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

    Careless product use in access-based services: A rebound effect and how to address it

    Ackermann, L. & Tunn, V. S. C., 01.04.2024, In: Journal of Business Research. 177, 11 p., 114643.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Circular and inclusive utilization of alternative proteins: A European and Mediterranean perspective

    Athanassiou, C. G., Smetana, S. M., Pleißner, D., Tassoni, A., Gasco, L., Gai, F., Shpigelman, A., Bravo Cadena, M., Gastli, M., Conceição, L. E. C., Gronich, E., Paolacci, S., Chalkidis, V., Kuthy, M., Stolzenberger, R. E., El Yaacoubi, A., Mehlhose, C., Petrusán, J.-I. & Rumbos, C. I., 01.04.2024, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 46, 6 p., 100892.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  4. Published

    Flavonoids as benign substitutes for more harmful synthetic chemicals - effects of flavonoids and their transformation products on algae

    Schnarr, L., Olsson, O., Ohls, S., Webersinn, J., Mauch, T. & Kümmerer, K., 01.04.2024, In: Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy. 38, 19 p., 101473.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Green deserts, but not always: A global synthesis of native woody species regeneration under tropical tree monocultures

    Simões, L. H. P., Guillemot, J., Ronquim, C. C., Weidlich, E. W. A., Muys, B., Fuza, M. S., Lima, R. A. F. & Brancalion, P. H. S., 01.04.2024, In: Global Change Biology. 30, 4, 14 p., e17269.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  6. Published

    Mapping ecosystem services in Colombia: Analysis of synergies, trade-offs and bundles in environmental management

    Burgos-Ayala, A., Jiménez-Aceituno, A., Meacham, M., Rozas-Vásquez, D., Mancilla García, M., Rocha, J. & Rincón-Ruíz, A., 01.04.2024, In: Ecosystem Services. 66, 13 p., 101608.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Predicting Effects of a Digital Stress Intervention for Patients With Depressive Symptoms: Development and Validation of Meta-Analytic Prognostic Models Using Individual Participant Data

    Harrer, M., Baumeister, H., Cuijpers, P., Heber, E., Lehr, D., Kessler, R. C. & Ebert, D. D., 01.04.2024, In: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 92, 4, p. 226-235 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Using density surface models to assess the ecological effectiveness of a protected area network in Tanzania

    Giliba, R. A., Kiffner, C., Fust, P. & Loos, J., 01.04.2024, In: Ecosphere. 15, 4, 16 p., e4840.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Appraising biocultural approaches to sustainability in the scientific literature in Spanish

    Díaz-Reviriego, I., Hanspach, J., Torralba, M., Ortiz-Przychodzka, S., Frias, C. B., Burke, L., García-Martín, M. & Oteros-Rozas, E., 04.2024, In: Ambio. 53, 4, p. 499-516 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  10. Published

    Corporate change agents for sustainability: Transforming organizations from the inside out

    Schaltegger, S., Girschik, V., Trittin-Ulbrich, H., Weissbrod, I. & Daudigeos, T., 04.2024, In: Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility. 33, 2, p. 145-156 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Long-term drought triggers severe declines in carabid beetles in a temperate forest

    Weiss, F., von Wehrden, H. & Linde, A., 04.2024, In: Ecography. 2024, 4, 17 p., e07020.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review