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

    Spatial characterization of coastal marine social-ecological systems: Insights for integrated management

    Lazzari, N., Becerro, M. A., Sanabria-Fernandez, J. A. & Martín-López, B., 02.2019, In: Environmental Science & Policy. 92, p. 56-65 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Spatial characterization of social-ecological systems units for management in Tropical Dry Forests

    Santillán-Carvantes, P., Balvanera, P., Thomsen, S., Mora, F., Pérez-Cárdenas, N., Cohen-Salgado, D., Ramírez-Ramírez, R., Gavito, M. E. & Martín-López, B., 12.2023, In: Landscape Ecology. 38, 12, p. 4303-4323 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Spatial distribution models in a frugivorous carnivore, the stone marten (Martes foina): Is the fleshy-fruit availability a useful predictor?

    Virgós, E., Cabezas-Díaz, S., Mangas, J. G. & Lozano, J., 01.11.2010, In: Animal Biology. 60, 4, p. 423-436 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Spatial distribution of polyfluoroalkyl compounds in seawater of the German Bight

    Ahrens, L., Felizeter, S. & Ebinghaus, R., 06.2009, In: Chemosphere. 76, 2, p. 179-184 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Spatial imaginaries in flood risk management: insights from a managed retreat initiative in upper Bavaria

    Walsh, C., Lennon, M., Scott, M. & Tubridy, F., 01.10.2023, In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 66, 13, p. 2668-2690 23 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Spatial interpretation of high-resolution environmental proxy data of the Middle Pleistocene Palaeolithic faunal kill site Schöningen 13 II-4, Germany

    Urban, B., Krahn, K. J., Kasper, T., García-Moreno, A., Hutson, J. M., Villaluenga, A., Turner, E., Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S., Farghaly, D., Tucci, M. & Schwalb, A., 01.07.2023, In: Boreas. 52, 3, p. 440-458 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Spatial patterns of cultural ecosystem services provision in Southern Patagonia

    Martínez Pastur, G., Peri, P. L., Lencinas, M. V., García-Llorente, M. & Martín-López, B., 01.02.2016, In: Landscape Ecology. 31, 2, p. 383-399 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Spatial predictions for the distribution of woody plant species under different land-use scenarios in southwestern Ethiopia

    Duguma, D. W., Law, E., Shumi, G., Rodrigues, P., Senbeta, F., Schultner, J., Abson, D. J. & Fischer, J., 05.2023, In: Landscape Ecology. 38, 5, p. 1249-1263 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Spatial scale affects seed predation and dispersal in contrasting anthropogenic landscapes

    Pufal, G. & Klein, A. M., 12.2015, In: Basic and Applied Ecology. 16, 8, p. 726-736 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Spatial trends and ecotoxic risk assessment of selected pharmaceuticals in sediments from Lake Victoria, Uganda, East Africa

    Nantaba, F., Wasswa, J., Kylin, H., Bouwman, H., Palm, W.-U. & Kümmerer, K., 01.01.2024, In: Science of the Total Environment. 906, 10 p., 167348.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review