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

    Forwords

    Hofmeister, S. & Fainstein, S. S., 2019, Gendered Approaches to Spatial Development in Europe: Perspectives, Similarities, Differences. Zibell, B., Damyanovic, D. & Sturm, U. (eds.). London / New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. XVII-XIX 3 p. (Routledge studies in gender and environments).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksOtherResearch

  2. Published

    Mediterranean marine protected areas have higher biodiversity via increased evenness, not abundance

    Blowes, S. A., Chase, J. M., Di Franco, A., Frid, O., Gotelli, N. J., Guidetti, P., Knight, T. M., May, F., McGlinn, D. J., Micheli, F., Sala, E. & Belmaker, J., 01.03.2020, In: Journal of Applied Ecology. 57, 3, p. 578-589 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Habitat continuity matters: Ancient woodlands tend to have higher biomass and catching rate of dung beetles, mainly driven by one large species

    Hülsmann, M., Boutaud, E., Buse, J., Frank, K., Schuldt, A. & Assmann, T., 01.01.2020, In: Acta Oecologica. 102, 7 p., 103501.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Indicators for relational values of nature’s contributions to good quality of life: the IPBES approach for Europe and Central Asia

    Schröter, M., Başak, E., Christie, M., Church, A., Keune, H., Osipova, E., Oteros-Rozas, E., Sievers-Glotzbach, S., van Oudenhoven, A. P. E., Balvanera, P., González, D., Jacobs, S., Molnár, Z., Pascual, U. & Martín-López, B., 10.01.2020, In: Ecosystems and People. 16, 1, p. 50-69 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  5. Published

    Scientific priorities and shepherds' perceptions of ungulate's contributions to people in rewilding landscapes

    Pascual-Rico, R., Martín-López, B., Sánchez-Zapata, J. A. & Morales-Reyes, Z., 25.02.2020, In: Science of the Total Environment. 705, 11 p., 135876.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    German forest management stakeholders at the science-society interface: Their views on problem definition, knowledge production and research utilization

    Juerges, N. & Jahn, S., 01.02.2020, In: Forest Policy and Economics. 111, 10 p., 102076.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Experimental and in silico assessment of fate and effects of the UV filter 2-phenylbenzimidazole 5-sulfonic acid and its phototransformation products in aquatic solutions

    Westphal, J., Kümmerer, K. & Olsson, O., 15.03.2020, In: Water Research. 171, 10 p., 115393.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Pathways of Conflict: Lessons from the Cultivation of MON810 in Germany in 2005–2008 for Emerging Conflicts over New Breeding Techniques

    Friedrich, B., 01.01.2020, In: Sustainability. 12, 1, 17 p., 144.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Development perspectives for the application of autonomous, unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in wildlife conservation

    Fust, P. & Loos, J., 01.01.2020, In: Biological Conservation. 241, 4 p., 108380.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Climate – grazing interactions in Mongolian rangelands: Effects of grazing change along a large-scale environmental gradient

    Ahlborn, J., von Wehrden, H., Lang, B., Römermann, C., Oyunbileg, M., Oyuntsetseg, B. & Wesche, K., 01.02.2020, In: Journal of Arid Environments. 173, 10 p., 104043.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review