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
Temporal trends of polyfluoroalkyl compounds in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from the German Bight, 1999-2008
Ahrens, L., Siebert, U. & Ebinghaus, R., 01.06.2009, In: Chemosphere. 76, 2, p. 151-158 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Total body burden and tissue distribution of polyfluorinated compounds in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from the German Bight
Ahrens, L., Siebert, U. & Ebinghaus, R., 04.2009, In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. 58, 4, p. 520-525 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Relating the philosophy and practice of ecological economics: the role of concepts, models, and case studies in inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability research
Baumgärtner, S., Becker, C., Frank, K., Müller, B. & Quaas, M., 15.10.2008, In: Ecological Economics. 67, 3, p. 384-393 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Longitudinal and Latitudinal Distribution of Perfluoroalkyl Compounds in the Surface Water of the Atlantic Ocean
Ahrens, L., Barber, J. L., Xie, Z. & Ebinghaus, R., 01.05.2009, In: Environmental Science & Technology. 43, 9, p. 3122-3127 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Intensive Recreational Activities in Suburban Forests: A Method to quantify the Reduction in Timber Value
Rusterholz, H.-P., Bilecen, E., Kleiber, O., Hegetschweiler, K. T. & Baur, B., 2009, In: Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. 8, 2, p. 109-116 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Spatial distribution of polyfluoroalkyl compounds in seawater of the German Bight
Ahrens, L., Felizeter, S. & Ebinghaus, R., 06.2009, In: Chemosphere. 76, 2, p. 179-184 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Is Calluna vulgaris a suitable bio-monitor of management-mediated nutrient pools in heathland ecosystems?
von Oheimb, G., Haerdtle, W., Falk, K., Gerke, A.-K., Meyer, H., Drees, C. & Matern, A., 11.2009, In: Ecological Indicators. 9, 6, p. 1049-1055 7 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The genetic status of the violet copper Lycaena helle - a relict of the cold past in times of global warming
Finger, A., Schmitt, T., Zachos, F. E., Meyer, M., Aßmann, T. & Habel, J. C., 01.06.2009, In: Ecography. 32, 3, p. 382-390 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Polyfluorinated compounds in waste water treatment plant effluents and surface waters along the River Elbe, Germany
Ahrens, L., Felizeter, S., Sturm, R., Xie, Z. & Ebinghaus, R., 01.09.2009, In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. 58, 9, p. 1326-1333 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Environmental and historical effects on richness and endemism patterns of carabid beetles in the western Palaearctic
Schuldt, A. & Aßmann, T., 10.2009, In: Ecography. 32, 5, p. 705-714 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review