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. Accepted/In press

    Greene’s dual-process moral psychology and the modularity of mind

    Bammel, M., 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: Philosophical Psychology. 24 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    GREENER Pharmaceuticals for More Sustainable Healthcare

    Moermond, C. T. A., Puhlmann, N., Brown, A. R., Owen, S. F., Ryan, J., Snape, J., Venhuis, B. J. & Kümmerer, K., 13.09.2022, In: Environmental Science and Technology Letters. 9, 9, p. 699-705 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  3. Published

    Green deserts, but not always: A global synthesis of native woody species regeneration under tropical tree monocultures

    Simões, L. H. P., Guillemot, J., Ronquim, C. C., Weidlich, E. W. A., Muys, B., Fuza, M. S., Lima, R. A. F. & Brancalion, P. H. S., 01.04.2024, In: Global Change Biology. 30, 4, 14 p., e17269.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  4. Published

    Green City---A Sustainable Energy Concept for a Climate Neutral University

    Strodel, N., Opel, O., Werner, K. F. & Ruck, W. K. L., 2019, International Climate Protection. Palocz-Andresen, M., Szalay, D., Gosztom, A., Sípos, L. & Taligás, T. (eds.). Cham: Springer International Publishing AG, p. 211-216 6 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapter

  5. Published

    Green chemistry and the leisure industry: New business models for sustainability

    Pleissner, D., 12.2017, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 8, p. 1-4 4 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  6. Published

    Green chemistry and sustainable chemistry related to water challenges: Solutions and prospects in a changing climate

    Mahjoub, B., Fersi, C., Bouteffeha, M. & Kümmerer, K., 01.04.2025, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 52, 11 p., 101000.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  7. Published

    Green chemistry and its contribution to industrial biotechnology

    Pleissner, D. & Kümmerer, K., 2020, Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment in Industrial Biotechnology. Fröhling, M. & Hiete, M. (eds.). Cham: Springer International Publishing AG, p. 281-298 18 p. (Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology; vol. 173).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  8. Published

    Green and Sustainable Extraction of Proteins from Agro-industrial Waste: An Overview and a Closer Look to Latin America

    Segatto, M. L., Stahl, A. M., Zanotti, K. & Zuin, V. G., 01.10.2022, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 37, 100661.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  9. Published

    Green and Sustainable Extraction of High-Value Compounds: Protein from Food Supply Chain Waste

    Zanotti, K., Stahl, A. M., Segatto, M. L. & Zuin, V. G., 29.03.2022, Sustainable Separation Engineering: Materials, Techniques and Process Development. Szekely, G. & Zhao, D. (eds.). Wiley-VCH Verlag, p. 63-104 42 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  10. Published

    Green and Sustainable Chemistry Teacher Education: Experiences from a Brazilian University

    Gomes, C. J. C. & Zuin Zeidler, V. G., 09.2023, In: Sustainable Chemistry. 4, 3, p. 272 - 281 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review