

    Perles García, M. D., Kunz, M., Fichtner, A., Meyer, N., Härdtle, W. & von Oheimb, G., 16.03.2022, In: Remote Sensing. 14, 6, 14 p., 1441.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  6. Published

    Neighbourhood stories: role of neighbour identity, spatial location and order of arrival in legume and non-legume initial interactions

    Weidlich, E. W. A., Temperton, V. M. & Faget, M., 01.03.2018, In: Plant and Soil. 424, 1-2, p. 171-182 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Neighbour species richness and local structural variability modulate aboveground allocation patterns and crown morphology of individual trees

    Kunz, M., Fichtner, A., Härdtle, W., Raumonen, P., Bruelheide, H. & von Oheimb, G., 01.12.2019, In: Ecology Letters. 22, 12, p. 2130-2140 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Neon ist ein Gas und hat zwei Ringe – Zur Trennung der makroskopischen und submikroskopischen Ebene des Periodensystems

    Abels, S., Koliander, B., Plotz, T. & Heidinger, C., 09.2018, In: ChemKon. 25, 6, p. 238-242 5 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransferpeer-review

  9. Published

    Networking for the environment: The impact of environmental orientation on start-ups’ networking frequency and network size

    Dickel, P., Hörisch, J. & Ritter, T., 01.04.2018, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 179, April 2018, p. 308-316 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Networks and the idea-fruition process of female social entrepreneurs in South Africa

    Halberstadt, J. & Spiegler, A. B., 05.12.2018, In: Social Enterprise Journal. 14, 4, p. 429-449 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review