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

    Temperature and palaeolake evolution during a Middle Pleistocene interglacial–glacial transition at the Palaeolithic locality of Schöningen, Germany

    Krahn, K. J., Urban, B., Pinkerneil, S., Horne, D. J., Tucci, M., Koutsodendris, A. & Schwalb, A., 10.2024, In: Boreas. 53, 4, p. 504-524 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Temperate alley-cropping agroforestry improves pest control potential by promoting spider abundance and functional diversity

    Matevski, D., Sagolla, V., Beule, L. & Schuldt, A., 12.2024, In: Journal of Applied Ecology. 61, 12, p. 3079-3091 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Telomere length is a strong predictor of foraging behavior in a long-lived seabird

    Young, R. C., Kitaysky, A. S., Barger, C. P., Dorresteijn, I., Ito, M. & Watanuki, Y., 01.03.2015, In: Ecosphere. 6, 3, 26 p., 39.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Telomere length and environmental conditions predict stress levels but not parental investment in a long-lived seabird

    Young, R. C., Barger, C. P., Dorresteijn, I., Haussmann, M. F. & Kitaysky, A. S., 08.09.2016, In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. 556, p. 251-259 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Telling your own stories: Teaching and learning storytelling

    Selm, H., Fischer, D., Janßen, H., Schäfer, T., Sundermann, A. & Fücker, S., 08.12.2022, Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling. Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A. (eds.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 63-73 11 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  6. Published

    Telecoupling as a framework to support a more nuanced understanding of causality in land system science

    Busck-Lumholt, L. M., Coenen, J., Persson, J., Frohn Pedersen, A., Mertz, O. & Corbera, E., 02.01.2022, In: Journal of Land Use Science. 17, 1, p. 386-406 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Teilhabe durch Fachlichkeit: Erste Grundzüge einer Konzeption ökonomischer Bildung im Sachunterricht

    Löw Beer, D. & Asmussen, S., 10.2012, In: www.widerstreit-sachunterricht.de. 18, 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Teenagers performing research on climate change education in a fully integrated design-based research setting

    Parth, S., Schickl, M., Oberauer, K., Kubisch, S., Deisenrieder, V., Liebhaber, N., Frick, M., Michelsen, G., Stötter, J. & Keller, L., 2024, In: International Journal of Science Education. 46, 10, p. 978-1000 23 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Tectono-climatic controls of the early rift alluvial succession: Plio-Pleistocene Corinth Rift (Greece)

    Hemelsdaël, R., Charreau, J., Ford, M., Sekar Proborukmi, M., Malartre, F., Urban, B. & Blard, P.-H., 15.08.2021, In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 576, 21 p., 110507.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Technology Options Tested on the German Coast for Addressing a Munitions Hot Spot In Situ

    Koch, M. & Ruck, W., 12.2009, In: Marine Technology Society Journal. 43, 4, p. 105-115 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review