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
The curvilinear and time-lagging impact of sustainability performance on financial performance: Evidence from Germany
Nuber, C., Velte, P. & Hörisch, J., 01.01.2020, In: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 27, 1, p. 232-243 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research
- Published
The courtship behavior of Meloe decorus Brandt and Erichson and Sitaris muralis Foerster (Coleoptera: Meloidae)
Lückmann, J., 01.03.2005, In: Coleopterists Bulletin. 59, 1, p. 55-61 7 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The coronavirus pandemic as an analogy for future sustainability challenges
Engler, J.-O., Abson, D. & Wehrden, H., 01.01.2021, In: Sustainability Science. 16, 1, p. 317-319 3 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Comments / Debate / Reports › Research
- Published
The contribution of material circularity to sustainability—Recycling and reuse of textiles
Keßler, L., Matlin, S. A. & Kümmerer, K., 01.12.2021, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 32, 10 p., 100535.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
The Contribution of Education for Sustainable Development in Promoting Sustainable Water Use
Michelsen, G. & Rieckmann, M., 2015, Sustainable Water Use and Management: Examples of New Approaches and Perspectives. Filho, W. L. & Sümer, V. (eds.). Cham: Springer-Verlag Italia, p. 103-117 15 p. (Green Energy and Technology).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
- Published
The Conservation Value of Traditional Rural Landscapes: The Case of Woodpeckers in Transylvania, Romania
Dorresteijn, I., Hartel, T., Hanspach, J., von Wehrden, H. & Fischer, J., 19.06.2013, In: PLoS ONE. 8, 6, 7 p., e65236.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The conservation value of oil palm plantation estates, smallholdings and logged peat swamp forest for birds
Azhar, B., Lindenmayer, D., Wood, J., Fischer, J., Manning, A., McElhinny, C. & Zakaria, M., 15.12.2011, In: Forest Ecology and Management. 262, 12, p. 2306–2315 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The concept of resilience in recent sustainability research
Nüchter, V., Abson, D. J., von Wehrden, H. & Engler, J. O., 01.03.2021, In: Sustainability. 13, 5, p. 1-21 21 p., 2735.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The concept of joint production and ecological economics
Baumgärtner, S., Dyckhoff, H., Faber, M., Proops, J. & Schiller, J., 2008, Recent developments in ecological economics: Vol. 1. Martinez-Alier, J. & Røpke, I. (eds.). Cheltenham [u.a.]: Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 90-97 8 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research
- Published
The Concept Benign by Design
Puhlmann, N. & Kümmerer, K., 2025, Encyclopedia of Green Chemistry: Volume 1. Török, B. (ed.). First Edition ed. Oxford: Elsevier, p. 17-29 13 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review