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

    Aquatic habitat use by amphibians with specific reference to Rana temporaria at high elevations (Retezat Mountains National Park, Romania)

    Cogǎlniceanu, D., Bǎncilǎ, R., Plǎiaşu, R., Samoilǎ, C. & Hartel, T., 01.01.2012, In: International Journal of Limnology. 48, 4, p. 355-362 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Aquatic Exposure Predictions of Insecticide Field Concentrations Using a Multimedia Mass-Balance Model

    Knäbel, A., Scheringer, M., Stehle, S. & Schulz, R., 05.04.2016, In: Environmental Science & Technology. 50, 7, p. 3721-3728 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Aquatic and terrestrial proxy evidence for Middle Pleistocene palaeolake and lake-shore development at two Lower Palaeolithic sites of Schöningen, Germany

    Krahn, K. J., Tucci, M., Urban, B., Pilgrim, J., Frenzel, P., Soulié-Märsche, I. & Schwalb, A., 07.2021, In: Boreas. 50, 3, p. 723-745 23 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Aquatectur - Wasser als Produkt und Spiegel der Landschaft

    Brüll, A. & Bürgow, G., 2001, In: Zukünfte. 10, 36, p. 54-55 2 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransfer

  5. Published

    A proposal of personal competencies for sustainable consumption

    Frank, P., 30.08.2021, In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 22, 6, p. 1225-1245 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    A Proposal for Integrating Theories of Complexity for Better Understanding Global Systemic Risks

    Haas, A., Laubichler, M., Applegate, J., Steudle, G. & Jaeger, C. C., 01.09.2022, In: Risk Analysis. 42, 9, p. 1945-1951 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    A process-oriented framework of competencies for sustainability entrepreneurship

    Foucrier, T. & Wiek, A., 02.12.2019, In: Sustainability. 11, 24, 18 p., 7250.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Approach for detecting mutagenicity of biodegraded and ozonated pharmaceuticals, metabolites and transformation products from a drinking water perspective

    Gartiser, S., Hafner, C., Kronenberger-Schäfer, K., Happel, O., Trautwein, C. & Kümmerer, K., 09.2012, In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 19, 8, p. 3597-3609 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Appraising biocultural approaches to sustainability in the scientific literature in Spanish

    Díaz-Reviriego, I., Hanspach, J., Torralba, M., Ortiz-Przychodzka, S., Frias, C. B., Burke, L., García-Martín, M. & Oteros-Rozas, E., 04.2024, In: Ambio. 53, 4, p. 499-516 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  10. Published

    Applying the Three Horizons approach in local and regional scenarios to support policy coherence in SDG implementation: Insights from arid Spain

    López-Rodríguez, M. D., Jiménez-Aceituno, A., Quintas-Soriano, C., Miguel Requena-Mullor, J., Garau, E., Alba-Patiño, D., Otamendi-Urroz, I., Aguiar, A. P. D., Cortés-Calderón, S. & Castro, A. J., 01.12.2024, In: Global Environmental Change. 89, 16 p., 102922.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review