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
Three principles for co-designing sustainability intervention strategies: Experiences from Southern Transylvania
Lam, D. P. M., Horcea-Milcu, A. I., Fischer, J., Peukert, D. & Lang, D. J., 01.09.2020, In: Ambio. 49, 9, p. 1451-1465 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Artful sustainability governance—Foundational considerations on sensory-informed policymaking for sustainable development
Heinrichs, H., 01.07.2020, In: Sustainable Development. 28, 4, p. 791-799 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Drivers of above-ground understorey biomass and nutrient stocks in temperate deciduous forests
Landuyt, D., Maes, S. L., Depauw, L., Ampoorter, E., Blondeel, H., Perring, M. P., Brūmelis, G., Brunet, J., Decocq, G., den Ouden, J., Härdtle, W., Hédl, R., Heinken, T., Heinrichs, S., Jaroszewicz, B., Kirby, K. J., Kopecký, M., Máliš, F., Wulf, M. & Verheyen, K., 01.05.2020, In: Journal of Ecology. 108, 3, p. 982-997 16 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Transdisciplinary learning to foster sustainable development: Instituionalizing co-engaged South-North collaboration
Barth, M., Lang, D. J. & Michelsen, G., 19.12.2019, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Societa. 28, 4, p. 382-385 4 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Developing sufficiency-oriented offerings for clothing users: Business approaches to support consumption reduction
Freudenreich, B. & Schaltegger, S., 20.02.2020, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 247, 10 p., 119589.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Europäische Selbstwerdung und Selbstbe-hauptung durch wirtschaftliche Staatskunst
Oermann, N. O. & Wolff, H.-J., 2019, In: ifo Schnelldienst. 72, 22, p. 12-15 4 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Applying the energy cultures framework to understand energy systems in the context of rural sustainability transformation
Klaniecki, K., Duse, I. A., Lutz, L. M., Leventon, J. & Abson, D. J., 02.2020, In: Energy Policy. 137, 12 p., 111092.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
A tale of scale: Plot but not neighbourhood tree diversity increases leaf litter ant diversity
Skarbek, C. J., Noack, M., Bruelheide, H., Härdtle, W., Oheimb, G., Scholten, T., Seitz, S. & Staab, M., 01.02.2020, In: Journal of Animal Ecology. 89, 2, p. 299-308 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Tree-species interactions increase light absorption and growth in Chinese subtropical mixed-species plantations
Forrester, D. I., Rodenfels, P., Haase, J., Härdtle, W., Leppert, K. N., Niklaus, P. A., Oheimb, G., Scherer-Lorenzen, M. & Bauhus, J., 01.10.2019, In: Oecologia. 191, 2, p. 421-432 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Embracing conflicts for interpersonal competence development in project-based sustainability courses
Konrad, T., Wiek, A. & Barth, M., 09.01.2020, In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 21, 1, p. 76-96 21 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review