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

    The Immunisation against COVID-19 as a Global Public Good

    Bäumler, J. & Sarno, J., 01.01.2022, In: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht . 82, 1, p. 159-193 35 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    The impact of an insecticide on insect flower visitation and pollination in an agricultural landscape

    Brittain, C., Bommarco, R., Vighi, M., Barmaz, S., Settele, J. & Potts, S. G., 08.2010, In: Agricultural and Forest Entomology. 12, 3, p. 259-266 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    The impact of biodiversity information on willingness to pay

    Hörisch, J., Petersen, L. & Jacobs, K., 12.2024, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology. 28, 6, p. 1641-1656 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    The impact of climate change on aquatic risk from agricultural pesticides in the US

    Koleva, N. G. & Schneider, U. A., 2010, In: International Journal of Environmental Studies. 67, 5, p. 677-704 28 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  5. Published

    The impact of climate change on the external cost of pesticide applications in US agriculture

    Koleva, N. G. & Schneider, U. A., 2009, In: International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 7, 3, p. 203-216 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransfer

  6. Published

    The impact of mindfulness on well-being and performance in the workplace: an inclusive systematic review of the empirical literature

    Lomas, T., Medina, J. C., Ivtzan, I., Rupprecht, S., Hart, R. & Eiroa-Orosa, F. J., 04.07.2017, In: European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 26, 4, p. 492-513 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    The impact of nuclear accidents on provisioning ecosystem services

    Gralla, F., Abson, D., Moller, A. P., Lang, D. J. & von Wehrden, H., 06.2014, In: Ecological Indicators. 41, p. 1-14 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    The impact of weather variability and climate change on pesticide applications in the US - An empirical investigation

    Koleva, N. G., Schneider, U. A. & Tol, R. S. J., 2010, In: International Journal of Ecological Economics & Statistics (IJEES). 18, S10, p. 64-81 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  9. Published

    The impacts of social-ecological system change on human-nature connectedness: A case study from Transylvania, Romania

    Balázsi, Á., Riechers, M., Hartel, T., Leventon, J. & Fischer, J., 01.12.2019, In: Land Use Policy. 89, 104232.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    The Importance of Being First: Exploring Priority and Diversity Effects in a Grassland Field Experiment

    Weidlich, E. W. A., Von Gillhaussen, P., Delory, B., Blossfeld, S., Poorter, H. & Temperton, V. M., 05.01.2017, In: Frontiers in Plant Science. 7, 12 p., 2008.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review