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

    Microbial nutrient limitation and catalytic adjustments revealed from a long‐term nutrient restriction experiment

    Kumar, A. & Pausch, J., 01.06.2022, In: Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment. 1, 2, p. 142-148 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Linking Tourism and Conservation on Privately Owned Natural Areas: A Systematic Review of English-Language Literature

    Müller, N., Rathgens, J., Fletcher, R. & Hilser, S., 01.03.2023, In: Society and Natural Resources. 36, 3, p. 306-325 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  3. Published

    Reallabore als Lernräume: Nachhaltige Stadt- und Kommunalentwicklung

    Bürgener, L., Drautz, S. & Lang, D. J., 15.10.2022, In: Politische Ökologie. 40, 170, p. 72-77 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  4. Published

    Reviewing relational values for future research: insights from the coast

    Riechers, M., Betz, L., Gould, R. K., Loch, T. K., Lam, D. P. M., Lazzari, N., Martín-López, B. & Sala, J. E., 12.2022, In: Ecology and Society. 27, 4, 18 p., 44.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Transformationspfade für eine Kultur der Nachhaltigkeit an deutschen Hochschulen

    Fritz, H., Holst, J., Lang, D. J., Nölting, B., Parodi, O., Potthast, T. & Singer-Brodowski, M., 21.12.2022, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 31, 4, p. 254-256 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransferpeer-review

  6. Published

    Enhancing the structural diversity between forest patches — A concept and real-world experiment to study biodiversity, multifunctionality and forest resilience across spatial scales

    Müller, J., Mitesser, O., Cadotte, M. W., van der Plas, F., Mori, A., Ammer, C., Chao, A., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Baldrian, P., Bässler, C., Biedermann, P., Cesarz, S., Claßen, A., Delory, B. M., Feldhaar, H., Fichtner, A., Hothorn, T., Kuenzer, C., Peters, M. K., Pierick, K., Schmitt, T., Schuldt, B., Seidel, D., Six, D., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Thorn, S., von Oheimb, G., Wegmann, M., Weisser, W. W. & Eisenhauer, N., 03.2023, In: Global Change Biology. 29, 6, p. 1437-1450 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Design principles for advancing higher education sustainability learning through transformative research

    Bernert, P., Wanner, M., Fischer, N. & Barth, M., 23.12.2022, In: Environment, Development and Sustainability. Special Issue, 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Left by the left? The politics of poverty alleviation

    Lierse, H. & Seelkopf, L., 07.11.2022, In: Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy. 38, 3, p. 223-240 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Biodiversity–stability relationships strengthen over time in a long-term grassland experiment

    Wagg, C., Roscher, C., Weigelt, A., Vogel, A., Ebeling, A., de Luca, E., Roeder, A., Kleinspehn, C., Temperton, V. M., Meyer, S. T., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Buchmann, N., Fischer, M., Weisser, W. W., Eisenhauer, N. & Schmid, B., 14.12.2022, In: Nature Communications. 13, 1, 11 p., 7752.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Towards greener and sustainable ionic liquids using naturally occurring and nature-inspired pyridinium structures

    Suk, M. & Kümmerer, K., 07.01.2023, In: Green Chemistry . 25, 1, p. 365-374 10 p., 25.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

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