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

    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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. 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/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearch

  3. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  5. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. 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/worksChapterpeer-review

  7. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. 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 contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  10. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

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