School of Sustainability
Organisational unit: Research School
- Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM)
- Institute of Ecology
- Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
- Institute of Sustainability Governance
- Institute of Sustainability Material Flows and Circularity
- Institute of Sustainability Psychology
- Institute of Sustainable Chemistry
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
- Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute
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.
- Published
Uncertainty and sustainability in the management of rangelands
Quaas, M., Baumgärtner, S., Becker, C., Frank, K. & Müller, B., 20.04.2007, In: Ecological Economics. 62, 2, p. 251-266 16 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Uncertainty and sustainability in the management of rangelands
Quaas, M. F., Baumgärtner, S., Becker, C., Frank, K. & Müller, B., 2008, Ecological economics: Vol. 2: Modeling coupled ecological-economic systems. Perrings, C. (ed.). Los Angeles, Calif. [u.a.]: SAGE Publications Inc., p. 229-260 32 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research
- Published
Uncertainty in the river export modelling of pesticides and transformation products
Gassmann, M., Khodorkovsky, M., Friedler, E., Dubowski, Y. & Olsson, O., 01.2014, In: Environmental Modelling & Software. 51, p. 35-44 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Uncharted risk measures for the management of sustainable mining
Watts, B. A., Zago, V. C. P., Gopakumar, L., Ghazaryan, K. & Movsesyan, H., 01.07.2023, In: Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. 19, 4, p. 949-960 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research
- Published
Understanding and Communicating Climate Change in Metaphors
Niebert, K. & Gropengiesser, H., 01.06.2013, In: Environmental Education Research. 19, 3, p. 282-302 21 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Understanding and Supporting Management Decision-Making: South East Asian Case Studies on Environmental Management Accounting
Herzig, C., Viere, T., Burritt, R. & Schaltegger, S., 2006, Sustainability Accounting and Reporting. Schaltegger, S., Bennett, M. & Burritt, R. (eds.). Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media, p. 491-507 17 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
- Published
Understanding drivers of human tolerance towards mammals in a mixed-use transfrontier conservation area in southern Africa
Kansky, R., Kidd, M. & Fischer, J., 01.02.2021, In: Biological Conservation. 254, 10 p., 108947.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Understanding needs embodiment: A theory-guided reanalysis of the role of metaphors and analogies in understanding science
Niebert, K., Marsch, S. & Treagust, D. F., 01.09.2012, In: Science Education. 96, 5, p. 849-877 29 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Understanding positive contributions to sustainability. A systematic review
Dijkstra-Silva, S., Schaltegger, S. & Beske-Janssen, P., 15.10.2022, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 320, 11 p., 115802.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Understanding relational values in cultural landscapes in Romania and Germany
Riechers, M., Balázsi, Á., Engler, J. O., Shumi, G. & Fischer, J., 10.2021, In: People and Nature. 3, 5, p. 1036-1046 11 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review