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
Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally
Engel, T., Bruelheide, H., Hoss, D., Sabatini, F. M., Altman, J., Arfin-Khan, M. A. S., Bergmeier, E., Černý, T., Chytrý, M., Dainese, M., Dengler, J., Dolezal, J., Field, R., Fischer, F. M., Huygens, D., Jandt, U., Jansen, F., Jentsch, A., Karger, D. N., Kattge, J., Lenoir, J., Lens, F., Loos, J., Niinemets, Ü., Overbeck, G. E., Ozinga, W. A., Penuelas, J., Peyre, G., Phillips, O., Reich, P. B., Römermann, C., Sandel, B., Schmidt, M., Schrodt, F., Velez-Martin, E., Violle, C. & Pillar, V., 01.05.2023, In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. 32, 5, p. 695-706 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Traits of butterfly communities change from specialist to generalist characteristics with increasing land-use intensity
Börschig, C., Klein, A.-M., von Wehrden, H. & Krauss, J., 11.2013, In: Basic and Applied Ecology. 14, 7, p. 547–554 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Trait-based approaches to analyze links between the drivers of change and ecosystem services: Synthesizing existing evidence and future challenges
Hevia, V., Martín-López, B., Palomo, S., García-Llorente, M., de Bello, F. & González, J. A., 01.02.2017, In: Ecology and Evolution. 7, 3, p. 831-844 14 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Training sessions fostering transdisciplinary collaboration for sustainable development: Albania and Kosovo case studies
Meyer, J., Mader, M., Zimmermann, F. & Çabiri, K., 2017, In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 18, 5, p. 738-757 20 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Traffic pollution: preliminary elemental characterisation of roadside dust in Lagos, Nigeria
Ogunsola, O. J., Oluwole, A. F., Asubiojo, O. I., Olaniyi, H. B., Akeredolu, F. A., Akanle, O. A., Spyrou, N. M., Ward, N. I. & Ruck, W., 23.05.1994, In: The Science of The Total Environment. 146-147, C, p. 175-184 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Tradition und Innovation: Region und Bildung in einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung
Stoltenberg, U. (Editor) & Nemnich, C. (Editor), 2007, Frankfurt am M.: VAS Verlag für Akademische Schriften. 359 p.Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research
- Published
Trading Zones of Climate Change: Introduction
Schrickel, I. & Engemann, C., 12.06.2017, In: Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte. 40, 2, p. 111-119 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research
- Published
Trade Wars: Past and Present
Oermann, N. O. & Wolff, H.-J., 25.08.2022, 1 ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 316 p.Research output: Books and anthologies › Book
- Published
Trade-offs for healthy and sustainable diets in Europe: Social-ecological dynamics in an intensive agricultural system
Jiménez-Aceituno, A., López-Rodríguez, M. D., Castro, A. J., Cortés-Calderón, S., Collste, D., Aparicio, G., Rölfer, L., Bote, M. A., Marín, L. M. R., Gómez-Tenorio, M. Á. & González-Martín, B., 01.03.2025, In: Global Food Security. 44, 21 p., 100829.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Trade-offs between justices, economics, and efficiency
Baumgärtner, S., Glotzbach, S., Hoberg, N., Quaas, M. F. & Stumpf, K. H., 2011, Lüneburg: Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Lüneburg, 13 p. (Working Paper Series in Economics; no. 218).Research output: Working paper › Working papers