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

    Organisationsberatung hacken: Mit Neugier und Zutrauen Zukünfte gestalten

    Kısaoğlu, D. & Möller, S., 01.02.2024, Organisationen hacken: Einfallstore in eine nachhaltige Arbeitswelt. Hochmann, L. & Möller, S. (eds.). München: oekom verlag GmbH, p. 27-39 13 p.

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

  2. Published

    Einleitung: Warum hacken?

    Hochmann, L. & Möller, S., 01.02.2024, Organisationen hacken: Einfallstore in eine nachhaltige Arbeitswelt. Hochmann, L. & Möller, S. (eds.). München: oekom verlag GmbH, p. 11-23 13 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksOtherResearch

  3. E-pub ahead of print

    Resilience and the Sustainable Development Goals: a scrutiny of urban strategies in the 100 Resilient Cities initiative

    Kochskämper, E., Glass, L.-M., Haupt, W., Malekpour, S. & Grainger-Brown, J., 24.01.2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 27 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Appraising biocultural approaches to sustainability in the scientific literature in Spanish

    Díaz-Reviriego, I., Hanspach, J., Torralba, M., Ortiz-Przychodzka, S., Frias, C. B., Burke, L., García-Martín, M. & Oteros-Rozas, E., 04.2024, In: Ambio. 53, 4, p. 499-516 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  5. Published

    Long-term drought triggers severe declines in carabid beetles in a temperate forest

    Weiss, F., von Wehrden, H. & Linde, A., 04.2024, In: Ecography. 2024, 4, 17 p., e07020.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    An archetype analysis of sustainability innovations in Biosphere Reserves: Insights for assessing transformative potential

    Dabard, C. H., Mann, C. & Martín-López, B., 01.03.2024, In: Environmental Science & Policy. 153, 25 p., 103674.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    15 years of degrowth research: A systematic review

    Engler, J. O., Kretschmer, M. F., Rathgens, J., Ament, J. A., Huth, T. & von Wehrden, H., 01.04.2024, In: Ecological Economics. 218, 14 p., 108101.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    How Germany is phasing out lignite: insights from the Coal Commission and local communities

    Radtke, J. & David, M., 12.2024, In: Energy, Sustainability and Society. 14, 1, 18 p., 7.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Low working memory reduces the use of mental contrasting

    Timur Sevincer, A., Schröder, A., Plakides, A., Edler, N. & Oettingen, G., 01.02.2024, In: Consciousness and Cognition. 118, 13 p., 103644.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  10. Published

    Promoting Subjective Well-Being and a Sustainable Lifestyle in Children and Youth by Strengthening Their Personal Psychological Resources

    Voltmer, K. & von Salisch, M., 01.2024, In: Sustainability. 16, 1, 16 p., 134.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch