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

    Improvement of GC sensitivity for polar and nonpolar PAHs by using a deactivated liner

    Meyer, D., Dressler, H. & Ruck, W., 02.2007, In: LC-GC North America. 25, 2, p. 180-190 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  2. Published

    Improved models, improved information? Exploring how climate change impacts pollen, influenza, and mold in Berlin and its surroundings

    Langendijk, G. S., Rechid, D. & Jacob, D., 01.05.2022, In: Urban Climate. 43, 21 p., 101159.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Impressions from a conference: sustainable land management

    Fischer, J., 08.03.2016

    Research output: other publicationsArticles in scientific forums or blogsResearch

  4. Published
  5. Published

    Importance of scrub-pastureland mosaics for wild-living cats occurrence in a Mediterranean area: Implications for the conservation of the wildcat (Felis silvestris)

    Lozano Mendoza, J., Virgós, E., Malo, A. F., Huertas, D. L. & Casanovas, J. G., 01.05.2003, In: Biodiversity and Conservation. 12, 5, p. 921-935 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Importance of actors and agency in sustainability transitions: A systematic exploration of the literature

    Fischer, L. B. & Newig, J., 13.05.2016, In: Sustainability. 8, 5, 21 p., 476.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  7. Published

    Implications of Material Flow Cost Accounting for Life Cycle Engineering

    Viere, T., Prox, M., Möller, A. & Schmidt, M., 2011, Glocalized Solutions for Sustainability in Manufacturing: Proceedings of the 18th CIRP International Conference on Life Cycle Engineering, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany, May 2nd - 4th, 2011. Hesselbach, J. & Herrmann, C. (eds.). 1 ed. Springer, p. 652-656 5 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Implementing sustainable food forests: Extracting success factors through a cross-case comparison

    Albrecht, S. & Wiek, A., 21.12.2021, In: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development . 11, 1, p. 183-200 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Implementing Sustainable and Responsible Business: Sustainability Management Tools and their Dissemination in German Companies

    Schaltegger, S., Windolph, S. E. & Herzig, C., 2012, BAM 2012 Proceedings: Management Research Revisited: Prospects for Theory and Practice. British Academy of Management, 7 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Implementing Sustainability in Higher Education: Learning in an Age of Transformation

    Barth, M., 2015, London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 220 p. (Routledge studies in sustainable development)

    Research output: Books and anthologiesMonographsEducationpeer-review