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

    Adaptive Planung kontextorientierten Naturwissenschaftsunterrichts

    Hüfner, S. & Abels, S., 18.03.2024, In: PFLB: PraxisForschungLehrer*innenBildung . 6, 2, p. 43-62 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesEducationpeer-review

  2. Published

    Kommunen als Adressat und Träger der Nachhaltigkeit

    Redenius, P. & Heinrichs, H., 2024, Kommunales Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement : Ein integrativer Ansatz mit Fokus Wirtschaft am Beispiel der Stadt Hannover. Butzer-Strothmann, K. & Ahlers, F. (eds.). 1 ed. Springer Gabler, p. 41-62 22 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Zum transformativen Potenzial solidarischer Landwirtschaft

    Hartmann, E., 2024, Transformationsprozesse in Stadt und Land: Erkenntnisse, Strategien und Zukunftsperspektiven. Finger, A., Badelt, O., Dahmen, K., Heilen, L., Mai, N., Seegers, R., Seewald, E., Śnieg, F. & Wiemer, L. (eds.). Hannover: ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, p. 248-262 14 p. (Forschungsberichte der ARL; no. 23).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Forest history from a single tree species perspective: natural occurrence, near extinction and reintroduction of European yew (Taxus baccata L.) on the Darss-Zingst peninsula, southern Baltic Sea coast

    Kaiser, K., Theuerkauf, M., van der Maaten, E., van der Maaten-Theunissen, M. & Beil, A., 06.2024, In: European Journal of Forest Research. 143, 3, p. 917-942 26 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Koproduktives Stadtmachen als Motor der Quartiersentwicklung? Eine längsschnittliche Konstellationsanalyse in Wuppertal-Mirke

    Wanner, M., 01.02.2024, In: Berichte Geographie und Landeskunde. 97, 1-2, p. 103-129 27 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Circular and inclusive utilization of alternative proteins: A European and Mediterranean perspective

    Athanassiou, C. G., Smetana, S. M., Pleißner, D., Tassoni, A., Gasco, L., Gai, F., Shpigelman, A., Bravo Cadena, M., Gastli, M., Conceição, L. E. C., Gronich, E., Paolacci, S., Chalkidis, V., Kuthy, M., Stolzenberger, R. E., El Yaacoubi, A., Mehlhose, C., Petrusán, J.-I. & Rumbos, C. I., 01.04.2024, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 46, 6 p., 100892.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  7. Published

    Exploring the interdependence of climate, finance, energy, and geopolitics: A conceptual framework for systemic risks amidst multiple crises

    Hoffart, F. M., D'Orazio, P., Holz, F. & Kemfert, C., 01.05.2024, In: Applied Energy. 361, 11 p., 122885.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Fostering students’ participation in the implementation of the sustainable development goals at higher education institutions

    Filho, W. L., Trevisan, L. V., Dinis, M. A. P., Ulmer, N., Paço, A., Borsari, B., Sierra, J. & Salvia, A., 12.2024, In: Discover Sustainability. 5, 1, 24 p., 22.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Change in sustainability conceptions: A mixed-methods study of undergraduates' learning processes and outcomes

    Sundermann, A., 07.03.2024, Lüneburg: Medien- und Informationszentrum, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg. 215 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesDissertations

  10. Published

    Are web-based stress management interventions effective as an indirect treatment for depression? An individual participant data meta-analysis of six randomised trials

    Harrer, M., Nixon, P., Sprenger, A. A., Heber, E., Boß, L., Heckendorf, H., Buntrock, C., Ebert, D. D. & Lehr, D., 13.02.2024, In: BMJ mental health. 27, 1, 8 p., e300846.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review