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
Collaborative governance towards cities sustainability transition
Conti, D. D. M., de Hoyos Guevara, A. J., Heinrichs, H., da Silva, L. F., Quaresma, C. C. & Bete, T. D. S., 01.01.2019, In: URBE - Revista Brasileira de Gestão Urbana. 11, 19 p., e20190046.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
When history matters: The overlooked role of priority effects in grassland overyielding
Delory, B., Weidlich, E. W. A., von Gillhaussen, P. & Temperton, V. M., 12.2019, In: Functional Ecology. 33, 12, p. 2369-2380 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Multiple components of plant diversity loss determine herbivore phylogenetic diversity in a subtropical forest experiment
Wang, M.-Q., Li, Y., Chesters, D., Anttonen, P., Bruelheide, H., Chen, J.-T., Durka, W., Guo, P.-F., Haerdtle, W., Ma, K., Michalski, S. G., Schmid, B., von Oheimb, G., Wu, C.-S., Zhang, N.-L., Zhou, Q.-S., Schuldt, A. & Zhu, C.-D., 01.11.2019, In: Journal of Ecology. 107, 6, p. 2697-2712 16 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Guest editorial: Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Vol. 10 No. 4
Crutzen, N. (Editor), Van Bockhaven, J. (Editor), Schaltegger, S. (Editor) & Giffinger, R. (Editor), 18.09.2019, In: Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal. 10, 4, p. 646-653 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Other (editorial matter etc.) › Research
- Published
Root trait plasticity and plant nutrient acquisition in phosphorus limited soil
Kumar, A., Shahbaz, M., Koirala, M., Blagodatskaya, E., Seidel, S. J., Kuzyakov, Y. & Pausch, J., 01.12.2019, In: Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science. 182, 6, p. 945-952 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Strategies and drivers of sustainable business model innovation
Lüdeke-Freund, F., Schaltegger, S. & Dembek, K., 2019, Handbook of Sustainable Innovation. Boons, F. & McMeekin, A. (eds.). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 101-123 23 p. 6Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
- Published
Evaluating social learning in participatory mapping of ecosystem services
García-Nieto, A. P., Huland, E., Quintas-Soriano, C., Iniesta-Arandia, I., García-Llorente, M., Palomo, I. & Martín-López, B., 01.11.2019, In: Ecosystems and People. 15, 1, p. 257-268 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
How mindfulness training cultivates introspection and competence development for sustainable consumption
Frank, P., Sundermann, A. & Fischer, D., 04.10.2019, In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 20, 6, p. 1002-1021 20 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The impacts of social-ecological system change on human-nature connectedness: A case study from Transylvania, Romania
Balázsi, Á., Riechers, M., Hartel, T., Leventon, J. & Fischer, J., 01.12.2019, In: Land Use Policy. 89, 104232.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Living Labs for Product Circularity: Learnings from the ‘Innovation Network aiming at Sustainable Smartphones’
Revellio, F., Hansen, E. & Schaltegger, S., 2021, PLATE – Product lifetimes and the environment: 3rd PLATE Conference, September 18–20, 2019 Berlin, Germany. Nissen, N. F. & Jaeger-Erben, M. (eds.). Berlin: Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin, p. 669-676 8 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review