School of Sustainability
Organisational unit: Research School
- Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM)
- Institute of Ecology
- Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
- Institute of Sustainability Governance
- Institute of Sustainability Material Flows and Circularity
- Institute of Sustainability Psychology
- Institute of Sustainable Chemistry
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
- Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute
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.
- Published
Integrating sufficiency in the trade and biodiversity agenda of the European Union
Roux, N., Coenen, J., Fleischmann, B., Cotta, B., Dorninger, C., Erb, K. H., Haberl, H., Kaufmann, L., Mayer, A. & Newig, J., 18.07.2025, In: One Earth. 8, 7, 17 p., 101347.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
A coffee corridor for biodiversity and livelihoods: climatic feasibility of shade coffee cultivation in western Rwanda
Reckmann, T., Frietsch, M., Schwenck, C., Mukuralinda, A., Duguma, D. W. & Fischer, J., 09.2025, In: Trees, Forests and People. 21, 100941.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Uncovering decolonial pedagogies for learning agroecological transitions: comparative analysis of South America cases
Bonatti, M., Reynaldo, R. G., Martín-López, B., Bolivar, S., Cordero-Fernández, M., Miguel, G. C., Martin, A., Hämmerle, J., Schröter, B., Erismann, C., da Silva Rosa, T., Hellin, J., Schlindwein, I., Osorio, Á. A., Medina, L., Baldivieso, C., Eufemia, L., Jacobi, J., Lobo Guerrero, A. M. & Sieber, S., 10.2025, In: Global Environmental Change. 94, 15 p., 103042.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Improving forest ecosystem functions by optimizing tree species spatial arrangement
Beugnon, R., Albert, G., Hähn, G., Yu, W., Haider, S., Hättenschwiler, S., Davrinche, A., Rosenbaum, B., Gauzens, B. & Eisenhauer, N., 09.07.2025, In: Nature Communications. 16, 1, 10 p., 6286.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Accepted/In press
Proposing a social-ecological framework for successful grassland restoration in Germany—an overview and insights from the Grassworks project
Temperton, V. M., Pătru-Dușe, I. A., Twerski, A., Laeseke, P., Neudert, R., Cebrián-Piqueras, M. A., Romero, M. P., Bauer, M., Beckmann, V., Fischer, J., Gray, K., Härdtle, W., Kollmann, J., Kuhn, L., Laschke, C. J., Loos, J., Lutz, L., May, F., Meyer, M., Martin-Lopez, B., Riechers, M., Ptacek, M., Seifert, D., Schmidt, A., Sturm, L., Thiele, J., Tischew, S., Unseld, L., Venus, T., Wiesmeier, M. & Kirmer, A., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Restoration Ecology. 15 p., e70109.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
INEQUALITY REDUCES SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Brieger, S., Hörisch, J. & Zhang, X., 07.2025, In: Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings. 2025, 1Research output: Journal contributions › Conference article in journal › Research › peer-review
- Published
Planting futures: School-based food forests and their contribution to holistic education for sustainable development
Gobs, J., 2025, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 34, 2, p. 97-105 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- E-pub ahead of print
Does the relationship between sustainable human resource management and organizational identification vary by culture? Evidence from 35 countries based on GLOBE framework
Author Collaboration of "Does the relationship between sustainable human resource management and organizational identification vary by culture? Evidence from 35 countries based on GLOBE framework", 29.05.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Central European Management Journal.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Accepted/In press
Thinking Beyond the Bargaining Table: Negotiators’ Perceptions, Behaviours and Outcomes in Negotiations Affecting External Parties
Zhang, K., Zhang, H., Aaldering, H., Majer, J. M. & Trötschel, R., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: European Journal of Social Psychology. 19 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- E-pub ahead of print
Does participatory governance help address long-term environmental problems? Conceptualization and evidence from 23 democracies
Rose, M., Newig, J. & Jager, N. W., 21.07.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Policy Studies. p. 1-25 25 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review