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
Revisiting the sustainability science research agenda
Sahle, M., Lahoti, S. A., Lee, S. Y., Brundiers, K., van Riper, C. J., Pohl, C., Chien, H., Bohnet, I. C., Aguilar-Rivera, N., Edwards, P., Pradhan, P., Plieninger, T., Boonstra, W. J., Flor, A. G., Di Fabio, A., Scheidel, A., Gordon, C., Abson, D. J., Andersson, E., Demaria, F., Kenter, J. O., Brooks, J., Kauffman, J., Hamann, M., Graziano, M., Nagabhatla, N., Mimura, N., Fagerholm, N., O’Farrell, P., Saito, O. & Takeuchi, K., 01.2025, In: Sustainability Science. 20, 1, p. 1-19 19 p., e0261190.Research output: Journal contributions › Other (editorial matter etc.) › Research
- Published
Toward Sustainable Water Governance? Taking Stock of Paradigms, Practices, and Sustainability Outcomes
Bilalova, S., Newig, J. & Villamayor-Tomas, S., 01.01.2025, In: Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water. 12, 1, 12 p., e1762.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Values-based barriers and good practices in sustainability-oriented innovation management
Ivanov, K., 03.2025, In: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 32, 2, p. 1393-1411 19 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- E-pub ahead of print
Policy as normative influence? On the relationship between parental leave policy and social norms in gender division of childcare across 48 countries
Author Collaboration für "Policy as normative influence?", Schindler, S., Schuster, C., Olsson, M. I. T., Froehlich, L. & Hübner, A. K., 23.10.2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: British Journal of Social Psychology. 24 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- E-pub ahead of print
Lagged Multidimensional Recurrence Quantification Analysis for Determining Leader–Follower Relationships Within Multidimensional Time Series
Tomashin, A., Gordon, I., Leonardi, G., Berson, Y., Milstein, N., Ziegler, M., Hess, U. & Wallot, S., 10.10.2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Psychological Methods. 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Biodiversität, Ökosystemfunktionen und Naturschutz
Härdtle, W., 19.06.2024, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. 911 p. (Life Science and Basic Disciplines)Research output: Books and anthologies › Book
- Published
Africa’s mountainous islands: archipelagos of fire, water, and problem species
Clark, V. R., Ah-Peng, C., Arévalo, J. R., Backes, A. R., Rouget, M., Martin, G. & Haider, S., 01.01.2024, Safeguarding Mountain Social-Ecological Systems, Vol 2: Building Transformative Resilience in Mountain Regions Worldwide. Schneiderbauer, S., Schroder, J. F., Pisa, P. F. & Szarzynski, J. (eds.). Elsevier, Vol. 2. p. 129-149 21 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
- Published
Reallabor versus Realexperiment: Was macht den Unterschied?
Parodi, O., Ober, S., Lang, D. J. & Albiez, M., 26.08.2024, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 33, 2, p. 216-221 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Comments / Debate / Reports › Research
- Published
Plant neighbors differentially alter a focal species' biotic interactions through changes to resource allocation
Turner, S. C. & Schweitzer, J. A., 11.2024, In: Ecology. 105, 11, 18 p., e4395.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Investigation of the utilization of oat pomace and acid whey in technical scale succinic acid fermentation including downstream processing
Kleps, C., Schneider, R., Venus, J. & Pleißner, D., 01.12.2024, In: Sustainable Chemistry One World. 4, 7 p., 100028.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review