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

    The elephant in the room is really a cow: using consumption corridors to define sustainable meat consumption in the European Union

    Cué Rio, M., Bovenkerk, B., Castella, J. C., Fischer, D., Fuchs, R., Kanerva, M., Rounsevell, M. D. A., Salliou, N., Verger, E. O. & Röös, E., 27.10.2022, In: Sustainability Science. 2022, 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    The elephant in the room: How do we regulate gas transportation infrastructure as gas demand declines?

    Rosenow, J., Lowes, R. & Kemfert, C., 19.07.2024, In: One Earth. 7, 7, p. 1158-1161 4 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  3. Published

    The Efficacy of a Web-Based Stress Management Intervention for Employees Experiencing Adverse Working Conditions and Occupational Self-efficacy as a Mediator: Randomized Controlled Trial

    Nixon, P., Ebert, D. D., Boß, L., Angerer, P., Dragano, N. & Lehr, D., 20.10.2022, In: Journal of Medical Internet Research. 24, 10, 16 p., e40488.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    The effects of windthrow on plant species richness in a Central European beech forest

    von Oheimb, G., Friedel, A., Bertsch, A. & Haerdtle, W., 01.07.2007, In: Plant Ecology. 191, 1, p. 47-65 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    The effects of visual sustainability labels on consumer perception and behavior: A systematic review of the empirical literature

    Majer, J. M., Henscher, H. A., Reuber, P., Fischer-Kreer, D. & Fischer, D., 01.09.2022, In: Sustainable Production and Consumption. 33, p. 1-14 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  6. Published
  7. Published

    The effect of storage medium on the elution of monomers from composite materials

    Polydorou, O., Huberty, C., Wolkewitz, M., Bolek, R., Hellwig, E. & Kümmerer, K., 27.01.2012, In: Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials. 100B, 1, p. 68-74 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    The effect of organic acids and alcohols on precipitation of phosphate using calcined seashell powder

    Pleissner, D., Zaman, T. & Peinemann, J., 04.2020, In: Chemical Papers. 74, 4, p. 1211-1217 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    The effect of neighbor species' phylogenetic and trait difference on tree growth in subtropical forests

    Klipel, J., Bergamin, R. S., Bordin, K. M., Picolotto, R. C., Müller, S. C. & de Bello, F., 01.07.2024, In: Journal of Vegetation Science. 35, 4, 11 p., e13296.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    The effect of industrialization and globalization on domestic land-use: A global resource footprint perspective

    Dorninger, C., von Wehrden, H., Krausmann, F., Bruckner, M., Feng, K., Hubacek, K., Erb, K. H. & Abson, D. J., 01.07.2021, In: Global Environmental Change. 69, 21 p., 102311.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review