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

    Education in green chemistry and in sustainable chemistry: perspectives towards sustainability

    Zuin, V. G., Eilks, I., Elschami, M. & Kümmerer, K., 21.02.2021, In: Green Chemistry . 23, 4, p. 1594-1608 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Predicting the impacts of human population growth on forest mammals in the highlands of southwestern Ethiopia

    Rodrigues, P., Dorresteijn, I., Guilherme, J. L., Hanspach, J., De Beenhouwer, M., Hylander, K., Bekele, B., Senbeta, F., Fischer, J. & Nimmo, D., 01.04.2021, In: Biological Conservation. 256, 109046.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Effect of an internet- and app-based stress intervention compared to online psychoeducation in university students with depressive symptoms: Results of a randomized controlled trial

    Harrer, M., Apolinário-Hagen, J., Fritsche, L., Salewski, C., Zarski, A. C., Lehr, D., Baumeister, H., Cuijpers, P. & Ebert, D. D., 01.04.2021, In: Internet Interventions. 24, 11 p., 100374.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Fire and landscape context shape plant and butterfly diversity in a South African shrubland

    Topp, E. N., Tscharntke, T. & Loos, J., 01.03.2022, In: Diversity and Distributions. 28, 3, p. 357-371 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Ecosystem service mapping needs to capture more effectively the biodiversity important for service supply

    Ceausu, S., Apaza-Quevedo, A., Schmid, M., Martín-López, B., Cortés-Avizanda, A., Maes, J., Brotons, L., Queiroz, C. & Pereira, H. M., 01.04.2021, In: Ecosystem Services. 48, 10 p., 101259.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published
  7. Published

    Systematic learning in water governance: insights from five local adaptive management projects for water quality innovation

    Kochskämper, E., Koontz, T. M. & Newig, J., 03.2021, In: Ecology and Society. 26, 1, 13 p., 22.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Participation in multi-level policy implementation: exploring the influence of governance culture

    Gollata, J. A. M., Kochskämper, E., Jager, N. W. & Newig, J., 06.12.2021, In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 64, 14, p. 2593-2617 25 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Ecosystem services from forest and farmland: Present and past access separates beneficiaries in rural Ethiopia

    Schultner, J., Dorresteijn, I., Manlosa, A. O., von Wehrden, H., Hylander, K., Senbeta, F. & Fischer, J., 01.04.2021, In: Ecosystem Services. 48, 101263.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Concentrations and sources of methylxanthines in a Northern German river system

    Löher, F., Palm, W. U., Schaffer, M. & Olsson, O., 25.06.2021, In: Science of the Total Environment. 775, 145898.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review