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 Sphodrina of the southern Levant (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Sphodrini)

    Casale, A. & Assmann, T., 30.06.2017, In: Fragmenta Entomologica. 49, 1, p. 13-24 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Functional traits drive ground beetle community structures in Central European forests: Implications for conservation

    Nolte, D., Schuldt, A., Gossner, M. M., Ulrich, W. & Assmann, T., 01.09.2017, In: Biological Conservation. 213, Part A, p. 5-12 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Belowground top-down and aboveground bottom-up effects structure multitrophic community relationships in a biodiverse forest

    Schuldt, A., Bruelheide, H., Buscot, F., Assmann, T., Erfmeier, A., Klein, A.-M., Ma, K., Scholten, T., Staab, M., Wirth, C., Zhang, J. & Wubet, T., 01.12.2017, In: Scientific Reports. 7, 1, 9 p., 4222.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Acknowledging temporal diversity in sustainability transformations at the nexus of interconnected systems

    Weiser, A., Lutz, L. M., Lang, D. J. & Kümmerer, K., 20.09.2017, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 162, p. 273-285 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Der Handabdruck: Ein Ansatz zur Messung positiver Nachhaltigkeitswirkung von Produkten. Stand und Ausblick: Arbeitspapier Nr. 2 im Rahmen des Projekts "Der Handabdruck: ein komplementäres Maß positiver Nachhaltigkeitswirkung von Produkten"

    Beckmann, J., Eberle, U., Eisenhauer, P., Hahn, R., Hermann, C., Kühnen, M., Schaltegger, S., Schmid, M. & Silva, S. L., 2017, Lüneburg: Centre for Sustainability Management, 28 p. (Arbeitspapier Handabdruck; no. 2).

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  6. Published

    Experiments and evidence in sustainability science: A typology

    Caniglia, G., Schäpke, N., Lang, D. J., Abson, D. J., Lüderitz, C., Wiek, A., Laubichler, M., Gralla, F. & von Wehrden, H., 15.12.2017, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 169, p. 39-47 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published
  8. Published

    From competition to facilitation: how tree species respond to neighbourhood diversity

    Fichtner, A., Härdtle, W., Li, Y., Bruelheide, H., Kunz, M. & von Oheimb, G., 01.07.2017, In: Ecology Letters. 20, 7, p. 892-900 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Micro-scale Thermodynamic and Kinetic Analysis of a Calcium Chloride Methanol System for Process Cooling

    Korhammer, K., Neumann, K., Opel, O. & Ruck, W. K. L., 01.05.2017, In: Energy Procedia. 105, p. 4363-4369 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Human–nature connection: a multidisciplinary review

    Ives, C. D., Giusti, M., Fischer, J., Abson, D. J., Klaniecki, K., Dorninger, C., Laudan, J., Barthel, S., Abernethy, P., Martín-López, B., Raymond, C. M., Kendal, D. & von Wehrden, H., 06.2017, In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 26–27, June 2017, p. 106-113 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch