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
Biodiversity and food security: from trade-offs to synergies
Cramer, W., Egea, E., Fischer, J., Lux, A., Salles, J. M., Settele, J. & Tichit, M., 01.06.2017, In: Regional Environmental Change. 17, 5, p. 1257-1259 3 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Biodiversity and Sustainability Communication
Adomßent, M. & Stoltenberg, U., 2011, Sustainability Communication: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Theoretical Foundations. Godemann, J. & Michelsen, G. (eds.). Dordrecht: Springer, p. 129-139 11 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research
- Published
Biodiversity buffers pollination from changes in environmental conditions
Brittain, C., Kremen, C. & Klein, A.-M., 02.2013, In: Global Change Biology. 19, 2, p. 540-547 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Biodiversity, ecosystem function, and resilience: ten guiding principles for commodity production landscapes
Fischer, J., Lindenmayer, D. B. & Manning, A. D., 03.2006, In: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 4, 2, p. 80-86 7 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Biodiversity-friendly farming
Fischer, J., Brittain, C. & Klein, A.-M., 01.01.2013, Encyclopedia of Biodiversity: Second Edition. Levin, S. A. (ed.). 2 ed. New York: Elsevier Scientific Publishing, p. 418-429 12 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
- Published
Biodiversity-multifunctionality relationships depend on identity and number of measured functions
Meyer, S. T., Ptacnik, R., Hillebrand, H., Bessler, H., Buchmann, N., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Engels, C., Fischer, M., Halle, S., Klein, A. M., Oelmann, Y., Roscher, C., Rottstock, T., Scherber, C., Scheu, S., Schmid, B., Schulze, E. D., Temperton, V. M., Tscharntke, T., Voigt, W., Weigelt, A., Wilcke, W. & Weisser, W. W., 01.01.2018, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 2, 1, p. 44-49 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Accepted/In press
Biodiversity on old permanent versus restored grassland is driven by small-scale land-use intensity and habitat connectivity
Ernst, L. M., Thiele, J., Dieker, P., Temperton, V. M. & Dauber, J., 18.03.2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Restoration Ecology. 15 p., e70029.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Biodiversity–stability relationships strengthen over time in a long-term grassland experiment
Wagg, C., Roscher, C., Weigelt, A., Vogel, A., Ebeling, A., de Luca, E., Roeder, A., Kleinspehn, C., Temperton, V. M., Meyer, S. T., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Buchmann, N., Fischer, M., Weisser, W. W., Eisenhauer, N. & Schmid, B., 14.12.2022, In: Nature Communications. 13, 1, 11 p., 7752.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Biofuel sustainability in Latin America & the Caribbean - A review of recent experiences
Bailis, R., Solomon, B., Moser, C. & Hildebrandt, T., 2014, RCN Conference on Pan American Biofuels and Bioenergy Sustainability 2014: Proceedings of a meeting held 22-25 July 2014, Recife, Brazil. . American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), p. 277-289 13 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review
- Published
Biofuel Sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Review of recent Experiences and Future Prospects
Bailis, R., Solomon, B. D., Moser, C. & Hildebrandt, T., 03.09.2014, In: Biofuels. 5, 5, p. 469-485 17 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review