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

    Tree diversity and mycorrhizal type co-determine multitrophic ecosystem functions

    Yi, H., Eisenhauer, N., Austen, J. C., Rebollo, R., Ray, T., Bönisch, E., von Oheimb, G., Fichtner, A., Schuldt, A., Patoine, G. & Ferlian, O., 03.2024, In: Journal of Ecology. 112, 3, p. 528-546 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    The relevance of international restoration principles for ecosystem restoration practice in Rwanda

    Frietsch, M., Fischer, J., Kaplin, B. A. & Martín-López, B., 03.2024, In: Restoration Ecology. 32, 3, 11 p., e14085.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Does outcome expectancy predict outcomes in online depression prevention? Secondary analysis of randomised-controlled trials

    Thielecke, J., Kuper, P., Ebert, D., Cuijpers, P., Smit, F., Riper, H., Lehr, D. & Buntrock, C., 02.2024, In: Health Expectations. 27, 1, 12 p., e13951.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Corporate change agents for sustainability: Transforming organizations from the inside out

    Schaltegger, S., Girschik, V., Trittin-Ulbrich, H., Weissbrod, I. & Daudigeos, T., 04.2024, In: Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility. 33, 2, p. 145-156 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Non-material contributions of nature expressed by former tourists of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

    Pearson, J., Gross, M. & Hofmann, J., 02.2024, In: People and Nature. 6, 1, p. 220-229 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Assessing collaboration, knowledge exchange, and stakeholder agency in coastal governance to enhance climate resilience

    Rölfer, L., Celliers, L., Fernandes, M., Rivers, N., Snow, B. & Abson, D. J., 01.03.2024, In: Regional Environmental Change. 24, 1, 15 p., 6.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Organisationen hacken: Einfallstore in eine nachhaltige Arbeitswelt

    Hochmann, L. (Editor) & Möller, S. (Editor), 01.02.2024, München: oekom verlag GmbH. 418 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesCollected editions and anthologiesResearch

  8. Published

    Safe-and-sustainable-by-design: State of the art approaches and lessons learned from value chain perspectives

    Apel, C., Kümmerer, K., Sudheshwar, A., Nowack, B., Som, C., Colin, C., Walter, L., Breukelaar, J., Meeus, M., Ildefonso, B., Petrovykh, D., Elyahmadi, C., Huttunen-Saarivirta, E., Dierckx, A., Devic, A. C., Valsami-Jones, E., Brennan, M., Rocca, C., Scheper, J., Strömberg, E. & Soeteman-Hernández, L. G., 01.02.2024, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 45, 16 p., 100876.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  9. Published

    House price expectations

    Gohl, N., Haan, P., Michelsen, C. & Weinhardt, F., 01.02.2024, In: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 218, p. 379-398 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Governing anthropogenic assets for nature’s contributions to people in forests: a policy document analysis

    Isaac, R., Hofmann, J., Koegst, J., Schleyer, C. & Martín-López, B., 01.02.2024, In: Environmental Science & Policy. 152, 20 p., 103657.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review