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

    Mother-infant social gaze dynamics relate to infant brain activity and word segmentation

    Vanoncini, M., Hoehl, S., Elsner, B., Wallot, S., Boll-Avetisyan, N. & Kayhan, E., 01.02.2024, In: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 65, 8 p., 101331.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  2. Published

    In the Eye of the Beholder: Stakeholder Perceived Value in Sustainable Business Models

    Norris, S., 01.02.2024, In: Long Range Planning. 57, 1, 14 p., 102406.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Designing greener active pharmaceutical ingredients: Insights from pharmaceutical industry into drug discovery and development

    Puhlmann, N., Vidaurre, R. & Kümmerer, K., 01.01.2024, In: European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 192, 13 p., 106614.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Atempause: Achtsamkeit in der Grundschule üben

    Salisch, M. (Editor), Hondrich, F. (Editor) & Voltmer, K. (Editor), 01.06.2024, Münster: Waxmann Verlag. 208 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesCollected editions and anthologiesResearch

  5. Published

    Expanding the pie or spoiling the cake? How the number of negotiation issues affects integrative bargaining

    Warsitzka, M., Zhang, H., Beersma, B., Freund, P. A. & Trötschel, R., 01.08.2024, In: Journal of Applied Psychology. 109, 8, p. 1224-1249 26 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Umwelt-Governance und Partizipation

    Rose, M. & Newig, J., 13.01.2024, Handbuch Umweltsoziologie. Sonnberger, M., Bleicher, A. & Groß, M. (eds.). 2 ed. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, p. 759-774 16 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapter

  7. Published

    Sustainable Development: Prioritizing Attributes and Validating Factors for the Success of Green Startups in Brazilian and German Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

    Oliveira, A. Y., Mendes, J. A. J., Zanon, L. G., Gerolamo, M. C. & Zuin Zeidler, V. G., 03.2025, In: Business Strategy and Development. 8, 1, e70083.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Successful Alien Plant Species Exhibit Functional Dissimilarity From Natives Under Varied Climatic Conditions but Not Under Increased Nutrient Availability

    Milanović, M., Bakker, J. D., Biederman, L., Borer, E. T., Catford, J. A., Cleland, E., Hagenah, N., Haider, S., Harpole, W. S., Komatsu, K., MacDougall, A. S., Römermann, C., Seabloom, E. W., Knapp, S. & Kühn, I., 01.03.2025, In: Journal of Vegetation Science. 36, 2, 12 p., e70032.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Accepted/In press

    Biodiversity on old permanent versus restored grassland is driven by small-scale land-use intensity and habitat connectivity

    Ernst, L. M., Thiele, J., Dieker, P., Temperton, V. M. & Dauber, J., 18.03.2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Restoration Ecology. 15 p., e70029.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory

    Nelson, R. A., Sullivan, L. L., Hersch-Green, E. I., Seabloom, E. W., Borer, E. T., Tognetti, P. M., Adler, P. B., Biederman, L., Bugalho, M. N., Caldeira, M. C., Cancela, J. P., Carvalheiro, L. G., Catford, J. A., Dickman, C. R., Dolezal, A. J., Donohue, I., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Elgersma, K. J., Eskelinen, A., Estrada, C., Garbowski, M., Graff, P., Gruner, D. S., Hagenah, N., Haider, S., Harpole, W. S., Hautier, Y., Jentsch, A., Johanson, N., Koerner, S. E., Lannes, L. S., MacDougall, A. S., Martinson, H., Morgan, J. W., Olde Venterink, H., Orr, D., Osborne, B. B., Peri, P. L., Power, S. A., Raynaud, X., Risch, A. C., Shrestha, M., Smith, N. G., Stevens, C. J., Veen, G. F. C., Virtanen, R., Wardle, G. M., Wolf, A. A., Young, A. L. & Harrison, S. P., 12.2025, In: Communications Biology. 8, 1, 10 p., 444.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review