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

    Remotely sensed effectiveness assessments of protected areas lack a common framework: A review

    Gohr, C., von Wehrden, H., May, F. & Ibisch, P. L., 01.04.2022, In: Ecosphere. 13, 4, 14 p., e4053.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  2. Published

    Remote sensing of bush encroachment on commercial cattle farms in semi-arid rangelands in Namibia

    Schröter, M., Jakoby, O., Olbrich, R., Eichhorn, M. & Baumgärtner, S., 2009, Lüneburg: Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Lüneburg, 24 p. (Working paper series in economics; no. 131).

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  3. Published

    Remote Sensing of Bush Encroachment on Commercial Cattle Farms in Semi-Arid Rangelands in Namibia

    Schröter, M., Jakoby, O., Olbrich, R., Eichhorn, M. & Baumgärtner, S., 2011, Environmental Modeling for Sustainable Regional Development: System Approaches and Advanced Methods. Olej, V., Obršálová, I. & Krupka, J. (eds.). Hershey : IGI Global Publishing, p. 327-343 17 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Removal of dexamethasone from aqueous solution and hospital wastewater by electrocoagulation

    Arsand, D. R., Kümmerer, K. & Martins, A. F., 15.01.2013, In: The Science of The Total Environment. 443, p. 351-357 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Removal of Phenolic Compounds from Olive Mill Wastewater by Microalgae Grown Under Dark and Light Conditions

    Lindner, A. & Pleissner, D., 01.01.2022, In: Waste and Biomass Valorization. 13, 1, p. 525-534 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Removal of the anti-cancer drug methotrexate from water by advanced oxidation processes: Aerobic biodegradation and toxicity studies after treatment

    Lutterbeck, C. A., Baginska, E., Machado, Ê. L. & Kümmerer, K., 12.2015, In: Chemosphere. 141, p. 290-296 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Re-Naturierung: Gesellschaft im Einklang mit der Natur

    Leitschuh, H. (Editor), Michelsen, G. (Editor), Simonis, U. E. (Editor), Sommer, J. (Editor) & Weizsäcker, E. U. V. (Editor), 2014, 1. Auflage ed. Stuttgart: S. Hirzel Verlag. 256 p. (Jahrbuch Ökologie; vol. 2015)

    Research output: Books and anthologiesCollected editions and anthologiesResearch

  8. Published

    Renaturierung und Management von Heiden

    Härdtle, W., Aßmann, T., van Diggelen, R. & Oheimb, G., 2009, Renaturierung von Ökosystemen in Mitteleuropa. Zerbe, S., Wiegleb, G. & Fronczek, R. (eds.). Heidelberg: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, p. 317-347 31 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearch

  9. Published

    Renewable Energy: support mechanisms

    Schomerus, T., 06.2016, Climate Change Law. Farber, D. & Peeters, M. (eds.). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 465-475 11 p. (Elgar Encyclopedia of Environmental Law series; no. 1).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticles for encyclopediaTransfer

  10. Published

    Renewable Energy Law in the EU: Legal Perspectives on Bottom-Up Approaches

    Peeters, M. (Editor) & Schomerus, T. (Editor), 26.12.2014, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. 336 p. (New horizons in environmental and energy law)

    Research output: Books and anthologiesBook