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

    Sustainability Transitions and the Spatial Interface: Developing Conceptual Perspectives

    Levin-Keitel, M., Mölders, T., Othengrafen, F. & Ibendorf, J., 05.06.2018, In: Sustainability. 10, 6, 15 p., 1880.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Sustainability through institutional failure and decline? Archetypes of productive pathways

    Newig, J., Derwort, P. & Jager, N. W., 03.2019, In: Ecology and Society. 24, 1, 14 p., 18.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Sustainability, Substance Flow Management and Time: Part I: Temporal Analysis of Substance Flows

    Kümmerer, K. & Hofmeister, S., 09.2008, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 88, 4, p. 1333-1342 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. E-pub ahead of print

    Sustainability Strategies: What's in a Name? A Conceptual Restatement of Fundamental Mechanisms Toward Sustainability

    Hartmann, E., 27.03.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Sustainable Development. 15 p., sd.3443.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    "Sustainability State” in the Making? Institutionalization of Sustainability in German Federal Policy Making

    Heinrichs, H. & Laws, N., 05.05.2014, In: Sustainability. 6, 5, p. 2623-2641 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Sustainability Science with Ozzy Osbourne, Julia Roberts and Ai Weiwei: The Potential of Arts-Based Research for Sustainable Development

    Heinrichs, H., 01.01.2018, In: GAIA. 27, 1, p. 132-137 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  7. Published

    Sustainability, science, and higher education: The need for new paradigms

    Martens, P., Roorda, N. & Cörvers, R., 11.10.2010, In: Sustainability. 3, 5, p. 294-303 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Sustainability Science: An Introduction

    Heinrichs, H. (Editor), Martens, W. J. M. (Editor), Michelsen, G. (Editor) & Wiek, A. (Editor), 01.2016, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. 367 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesCollected editions and anthologiesEducation

  9. Published

    Sustainability Reporting in the Light of Business Environments: Linking Business Environment, Strategy, Communication and Accounting

    Schaltegger, S., 2012, Lüneburg: Centre for Sustainability Management, 16 p.

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  10. Published

    Sustainability Reporting in the German Banking Sector during the Financial Crisis

    Herzig, C., Giese, N., Hetze, K. & Godemann, J., 05.2012, In: International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development. 6, 2, p. 184-218 35 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review