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
Biodegradability and genotoxicity of surface functionalized colloidal silica (SiO2) particles in the aquatic environment
Schneider, M., Meder, F., Daberkow, T., Haiß, A., Treccani, L., Rezwan, K. & Kümmerer, K., 02.2013, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Experimentelle und Klinische Pharmakologie und Toxikologie e.V. : Abstracts of the 7 th Annual Meeting March 5 – 7, 2013 Halle/Saale, Germany. 1 ed. Springer, Vol. 386. p. 73 - 73 1 p. (Naunyn-Schmiedeberg´s Archives of Pharamcology; vol. 386, no. 1, Supplement).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Published abstract in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review
- Published
Crosscutting Issues and Conservation Strategies
DellaSala, D. A., Alaback, P., Craighead, L., Krestov, P., Moola, F., Nakamura, Y., Nauman, R. S., Noss, R. F., Ronneberg, K., Spribille, T., Tecklin, D., von Wehrden, H., Goward, T., Holien, H., Kirkpatrick, J. & Paquet, P., 2011, Temperate and boreal rainforests of the world: ecology and conservation. DellaSala, D. A. (ed.). Washington: Island Press, p. 243-259 17 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research
- Published
Just what are temperate and boreal rainforests?
DellaSala, D. A., Alaback, P., Spribille, T., von Wehrden, H. & Nauman, R. S., 2011, Temperate and boreal rainforests of the world: ecology and conservation. DellaSala, D. A. (ed.). Washington: Island Press, p. 1-41 41 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
- Published
The role of universities in fostering urban and regional sustainability
Wiek, A. & Lang, D. J., 01.01.2013, Institutional and Social Innovation for Sustainable Urban Development. Mieg, H. A. & Töpfer, K. (eds.). London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 393 - 411 19 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
- Published
Transdisciplinary Research
Wiek, A. & Lang, D. J., 2012, The Encyclopedia of Sustainability: Measurements, Indicators, and Research Methods for Sustainability. Fogel, D., Fredericks, S., Harrington, L. & Spellerberg, I. (eds.). Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing, Vol. 6. p. 355 - 358 4 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Education › peer-review
- Published
Towards a More Sustainable Use of Scarce Metals: A Review of Intervention Options along the Metals Life Cycle
Wäger, P. A., Lang, D. J., Wittmer, D., Bleischwitz, R. & Hagelüken, C., 11.12.2012, In: GAIA. 21, 4, p. 300 - 309 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Nachhaltige Raumentwicklung und Geschlechterverhältnisse
Thiem, A., 2013, Geschlechterverhältnisse und Nachhaltigkeit: Die Kategorie "Geschlecht" in den Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften. Hofmeister, S., Katz, C. & Mölders, T. (eds.). Leverkusen-Opladen: Verlag Babara Budrich, p. 200-208 9 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Education › peer-review
- Published
Conservation of European beech forests: The importance of evolutionary and ecogeographical aspects
Willner, W. & Härdtle, W., 2012, Beech forests: joint natural heritage of Europe. Knapp, H. D. (ed.). Bonn: BfN-Schriftenvertrieb im Landwirtschaftsverlag, p. 23-28 6 p. (BfN-Skripten; no. 327).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
- Published
Farmed areas predict the distribution of amphibian ponds in a traditional rural landscape
Hartel, T. & von Wehrden, H., 21.05.2013, In: PLoS ONE. 8, 5, 8 p., e63649.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Oxidation-coagulation of β-blockers by K2Fe(VI)O4 in hospital wastewater: Assessment of degradation products and biodegradability
Wilde, M. L., Mahmoud, W. M. M., Kümmerer, K. & Martins, A. F., 01.05.2013, In: The Science of The Total Environment. 452-453, p. 137-147 11 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review