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
Impacts of species richness on productivity in a large-scale subtropical forest experiment
Huang, Y., Chen, Y., Castro-Izaguirre, N., Baruffol, M., Brezzi, M., Lang, A., Li, Y., Härdtle, W., Von Oheimb, G., Yang, X., Liu, X., Pei, K., Both, S., Yang, B., Eichenberg, D., Assmann, T., Bauhus, J., Behrens, T., Buscot, F., Chen, X. Y., Chesters, D., Ding, B. Y., Durka, W., Erfmeier, A., Fang, J., Fischer, M., Guo, L. D., Guo, D., Gutknecht, J. L. M., He, J. S., He, C.-L., Hector, A., Hönig, L., Hu, R. Y., Klein, A. M., Kühn, P., Liang, Y., Li, S., Michalski, S., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schmidt, K., Scholten, T., Schuldt, A., Shi, X., Tan, M. Z., Tang, Z., Trogisch, S., Wang, Z., Welk, E., Wirth, C., Wubet, T., Xiang, W., Yu, M., Yu, X.-D., Zhang, J., Zhang, S., Zhang, N., Zhou, H.-Z., Zhu, C.-D., Zhu, L., Bruelheide, H., Ma, K., Niklaus, P. A. & Schmid, B., 05.10.2018, In: Science. 362, 6410, p. 80-83 4 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Impacts of software and its engineering on the carbon footprint of ICT
Kern, E., Dick, M., Naumann, S. & Hiller, T., 01.04.2015, In: Environmental Impact Assessment Review. 52, p. 53-61 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Impacts of seasonal patterns of climate on recurrent fluctuations in tourism demand: Evidence from Aruba
Ridderstaat, J., Oduber, M., Croes, R., Nijkamp, P. & Martens, P., 04.2014, In: Tourism Management. 41, p. 245-256 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Impacts of real-world labs in sustainability transformations: Forms of impacts, creation strategies, challenges, and methodological advances
Schäpke, N., Wagner, F., Beecroft, R., Rhodius, R., Laborgne, P., Wanner, M. & Parodi, O., 16.03.2024, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 33, p. 4-9 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Impacts of offshore wind farms on sediment structure and the water column during construction, and changes in bottom topography during the operation phase
Ahrendt, K. & Schmidt, A. S., 2010, Analyzing Coastal and Marine Changes: Offshore Wind Farming as a Case Study: Zukunft Küste - Coastal Futures, Synthesis Report. Lange, M., Burkhard, B., Garthe, S., Gee, K., Kannen, A., Lenhart, H. & Windhorst, W. (eds.). Geesthacht: GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht , p. 55-62 8 p. (LOICZ Research & Studies; vol. 36).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to scientific reports › Research
- Published
Impacts of Multiple Environmental Change Drivers on Growth of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica): Forest History Matters
Mausolf, K., Härdtle, W., Hertel, D., Leuschner, C. & Fichtner, A., 01.04.2020, In: Ecosystems. 23, 3, p. 529-540 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Impacts of drought and nitrogen addition on Calluna heathlands differ with plant life-history stage
Meyer-Grünefeldt, M., Calvo, L., Marcos, E., Von Oheimb, G. & Härdtle, W., 09.2015, In: Journal of Ecology. 103, 5, p. 1141-1152 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research
- Published
Impacts of a pesticide on pollinator species richness at different spatial scales
Brittain, C., Vighi, M., Bommarco, R., Settele, J. & Potts, S. G., 03.2010, In: Basic and Applied Ecology. 11, 2, p. 106-115 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Impacts of alternative land-use policies on water ecosystem services in the Río Grande de Comitán-Lagos de Montebello watershed, Mexico
Ávila-García, D., Morató, J., Pérez-Maussán, A. I., Santillán-Carvantes, P., Alvarado, J. & Comín, F. A., 01.10.2020, In: Ecosystem Services. 45, 14 p., 101179.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Impacts beyond experimentation - Conceptualising emergent impacts from long-term real-world laboratory processes
Bernert, P., Weiser, A., Kampfmann, T. & Lang, D. J., 16.03.2024, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 33, Supplement 1, p. 18-25 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review