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

    Clustering Hydrological Homogeneous Regions and Neural Network Based Index Flood Estimation for Ungauged Catchments: an Example of the Chindwin River in Myanmar

    Latt, Z. Z., Wittenberg, H. & Urban, B., 01.02.2015, In: Water Resources Management. 29, 3, p. 913-928 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Effects of free air CO2 enrichment on root growth of barley, sugar beet and wheat grown in a rotation under different nitrogen supply

    Pacholski, A., Manderscheid, R. & Weigel, H.-J., 01.02.2015, In: European Journal of Agronomy. 63, p. 36-46 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  3. Published

    Pesticide and Greenhouse Gas Externalities from US Agriculture: The Impact of their Internalization and Climate Change

    Shakhramanyan, D. N. G., Schneider, U. A. & McCarl, B. A., 01.08.2013, In: Climate Change Economics. 4, 3, 28 p., 1350008 .

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Resilienz und Reallabore als Schlüsselkonzepte urbaner Transitionsforschung: Zwölf Thesen

    De Flander, K., Hahne, U., Kegler, H., Lang, D. J., Lucas, R., Schneidewind, U., Simon, K.-H., Singer-Brodowski, M., Wanner, M. & Wiek, A., 10.10.2014, In: GAIA. 23, 3, p. 284-286 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  5. Published

    Local levers for change: Mainstreaming ecosystem-based adaptation into municipal planning to foster sustainability transitions

    Wamsler, C., Luederitz, C. & Brink, E., 01.11.2014, In: Global Environmental Change : Human and Policy Dimensions. 29, p. 189 - 201 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Poststrukturalismus und Postkolonialismus: Jaques Derridas "Grammatologie" sowie Gilles Deleuzes und Félix Guattaris "Tausend Plateaus"

    Angermüller, J. & Leonie, B., 2012, Schlüsselwerke der Postcolonial Studies. Reuter, J. & Karentzos, A. (eds.). Wiesbaden: Springer, p. 27 - 37 12 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearch

  7. Published

    Understanding role models for change: a multilevel analysis of success factors of grassroots initiatives for sustainable consumption

    Grabs, J., Langen, N., Maschkowski, G. & Schäpke, N., 15.10.2016, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 134 , Part A, p. 98-111 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  8. Published

    Forschung für nachhaltige entwicklungen

    Grießhammer, R., Bergmann, M. & Betker, F., 05.2014, In: GAIA. 23, 2, p. 129 - 131 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  9. Published

    Nachhaltigkeitskompetenzen in Unternehmen und Organisationen: Konzeptionelle Überlegungen zur Gestaltung eines karrierebegleitenden Weiterbildungsmasters

    Nölting, B., Schäpke, N. & Pape, J., 2013, In: Die Unternehmung. 67, 2, p. 174 - 189 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransferpeer-review

  10. Published

    Going beyond efficiency: including altruistic motives in behavioral models for sustainability transitions to address sufficiency.

    Schäpke, N. & Rauschmayer, F., 01.04.2014, In: Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy. 10, 1, p. 29 - 44 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review