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. 2024
  2. Published

    The effect of neighbor species' phylogenetic and trait difference on tree growth in subtropical forests

    Klipel, J., Bergamin, R. S., Bordin, K. M., Picolotto, R. C., Müller, S. C. & de Bello, F., 01.07.2024, In: Journal of Vegetation Science. 35, 4, 11 p., e13296.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    A systematic review of peer-reviewed gender literature in sustainability science

    Frank, E., Mühlhaus, R., Mustelin, K. M., Trilken, E. L., Kreuz, N. K., Bowes, L. C., Backer, L. M. & von Wehrden, H., 07.2024, In: Sustainability Science. 19, 4, p. 1459-1480 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  4. Published

    Die Institutionalisierung von Klimaräten durch Klimaschutzgesetzgebung

    Schatz, V., Newig, J. & Pfeffer, J., 07.2024, In: Natur und Recht. 46, 7, p. 433-442 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Embodying relationality through immersive sustainability solutions with Indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon

    Polheim, A., Manuel-Navarrete, D., Goebel, J. & Loos, J., 07.2024, In: Sustainability Science. 19, 4, p. 1445-1457 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Evidence for regional-scale declines in carabid beetles in old lowland beech forests following a period of severe drought

    Weiss, F., Winter, S., Pflugmacher, D., Kolling, T. & Linde, A., 07.2024, In: Landscape Ecology. 39, 7, 19 p., 123.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Intrinsic, instrumental and relational values behind nature’s contributions to people preferences of nature visitors in Germany

    Kachler, J., Felipe-Lucia, M. R., Isaac, R., Bonn, A. & Martín-López, B., 07.2024, In: Ecosystems and People. 20, 1, 17 p., 2342361.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Priority effects transcend scales and disciplines in biology

    Stroud, J. T., Delory, B. M., Barnes, E. M., Chase, J. M., De Meester, L., Dieskau, J., Grainger, T. N., Halliday, F. W., Kardol, P., Knight, T. M., Ladouceur, E., Little, C. J., Roscher, C., Sarneel, J. M., Temperton, V., van Steijn, T. L. H., Werner, C. M., Wood, C. W. & Fukami, T., 07.2024, In: Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 39, 7, p. 677-688 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  9. Published

    Revisiting Renewable Energies: Liberating, Pacifying, and Democratizing

    Schaltegger, S., Linnenluecke, M. K., Dijkstra-Silva, S. & Christ, K. L., 07.2024, In: Business and Society. 63, 6, p. 1295-1301 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  10. Published

    Roadside disturbance promotes plant communities with arbuscular mycorrhizal associations in mountain regions worldwide

    Clavel, J., Lembrechts, J. J., Lenoir, J., Haider, S., McDougall, K., Nuñez, M. A., Alexander, J., Barros, A., Milbau, A., Seipel, T., Pauchard, A., Fuentes-Lillo, E., Ratier Backes, A., Dar, P., Reshi, Z. A., Aleksanyan, A., Zong, S., Arevalo Sierra, J. R., Aschero, V., Verbruggen, E. & Nijs, I., 07.2024, In: Ecography. 2024, 7, 14 p., e07051.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    The Interplay Between Supply Chain Transparency and NGO Pressure: A Quantitative Analysis in the Fashion Industry Context

    Schäfer, N., Petersen, L. & Hörisch, J., 07.2024, In: Journal of Business Ethics. 192, 4, p. 713-727 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review