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. 2023
  2. Published

    Leitartikel: Worauf warten wir noch – auf Godot?

    Kemfert, C., 01.06.2023, In: Wirtschaftsdienst. 103, 6, p. 358-359 2 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsOther (editorial matter etc.)Research

  3. Published

    Nachhaltigkeitsprüfungen in Kommunen

    Redenius, P., Heinrichs, H. & Gromball, L. E., 01.06.2023, Institut für Nachhaltigkeitssteuerung (INSUGO), p. 1-15, 15 p. (Schriftenreihe Nachhaltigkeit, Politik, Gesellschaft; no. 4).

    Research output: Working paperExpert opinions

  4. Published

    Resilience principles and a leverage points perspective for sustainable woody vegetation management in a social-ecological system of southwestern Ethiopia

    Shumi, G., Wahler, H., Riechers, M., Senbeta, F., Abson, D. J., Schultner, J. & Fischer, J., 01.06.2023, In: Ecology and Society. 28, 2, 31 p., 34.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Response diversity as a sustainability strategy

    Walker, B., Crépin, A. S., Nyström, M., Anderies, J. M., Andersson, E., Elmqvist, T., Queiroz, C., Barrett, S., Bennett, E., Cardenas, J. C., Carpenter, S. R., Chapin, F. S., de Zeeuw, A., Fischer, J., Folke, C., Levin, S., Nyborg, K., Polasky, S., Segerson, K., Seto, K. C., Scheffer, M., Shogren, J. F., Tavoni, A., van den Bergh, J., Weber, E. U. & Vincent, J. R., 01.06.2023, In: Nature Sustainability. 6, 6, p. 621-629 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Steering of land use in the context of sustainable development: A systematic review of economic instruments

    Ackerschott, A., Kohlhase, E., Vollmer, A., Hörisch, J. & von Wehrden, H., 01.06.2023, In: Land Use Policy. 129, 13 p., 106620.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    What enables metals ‘being’ ‘responsible’? An exploratory study on the enabling of organizational identity claims through a new sustainability standard

    Imbrogiano, J.-P., Steiner, B., Junior, R. M. & Sturman, K., 01.06.2023, In: Resources Policy. 83, p. 1-10 10 p., 103619.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Into the Hive-Mind: Shared Absorption and Cardiac Interrelations in Expert and Student String Quartets

    Høffding, S., Yi, W., Lippert, E., Sanchez, V. G., Bishop, L., Laeng, B., Danielsen, A., Jensenius, A. R. & Wallot, S., 06.2023, In: Music and Science. 6, p. 1-15 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Tourists’ valuation of nature in protected areas: A systematic review

    Gross, M., Pearson, J., Arbieu, U., Riechers, M., Thomsen, S. & Martín-López, B., 06.2023, In: Ambio. 52, 6, p. 1065-1084 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  10. Published

    Toward the sustainability state? Conceptualizing national sustainability institutions and their impact on policy-making

    Mathis, O. L., Rose, M., Newig, J. & Bauer, S., 06.2023, In: Environmental Policy and Governance. 33, 3, p. 313-324 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2022

    Bäumler, J. (Editor), Binder, C. (Editor), Bungenberg, M. (Editor), Krajewski, M. (Editor), Rühl, G. (Editor), Tams, C. J. (Editor), Terhechte, J. (Editor) & Ziegler, A. R. (Editor), 24.05.2023, Cham: Springer International Publishing AG. 581 p. (European Yearbook of International Economic Law; vol. 13)

    Research output: Books and anthologiesCollected editions and anthologiesResearch

  12. Published

    Thesenpapier zum Fachgespräch zum Thema „Weiterentwicklung des Parlamentarischen Beirats für nachhaltige Entwicklung“

    Rose, M., 24.05.2023, 4 p.. No. 20(26)63, May 24, 2023.

    Research output: Memorandum/expositionQA/hearings

  13. Published

    Coronabezogene Zukunftsangst bei Grundschulkindern im Verlauf von 8 Monaten der Pandemie

    Voltmer, K. & von Salisch, M., 23.05.2023, In: Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie. 72, 4, p. 305-322 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  14. Published

    The role of transdisciplinarity in building a decolonial bridge between science, policy, and practice

    Zonta, A. L., Jacobi, J., Mukhovi, S. M., Birachi, E., von Groote, P. & Abad, C. R., 23.05.2023, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 32, 1, p. 107-114 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  15. Published
  16. Published

    Promising practices for dealing with complexity in research for development

    Abad, C. R., Bieri, S., Eschen, R., Fuerst, S., Jacobi, J., Jiménez, E., Zonta, A. L., Naughton, M., Schaffner, U., Winkler, M. S. & Flury, M., 20.05.2023, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 32, 1, p. 115-124 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  17. Published

    Transdisciplinarity: A productive provocation

    Fischer, D., Schmid, B. & Seidl, I., 20.05.2023, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 32, 1, p. 77 1 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsOther (editorial matter etc.)Research

  18. Published

    Vernetzen, fördern, konsolidieren, stärken – zur Gründung der Gesellschaft für transdisziplinäre und partizipative Forschung

    Bergmann, M., Lang, D. J., Mbah, M. & Schäfer, M., 20.05.2023, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 32, 1, p. 207-209 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  19. Published

    Virtual participatory mapping of nature-based solutions in the Grande de Tárcoles River basin, Costa Rica: Connecting diverse knowledge systems in a context of physical immobility

    Schröter, B., Gottwald, S., Castro-Arce, K., Hartkopf, E., Aguilar-González, B. & Albert, C., 10.05.2023, In: Science of the Total Environment. 872, 162195.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  20. Published

    Akzeptanz und Nutzung von E-Mental-Health-Angeboten unter Studierenden: Sekundäranalyse eines Experiments

    Apolinário-Hagen, J., Harrer, M., Salewski, C., Lehr, D. & Ebert, D. D., 01.05.2023, In: Pravention und Gesundheitsforderung. 18, 2, p. 196-203 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  21. Published

    Distinguishing between struggling and skilled readers based on their prosodic speech patterns in oral reading: An exploratory study in grades 2 and 4

    Karageorgos, P., Wallot, S., Müller, B., Schindler, J. & Richter, T., 01.05.2023, In: Acta Psychologica. 235, 11 p., 103892.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review