School of Sustainability
Organisational unit: Research School
- Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM)
- Institute of Ecology
- Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
- Institute of Sustainability Governance
- Institute of Sustainability Material Flows and Circularity
- Institute of Sustainability Psychology
- Institute of Sustainable Chemistry
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
- Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute
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.
- 2025
- 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/works › Chapter › peer-review
- 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 contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- 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 contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- 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 contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- 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 contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- E-pub ahead of print
Ancestral cuisine as regenerative social technologies in Amazon: eco-humanist perspectives towards a critical sustainable chemistry
Zonta, A. L. & Zuin, V. G., 04.2025, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 52, 7 p., 101006.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- 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 contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- 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 contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- 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 contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- 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 contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review