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

    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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review