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

    Assessment of model uncertainty during the river export modelling of pesticides and transformation products

    Gassmann, M., Olsson, O. & Kümmerer, K., 2013, 10th EGU General Assembly. European Geosciences Union (EGU), p. 2753 1 p. (Geophysical Research Abstracts; no. 15).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksPublished abstract in conference proceedingsResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Sharing Economy: Towards a New Culture of Consumption?

    Heinrichs, H. & Grunenberg, H., 2013, Lüneburg: Centre for Sustainability Management, 21 p.

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  3. Published

    International Corporate Sustainability Barometer: A Comparative Study of 11 Countries

    Schaltegger, S., Harms, D., Hörisch, J., Windolph, S. E., Burritt, R., Carter, A., Truran, S., Crutzen, N., Ben Rhouma, A., Csutora, M., Tabi, A., Kokubu, K., Kitada, H., Haider, B. M., Kim, J.-D., Lee, K.-H., Moneva, J. M., Ortas, E., Álvarez-Etxeberria, I., Daub, C.-H., Schmidt, J., Herzig, C. & Morelli, J., 2013, Lüneburg: Centre for Sustainability Management, 56 p.

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  4. Published

    Developmentalities and donor-NGO relations: Contesting foreign aid policies in new zealand/aotearoa

    Mcgregor, A., Challies, E., Overton, J. & Sentes, L., 11.2013, In: Antipode. 45, 5, p. 1232-1253 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Non-technical success factors for bioenergy projects-Learning from a multiple case study in Japan

    Blumer, Y. B., Stauffacher, M., Lang, D. J., Hayashi, K. & Uchida, S., 09.2013, In: Energy Policy. 60, 9, p. 386 - 395 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    The Conservation Value of Traditional Rural Landscapes: The Case of Woodpeckers in Transylvania, Romania

    Dorresteijn, I., Hartel, T., Hanspach, J., von Wehrden, H. & Fischer, J., 19.06.2013, In: PLoS ONE. 8, 6, 7 p., e65236.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Toxicity testing with luminescent bacteria - Characterization of an automated method for the combined assessment of acute and chronic effects

    Menz, J., Schneider, M. & Kümmerer, K., 10.2013, In: Chemosphere. 93, 6, p. 990-996 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Predictive mapping of species richness and plant species' distributions of a peruvian fog oasis along an altitudinal gradient

    Muenchow, J., Bräuning, A., Rodríguez, E. F. & von Wehrden, H., 09.2013, In: Biotropica. 45, 5, p. 557-566 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    To Own or to Use: How Product Service Systems Impact Firms’ Innovation Behavior

    Tietze, F. & Hansen, E. G., 2013, In: The European Financial Review. 6, 10, p. 53-56 4 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransfer

  10. Published

    Is Environmental Manage­ment Accounting a Discipline? A Bibliometric Literature Review

    Schaltegger, S., Gibassier, D. & Zvezdov, D., 01.12.2013, In: Meditari Accountancy Research. 21, 1, p. 4-31 28 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review