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

    Conservation value of moist evergreen Afromontane forest sites with different management and history in southwestern Ethiopia

    Shumi, G., Rodrigues, P., Schultner, J., Dorresteijn, I., Hanspach, J., Hylander, K., Senbeta, F. & Fischer, J., 01.04.2019, In: Biological Conservation. 232, p. 117-126 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Habitat specialization, distribution range size and body size drive extinction risk in carabid beetles

    Nolte, D., Boutaud, E., Kotze, D. J., Schuldt, A. & Assmann, T., 15.04.2019, In: Biodiversity and Conservation. 28, 5, p. 1267-1283 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    From a problem to a business opportunity-design of pharmaceuticals for environmental biodegradability

    Kümmerer, K., 06.2019, In: Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy. 12, 4 p., 100136.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  4. Published

    Research on the social perception of invasive species: a systematic literature review

    Kapitza, K., Zimmermann, H., Martín-López, B. & Wehrden, H. V., 14.03.2019, In: NeoBiota. 43, p. 47-68 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Gebäude als Stoffquelle: Erkenntnisse aus dem BMBF-Projekt MUTReWa

    Olsson, O., Hensen, B., Lange, J. (Contributor), Jackisch, N. (Contributor) & Kümmerer, K., 02.2019, Stadt und Land im Fluss - Starke Kommunen!: Tagungsband Münster, 26. und 27. Februar 2019. Münster: Institut für Infrastruktur, Wasser, Ressourcen, Umwelt der Fachhochschule Münster, Vol. 6. p. 121-128 8 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsTransfer

  6. Published

    Systems Thinking Skills of Preschool Children in Early Childhood Education Contexts from Turkey and Germany

    Feriver, Ş., Olgan, R., Teksöz, G. & Barth, M., 11.03.2019, In: Sustainability. 11, 5, 26 p., 1478.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Biocultural approaches to pollinator conservation

    Hill, R., Nates-Parra, G., Quezada-Euán, J. J. G., Buchori, D., LeBuhn, G., Maués, M. M., Pert, P. L., Kwapong, P. K., Saeed, S., Breslow, S. J., Carneiro da Cunha, M., Dicks, L. V., Galetto, L., Gikungu, M., Howlett, B. G., Imperatriz-Fonseca, V. L., O’B. Lyver, P., Martín-López, B., Oteros-Roza, E., Potts, S. G. & Roué, M., 01.03.2019, In: Nature Sustainability. 2, 3, p. 214-222 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Drought effects on root and needle terpenoid content of a coastal and an interior Douglas fir provenance

    Kleiber, A., Duan, Q., Jansen, K., Junker, L. V., Kammerer, B., Rennenberg, H., Ensminger, I., Gessler, A. & Kreuzwieser, J., 01.12.2017, In: Tree Physiology. 37, 12, p. 1648-1658 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Towards more effective and transferable transition experiments: learning through stratification

    Engler, J.-O., Zimmermann, H., Lang, D. J., Feller, R. & Wehrden, H., 01.11.2019, In: Sustainability Science. 14, 6, p. 1503-1514 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Das Dorf als Gegenstand sozialwissenschaftlicher Forschung und Theoriebildung. Zur Einführung

    Laschewski, L., Steinführer, A., Mölders, T. & Siebert, R., 2019, Das Dorf. : Soziale Prozesse und räumliche Arrangements. Steinführer, A., Laschewski, L., Mölders, T. & Siebert, R. (eds.). 1 ed. Münster: LIT Verlag, Vol. 5. p. 3-56 54 p. (Rural areas: Issues of local and regional development / Ländliche Räume. Beiträge zur lokalen und regionalen Entwicklung; vol. 5).

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