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

    Farmers' perceptions of climate change and adaptation strategies in South Africa's Western Cape

    Talanow, K., Topp, E., Loos, J. & Martín-López, B., 01.01.2021, In: Journal of Rural Studies. 81, p. 203-219 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    The coronavirus pandemic as an analogy for future sustainability challenges

    Engler, J.-O., Abson, D. & Wehrden, H., 01.01.2021, In: Sustainability Science. 16, 1, p. 317-319 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  3. Published

    Nachhaltige Gewerbegebiete: Gut für die Biodiversität, attraktiv für Unternehmen

    Beständig, U., 2015, Lüneburg: Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, 29 p.

    Research output: Working paperProject reportsResearch

  4. Published

    Time and sustainability: A missing link in formal education curricula

    Grauer, C., Fischer, D. & Frank, P., 29.03.2022, In: Journal of Environmental Education. 53, 1, p. 22-41 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Environmental rebound effect of energy efficiency improvements in Colombian households

    Vélez-Henao, J. A., García-Mazo, C. M., Freire-González, J. & Vivanco, D. F., 01.10.2020, In: Energy Policy. 145, 10 p., 111697.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Diversitätsgerechte und digitale Lehre - Chance oder Widerspruch?

    Abels, S. & Stinken-Rösner, L., 11.2020, In: VSH AEU Bulletin. 46, 3/4, p. 39-46 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransfer

  7. Published

    Capability of social life cycle assessment for analyzing the artisanal small-scale gold mining sector—case study in the Amazonian rainforest in Brazil

    Springer, S. K., Peregovich, B. G. & Schmidt, M., 11.2020, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 25, 11, p. 2274-2289 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Set ambitious goals for biodiversity and sustainability

    Díaz, S., Zafra-Calvo, N., Purvis, A., Verburg, P. H., Obura, D., Leadley, P., Chaplin-Kramer, R., De Meester, L., Dulloo, E., Martín-López, B., Shaw, M. R., Visconti, P., Broadgate, W., Bruford, M. W., Burgess, N. D., Cavender-Bares, J., DeClerck, F., Fernández-Palacios, J. M., Garibaldi, L. A., Hill, S. L. L., Isbell, F., Khoury, C. K., Krug, C. B., Liu, J., Maron, M., McGowan, P. J. K., Pereira, H. M., Reyes-García, V., Rocha, J., Rondinini, C., Shannon, L., Shin, Y.-J., Snelgrove, P. V. R., Spehn, E. M., Strassburg, B., Subramanian, S. M., Tewksbury, J. J., Watson, J. E. M. & Zanne, A. E., 23.10.2020, In: Science. 370, 6515, p. 411-413 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    The Framework for Inclusive Science Education

    Brauns, S. & Abels, S., 10.10.2020, Lüneburg: Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, 126 p. (Inclusive Science Education; no. 1/2020).

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  10. Published

    Evaluating structural and compositional canopy characteristics to predict the light-demand signature of the forest understorey in mixed, semi-natural temperate forests

    Depauw, L., Perring, M. P., Landuyt, D., Maes, S. L., Blondeel, H., De Lombaerde, E., Brūmelis, G., Brunet, J., Closset-Kopp, D., Decocq, G., Den Ouden, J., Härdtle, W., Hédl, R., Heinken, T., Heinrichs, S., Jaroszewicz, B., Kopecký, M., Liepiņa, I., Macek, M., Máliš, F., Schmidt, W., Smart, S. M., Ujházy, K., Wulf, M. & Verheyen, K., 01.01.2021, In: Applied Vegetation Science. 24, 1, 13 p., e12532.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review