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

    Plant traits affecting herbivory on tree recruits in highly diverse subtropical forests

    Schuldt, A., Bruelheide, H., Durka, W., Eichenberg, D., Fischer, M., Kröber, W., Härdtle, W., Ma, K., Michalski, S. G., Palm, W.-U., Schmid, B., Welk, E., Zhou, H. & Assmann, T., 07.2012, In: Ecology Letters. 15, 7, p. 732-739 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Plant traits alone are poor predictors of ecosystem properties and long-term ecosystem functioning

    van der Plas, F., Schröder-Georgi, T., Weigelt, A., Barry, K., Meyer, S., Alzate, A., Barnard, R. L., Buchmann, N., de Kroon, H., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Engels, C., Fischer, M., Gleixner, G., Hildebrandt, A., Koller-France, E., Leimer, S., Milcu, A., Mommer, L., Niklaus, P. A., Oelmann, Y., Roscher, C., Scherber, C., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Scheu, S., Schmid, B., Schulze, E. D., Temperton, V., Tscharntke, T., Voigt, W., Weisser, W., Wilcke, W. & Wirth, C., 12.2020, In: Nature Ecology & Evolution. 4, 12, p. 1602-1611 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Planung naturbasierter Lösungen in Flusslandschaften: Ein Handbuch für die Praxis

    Schröter, B., Brillinger, M., Gottwald, S., Guerrero, P., Henze, J., Ott, E., Schmidt, S. & Albert, C., 01.07.2021, 1 ed. München: oekom verlag GmbH. 117 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesBook

  4. Published
  5. Published

    Plasmid DNA vaccines against cancer. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte induction against tumor antigens

    Pavlenko, M., Leder, C. & Pisa, P., 01.06.2005, In: Expert Review of Vaccines. 4, 3, p. 315-327 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  6. Published

    Plasticizer and Surfactant Formation from Food-Waste- and Algal Biomass-Derived Lipids

    Pleissner, D., Lau, K. Y., Zhang, C. & Lin, C. S. K., 22.05.2015, In: ChemSusChem. 8, 10, p. 1686-1691 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Plastics in our ocean as transdisciplinary challenge

    Riechers, M., Fanini, L., Apicella, A., Galván, C. B., Blondel, E., Espiña, B., Kefer, S., Keroullé, T., Klun, K., Pereira, T. R., Ronchi, F., Rodríguez, P. R., Sardon, H., Silva, A. V., Stulgis, M. & Ibarra-González, N., 01.03.2021, In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. 164, 5 p., 112051.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published
  9. Published

    Plausibility indications in future scenarios

    Wiek, A., Withycombe Keeler, L., Schweizer, V. & Lang, D. J., 2013, In: International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy. 9, 2-4, p. 133-147 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Pleased accountants - happy environmentalists: challenges of environmental management accounting for management information systems and tools

    Möller, A. & Viere, T., 2006, Managing environmental knowledge: proceedings of the 20th International Conference "Informatics for Environmental Protection" Graz (Austria) / EnviroInfo 2006. Tochtermann, K. & Scharl, A. (eds.). Aachen: Shaker Verlag, p. 307-312 6 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearch