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
From the environmental state to the sustainability state? Conceptualization, indicators, and examples
Rose, M., 03.03.2025, In: Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy. 21, 1, 16 p., 2463188.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
From stories to maps: translating participatory scenario narratives into spatially explicit information
Duguma, D. W., Schultner, J., Abson, D. J. & Fischer, J., 06.2022, In: Ecology and Society. 27, 2, 26 p., 13.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
From rebound to reinforcement effects. The role of analyzing underlying mechanisms for accounting
Schaltegger, S., Amend, C. & Wüst, S., 01.09.2024, In: Journal of Sustainable Finance and Accounting. 3, 10 p., 100014.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
From railroad imperialism to neoliberal reprimarization: Lessons from regime-shifts in the Global Soybean Complex
Mempel, F., Corbera, E., Labajos, B. R. & Challies, E., 11.2024, In: Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space. 7, 2, p. 559-582 24 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
From Protest to Surveillance – The Political Rationality of Mobile Media: Modalities of Neoliberalism
Leistert, O., 2014, Peter Lang Verlag. 280 p.Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Research
- Published
From pre-processing to advanced dynamic modeling of pupil data
Fink, L., Simola, J., Tavano, A., Lange, E., Wallot, S. & Laeng, B., 03.2024, In: Behavior Research Methods. 56, 3, p. 1376-1412 37 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
From Planning to Implementation: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches for Collaborative Watershed Management
Koontz, T. M. & Newig, J., 08.2014, In: Policy Studies Journal. 42, 3, p. 416-442 27 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
From niche to mainstream: the dilemmas of scaling up sustainable alternatives
Augenstein, K., Bachmann, B., Egermann, M., Hermelingmeier, V., Hilger, A., Jäger-Erben, M., Kessler, A., Lam, D., Palzkill, A., Suski, P. & von Wirth, T., 15.10.2020, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Societa. 29, 3, p. 143-147 5 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
From negative to positive sustainability performance measurement and assessment? A qualitative inquiry drawing on framing effects theory
Kühnen, M., Silva, S. & Hahn, R., 01.07.2022, In: Business Strategy and the Environment. 31, 5, p. 1985-2001 17 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
From lignin to nylon: Cascaded chemical and biochemical conversion using metabolically engineered Pseudomonas putida
Kohlstedt, M., Starck, S., Barton, N., Stotzenberger, J., Selzer, M., Mehlmann, K., Schneider, R., Pleißner, D., Rinkel, J., Dickschat, J. S., Venus, J., van Duuren, J. N. J. H. & Wittmann, C., 05.2018, In: Metabolic Engineering. 47, May 2018, p. 279-293 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review