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. 2025
  2. Published

    Chagga women´s connections with nature: fostering relationality through arts-based methods

    Pearson, J., Massawe, J. J., Mbaruku, A. P., Mramba, E. I., Mwampamba, T. H. & Martín-López, B., 03.2025, In: Ecosystems and People. 21, 1, 21 p., 2459108.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published
  4. Published
  5. Published

    From the environmental state to the sustainability state? Conceptualization, indicators, and examples

    Rose, M., 03.2025, In: Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy. 21, 1, 16 p., 2463188.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Interactive effects of nitrogen deposition and climate change on a globally rare forest geophyte

    Ohse, B., Jansen, D., Härdtle, W. & Fichtner, A., 03.2025, In: Plant Biology. 27, 2, p. 297-309 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    More than food production: Assemblages of values underpinning women-led agroecological initiatives

    Vizuete, B., Groß, M., García-Llorente, M., Oteros-Rozas, E. & Martín-López, B., 03.2025, In: People and Nature. 7, 3, p. 684-699 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Towards a global understanding of tree mortality

    International Tree Mortality Network, Senf, C., Esquivel-Muelbert, A., Pugh, T. A. M. & Klipel, J., 03.2025, In: New Phytologist. 245, 6, p. 2377-2392 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  9. Published

    Tree diversity increases forest temperature buffering via enhancing canopy density and structural diversity

    Schnabel, F., Beugnon, R., Yang, B., Richter, R., Eisenhauer, N., Huang, Y., Liu, X., Wirth, C., Cesarz, S., Fichtner, A., Perles-García, M. D., Hähn, G., Härdtle, W., Kunz, M., Castro-Izaguirre, N., Niklaus, P. A., von Oheimb, G., Schmid, B., Trogisch, S., Wendisch, M., Ma, K. & Bruelheide, H., 03.2025, In: Ecology Letters. 28, 3, p. 1-11 11 p., e70096.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  10. Published

    Values-based barriers and good practices in sustainability-oriented innovation management

    Ivanov, K., 03.2025, In: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 32, 2, p. 1393-1411 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  11. E-pub ahead of print

    The Role of Individual Beliefs for Corporate Sustainability Transformations

    Buhr, M. & Weissbrod, I., 28.02.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility. 27 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  12. E-pub ahead of print

    Temporal changes in taxonomic and functional alpha and beta diversity across tree communities in subtropical Atlantic forests

    Freitag Kramer, J. M., Bordin, K. M., Bergamin, R. S., Klipel, J., Picolotto, R. C., Zanini, K. J., Zwiener, V. P. & Müller, S. C., 25.02.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Oikos. 15 p., e10961.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  13. Published

    Key learnings from integrating sustainability in european higher education institutions: The value of networks and reflective leadership

    Weiss, M., Mulà, I., Zimmermann, A. B. & Diethart, M., 20.02.2025, The Routledge Handbook of Global Sustainability Education and Thinking for the 21st Century. John, M. (ed.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 918-933 16 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  14. E-pub ahead of print

    Accelerating the industrial transition with safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD)

    Soeteman-Hernández, L. G., Tickner, J. A., Dierckx, A., Kümmerer, K., Apel, C. & Strömberg, E., 17.02.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: RSC Sustainability. 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  15. E-pub ahead of print

    Discussion on the validity of commonly used reliability indices in sports medicine and exercise science: a critical review with data simulations

    Warneke, K., Gronwald, T., Wallot, S., Magno, A., Hillebrecht, M. & Wirth, K., 13.02.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: European Journal of Applied Physiology. 16 p., e0216065.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  16. E-pub ahead of print

    Social perceptions of carnivores across the globe – a literature review

    Newsom, A., Lozano, J. & Martín-López, B., 09.02.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 24 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  17. E-pub ahead of print

    How to promote spider diversity of heathlands: impact of management intensity

    Matevski, D., Temperton, V. M., Walmsley, D., Haerdtle, W., Daniels, J. & Boutaud, E., 07.02.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Biodiversity and Conservation. 2025, 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  18. Published

    Eco-pharma dilemma: Navigating environmental sustainability trade-offs within the lifecycle of pharmaceuticals – A comment

    Moermond, C. T. A., Puhlmann, N., Pieters, L., Matharu, A., Boone, L., Dobbelaere, M., Proquin, H., Kümmerer, K., Ragas, A. M. J., Vidaurre, R., Venhuis, B. & De Smedt, D., 01.02.2025, In: Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy. 43, 10 p., 101893.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  19. Published

    Framing resilience: Post-disaster communication in Aotearoa-New Zealand

    Buelow, F., Brower, A. & Cradock-Henry, N., 01.02.2025, In: International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 117, 13 p., 105167.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  20. Published

    Political embedding of climate assemblies. How effective strategies for policy impact depend on context

    Pfeffer, J. & Newig, J., 01.02.2025, In: Environmental Science and Policy. 164, 11 p., 103993.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  21. Published

    Dichotomy or continuum? A global review of the interaction between autonomous and planned adaptations

    Maskell, G., Shukla, R., Jagannathan, K., Browne, K., Ulibarri, N., Campbell, D., Franz, C. P., Grady, C., Joe, E. T., Kirchhoff, C. J., Madhavan, M., Michaud, L., Sharma, S., Singh, C., Orlove, B., Alverio, G. N., Ajibade, I., Bowen, K. J., Chauhan, N., Galappaththi, E. K., Hudson, A. J., Mach, K. J., Musah-Surugu, J. I., Petzold, J., Reckien, D., Schauberger, B., Segnon, A. C., van Bavel, B. & Gornott, C., 02.2025, In: Ecology and Society. 30, 1, 39 p., 18.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

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