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

    Assessing the environmental fate of S-metolachlor, its commercial product Mercantor Gold® and their photoproducts using a water-sediment test and in silico methods

    Gutowski, L., Baginska, E., Olsson, O., Leder, C. & Kümmerer, K., 01.11.2015, In: Chemosphere. 138, p. 847-855 9 p., 16405.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Assessing the Cultural Fit of a Digital Sleep Intervention for Refugees in Germany: Qualitative Study

    Blomenkamp, M., Kiesel, A., Baumeister, H., Lehr, D., Unterrainer, J., Sander, L. B. & Spanhel, K., 03.04.2025, In: JMIR Formative Research. 9, 15 p., e65412.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Assessing the contribution of products to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: a methodological proposal

    Eberle, U., Wenzig, J. & Mumm, N., 07.2022, In: The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 27, 7, p. 959-977 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Assessing the aquatic biodegradation potential of polymeric excipients for pharmaceutical formulation

    Bading, M., Olsson, O. & Kümmerer, K., 01.11.2024, In: Chemosphere. 368, 9 p., 143739.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Assessing sustainable biophysical human-nature connectedness at regional scales

    Dorninger, C., Abson, D. J., Fischer, J. & von Wehrden, H., 24.04.2017, In: Environmental Research Letters. 12, 5, p. 1-11 11 p., 055001.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Assessing social-ecological vulnerability of coastal systems to fishing and tourism

    Lazzari, N., Becerro, M. A., Sanabria-Fernandez, J. A. & Martín-López, B., 25.08.2021, In: Science of the Total Environment. 784, 13 p., 147078.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Assessing protected area effectiveness in western Tanzania: Insights from repeated line transect surveys

    Kiffner, C., Giliba, R. A., Fust, P., Loos, J. & Waltert, M., 12.2023, In: African Journal of Ecology. 61, 4, p. 966-979 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Assessing participatory practices in community-based natural resource management: Experiences in community engagement from southern Africa

    Dyer, J., Stringer, L. C., Dougill, A. J., Leventon, J., Nshimbi, M., Chama, F., Kafwifwi, A., Muledi, J. I., Kaumbu, J. M. K., Falcao, M., Muhorro, S., Munyemba, F., Kalaba, G. M. & Syampungani, S., 01.05.2014, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 137, p. 137-145 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Assessing Online Consultation in Participatory Governance: Conceptual Framework and a Case Study of a National Sustainability-related Consultation Platform in Germany

    Schulz, D. & Newig, J., 01.01.2015, In: Environmental Policy and Governance. 25, 1, p. 55-69 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Assessing nature’s contributions to people: Recognizing culture, and diverse sources of knowledge, can improve assessments

    Díaz, S., Pascual, U., Stenseke, M., Martín-López, B., Watson, R. T., Molnár, Z., Hill, R., Chan, K. M. A., Baste, I. A., Brauman, K. A., Polasky, S., Church, A., Lonsdale, M., Larigauderie, A., Leadley, P. W., Van Oudenhoven, A. P. E., Van Der Plaat, F., Schröter, M., Lavorel, S., Aumeeruddy-Thomas, Y., Bukvareva, E., Davies, K., Demissew, S., Erpul, G., Failler, P., Guerra, C. A., Hewitt, C. L., Keune, H., Lindley, S. & Shirayama, Y., 19.01.2018, In: Science. 359, 6373, p. 270-272 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Anstand als Maß wirtschaftlichen Handelns?
  2. Sprechwissenschaftliche Grundlagen
  3. Basic Cost Accounting Terminology: An English-German Dictionary
  4. Bildung und Durchsetzung von Interessen zwischen Stakeholdern der Unternehmung
  5. Forests in the South Brazilian Grassland Region
  6. Aus- und Fortbildung der Lehrkräfte
  7. Children’s Literature On The Move: Nations, Translations, Migrations. Edited by Nora Maguire and Beth Rodgers
  8. August Sauer, die Gründung des "Euphorion" und die Modernisierung der Germanistik im Ausgang des 19. Jahrhunderts
  9. Geschäftsführung ohne Auftrag (§§ 677-687)
  10. Rezension von Sylwia Adamczak-Krystofowicz: Fremdsprachliches Hörverstehen im Erwachsenenalter. Theoretische und empirische Grundlagen zur adressatengerechten und integrativen Förderung der Hörverstehenskompetenz am Beispiel Deutsch als Fremdsprache in Polen.
  11. Personalmanagement im demografischen Wandel
  12. Moral als Produktionsfaktor
  13. Transaktionskosten und die Gestaltung ökonomischer Austauschbeziehungen
  14. §40 Europäisches Verwaltungsrecht und Internationales Verwaltungsrecht
  15. Karl Mays Gedichtsammlung 'Eine Pilgerreise in das Morgenland' / Variantenverzeichnis
  16. Energie, Klimaschutz und nachhaltige Mobilität
  17. Zur Notwendigkeit von Nachhaltigkeit in der Corporate Governance
  18. Die Ordnungen des Anderen und das Problem des Eigenen und des Fremden
  19. Die "Natur" der Wildnis
  20. Erfolgreiches Führungsverhalten bei Unternehmenszusammenschlüssen
  21. Alle Mann ans Buch!
  22. Chemical profiles of body surfaces and nests from six Bornean stingless bee species
  23. Mehr als abstrakte Werte...-Menschenrechte und politische Bildung
  24. Entrepreneurship
  25. „Wir waren auch Flüchtlinge“
  26. Wirtschaftskriege im digitalen Zeitalter
  27. Fußballturniere in der Grundschule
  28. Kulturpolitik und Digitalität
  29. EPOCHENWECHSEL - Plädoyer für einen grünen New Deal
  30. Der Traum vom „besseren“ Menschen
  31. Lexikon des Steuerrechts
  32. Graphismus als Potenzial: Reflexionen über die epistemische Verschränkung von Räumlichkeit und Anschauung
  33. Erläuterungen
  34. Artikel 32 AEUV [Zielsetzung der Kommissionsaufgaben]
  35. The role of green and Sustainability Offices in fostering sustainability efforts at higher education institutions
  36. Sport und Naturschutz - 10 Thesen zur Optimierung der gemeinsamen Kommunikation