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. 2015
  2. Published

    Sugars in Antarctic aerosol

    Barbaro, E., Kirchgeorg, T., Zangrando, R., Vecchiato, M., Piazza, R., Barbante, C. & Gambaro, A., 10.2015, In: Atmospheric Environment. 118, p. 135-144 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  3. Published

    "Taking the pulse" of doctors and nurses to reduce pharmaceutical residues in the water cycle: A ground-breaking survey and its educational implications

    Adomßent, M., 30.09.2015, WIT Transactions on The Built Environment: Sustainable Development. Brebbia, C. A. (ed.). WIT Press, Vol. 1. p. 167-178 12 p. (WIT Transactions on The Built Environment; vol. 168).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Degradation of 5-FU by means of advanced (photo)oxidation processes: UV/H2O2, UV/Fe(2+)/H2O2 and UV/TiO2 - Comparison of transformation products, ready biodegradability and toxicity

    Lutterbeck, C. A., Wilde, M. L., Baginska, E., Leder, C., Machado, Ê. L. & Kümmerer, K., 15.09.2015, In: The Science of The Total Environment. 527-528, p. 232-245 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    The influence of leaf litter diversity and soil fauna on initial soil erosion in subtropical forests

    Seitz, S., Goebes, P., Zumstein, P., Aßmann, T., Kühn, P., Niklaus, P. A., Schuldt, A. & Scholten, T., 15.09.2015, In: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 40, 11, p. 1439-1447 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Thermal decomposition kinetic of salt hydrates for heat storage systems

    Fopah Lele, A., Kuznik, F., Rammelberg, H., Osterland, T. & Ruck, W., 15.09.2015, In: Applied Energy. 154, p. 447-458 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    20 years of performance measurement in sustainable supply chain management: What has been achieved?

    Beske-Janssen, P., Johnson, M. & Schaltegger, S., 14.09.2015, In: Supply Chain Management. 20, 6, p. 664-680 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  8. Published

    Putting sustainable supply chain management into base of the pyramid research

    Khalid, R. U., Seuring, S., Land, A., Yawar, S. A., Wagner, R. & Beske-Janssen, P., 14.09.2015, In: Supply Chain Management. 20, 6, p. 681-696 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    The role of plant biodiversity in modifying the structure and functioning of higher tropic Levels in species-rich forests

    Schuldt, A., 10.09.2015, Lüneburg. 269 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesPost-doctoral dissertations

  10. Published

    Carbon Management Accounting and Reporting in Practice: A Case Study on Converging Emergent Approaches

    Gibassier, D. & Schaltegger, S., 07.09.2015, In: Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal. 6, 3, p. 340-365 26 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Gatekeepers of Sustainability Information: Exploring the Roles of Accountants

    Schaltegger, S. & Zvezdov, D., 07.09.2015, In: Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change. 11, 3, p. 333-361 29 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  12. Published

    Incorporating anthropogenic effects into trophic ecology: Predator - Prey interactions in a human-dominated landscape

    Dorresteijn, I., Schultner, J., Nimmo, D. G., Fischer, J., Hanspach, J., Kuemmerle, T., Kehoe, L. & Ritchie, E. G., 07.09.2015, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B . 282, 1814, 8 p., 20151602.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  13. Published

    Agro-ecosystem services and dis-services in almond orchards are differentially influenced by the surrounding landscape

    Schäckermann, J., Pufal, G., Mandelik, Y. & Klein, A. M., 01.09.2015, In: Ecological Entomology. 40, S1, p. 12-21 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  14. Published

    Early subtropical forest growth is driven by community mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment

    Kröber, W., Li, Y., Härdtle, W., Ma, K., Schmid, B., Schmidt, K., Scholten, T., Seidler, G., von Oheimb, G., Welk, E., Wirth, C. & Bruehlheide, H., 01.09.2015, In: Ecology and Evolution. 5, 17, p. 3541-3556 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  15. Published

    Evaluation of the toxic effects of four anti-cancer drugs in plant bioassays and its potency for screening in the context of waste water reuse for irrigation

    Lutterbeck, C. A., Kern, D. I., Machado, Ê. L. & Kümmerer, K., 01.09.2015, In: Chemosphere. 135, p. 403-410 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  16. Published

    Forgetting fire: Traditional fire knowledge in two chestnut forest ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula and its implications for European fire management policy

    Seijo, F., Millington, J. D. A., Gray, R., Sanz, V., Lozano Mendoza, J., García-Serrano, F., Sangüesa-Barreda, G. & Julio Camarero, J., 01.09.2015, In: Land Use Policy. 47, p. 130-144 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  17. Published

    Groundwater abstraction for irrigation and its impacts on low flows in a watershed in Northwest Germany

    Wittenberg, H., 01.09.2015, In: Resources. 4, 3, p. 566-576 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  18. Published

    Nachhaltiges Unternehmertum: Unterschätzter Nachhaltigkeitstransformator von Märkten und Regionen

    Schaltegger, S., Hansen, E. G. & Lüdeke-Freund, F., 01.09.2015, In: Ökologisches Wirtschaften. 30, 3, p. 21-23 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  19. Published
  20. Published

    The private sector in climate governance: Opportunities for climate compatible development through multilevel industry-government engagement

    Mildorfová-Leventon, J., Dyer, J. C. & Van Alstine, J. D., 01.09.2015, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 102, p. 316 - 323 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  21. Published

    Adaptation of the Brine Shrimp Artemia Salina (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) to Filter-Feeding: Effects of Body Size and Temperature on Filtration and Respiration Rates

    Riisgard, H. U., Zalacain, D., Jeune, N., Wiersma, J. B., Lueskow, F. & Pleissner, D., 09.2015, In: Journal of Crustacean Biology. 35, 5, p. 650-658 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review