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

    Sustainability-oriented technology exploration: managerial values, ambidextrous design, and separation drift

    Hansen, E. G., Wicki, S. & Schaltegger, S., 31.03.2023, Radical Innovation Challenges: Corporate to Climate. Tidd, J. (ed.). World Scientific Europe, p. 351-377 27 p. (Technology Management; vol. 42).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Business Model Innovation for Sustainability

    Lüdeke-Freund, F. & Schaltegger, S., 30.03.2023, Corporate Sustainability: Managing Responsible Business in a Globalised World. Rasche, A., Morsing, M., Moon, J. & Kourula, A. (eds.). Second Edition ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 388-411 24 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Steuerpolitik

    Lierse, H. & Seelkopf, L., 30.03.2023, Handbuch Policy-Forschung . Wenzelburger, G. & Zohlnhöfer, R. (eds.). 2. ed. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, p. 507-528 22 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapter

  5. Published

    Wer gewinnt? Steigendes (DNP-)Anspruchsniveau an das Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement

    Schaltegger, S., 28.03.2023, Das Nachhaltigkeitsbuch 2023. Schulze-Hausmann, S. & Bachmann, G. (eds.). Düsseldorf: Stiftung Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis e.V., p. 48-49 2 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksOtherTransfer

  6. Published

    Debating accounting and sustainability: from incompatibility to rapprochement in the pursuit of corporate sustainability

    Baker, M., Gray, R. & Schaltegger, S., 27.03.2023, In: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal. 36, 2, p. 591-619 29 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung

    Lehr, D. & Boß, L., 24.03.2023, Digitale Gesundheitsinterventionen: Anwendungen in Therapie und Prävention. Ebert, D. D. & Baumeister, H. (eds.). Springer Verlag, p. 385-419 35 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapter

  8. Published

    Schlafstörungen

    Lehr, D., Spiegelhalder, K. & Ebert, D. D., 24.03.2023, Digitale Gesundheitsinterventionen: Anwendungen in Therapie und Prävention. Ebert, D. D. & Baumeister, H. (eds.). Springer Verlag, p. 117-130 14 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapter

  9. Published

    Stressbewältigung

    Lehr, D., Heber, E., Ebert, D. D., Fraunhofer, L. & Großmann, I., 24.03.2023, Digitale Gesundheitsinterventionen: Anwendungen in Therapie und Prävention. Ebert, D. D. & Baumeister, H. (eds.). Springer Verlag, p. 227-246 20 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapter

  10. Published

    Sustainable digitalization – fostering the twin transformation in a transdisciplinary way

    Barth, M., Gossen, M., Lang, D. J. & Santarius, T., 13.03.2023, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 32, Sp1, p. 6-9 4 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Be(coming) an Ambassador of Transformative Change from the Inside Out

    Konrad, T., 11.03.2023, Educating the Sustainability Leaders of the Future. Filho, W. L., Salvia, A. L., Pallant, E., Choate, B. & Pearce, K. (eds.). Cham: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland, p. 75-93 19 p. (World Sustainability Series).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  12. Published

    Governing landscapes: An agenda for the assessment of grasslands and savannahs

    Eufemia, L., Wawrzynowicz, I., Bonatti, M., Partelow, S., Fischer, J. & Sieber, S., 09.03.2023, In: Frontiers in Sustainable Resource Management. 2, 7 p., 1134393.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  13. Published

    Chronological and sedimentological investigations of the Late Pleistocene succession in Osterbylund (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)

    Thiel, C., Kenzler, M., Stephan, H.-J., Frechen, M., Urban, B. & Sierralta, M., 06.03.2023, In: E&G Quaternary Science Journal. 72, 1, p. 57-72 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  14. Published

    Sustainable development through aesthetic expertise? Results and reflection of an experimental case study on arts-science policy intervention.

    Heinrichs, H. & Hoernemann, D., 06.03.2023, In: Visions for Sustainability. 19, p. 125-151 27 p., 7311.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransferpeer-review

  15. Published

    A kinetic study of the photolysis of sulfamethoxazole with special emphasis on the photoisomer

    Palm, W. U., Schmidt, N., Stahn, M. & Grimme, S., 01.03.2023, In: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. 22, 3, p. 615-630 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  16. Published

    An environmental justice perspective on ecosystem services

    Loos, J., Benra, F., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Bremer, L. L., Chan, K. M. A., Egoh, B., Felipe-Lucia, M., Geneletti, D., Keeler, B., Locatelli, B., Loft, L., Schröter, B., Schröter, M. & Winkler, K. J., 01.03.2023, In: Ambio. 52, 3, p. 477-488 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  17. Published

    Linking Tourism and Conservation on Privately Owned Natural Areas: A Systematic Review of English-Language Literature

    Müller, N., Rathgens, J., Fletcher, R. & Hilser, S., 01.03.2023, In: Society and Natural Resources. 36, 3, p. 306-325 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  18. Published

    Meat substitutes: Resource demands and environmental footprints

    Smetana, S., Ristic, D., Pleissner, D., Tuomisto, H. L., Parniakov, O. & Heinz, V., 01.03.2023, In: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 190, 12 p., 106831.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  19. Published

    The traditional ecological knowledge conundrum

    Hartel, T., Fischer, J., Shumi, G. & Apollinaire, W., 01.03.2023, In: Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 38, 3, p. 211-214 4 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  20. Published

    Enhancing the structural diversity between forest patches — A concept and real-world experiment to study biodiversity, multifunctionality and forest resilience across spatial scales

    Müller, J., Mitesser, O., Cadotte, M. W., van der Plas, F., Mori, A., Ammer, C., Chao, A., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Baldrian, P., Bässler, C., Biedermann, P., Cesarz, S., Claßen, A., Delory, B. M., Feldhaar, H., Fichtner, A., Hothorn, T., Kuenzer, C., Peters, M. K., Pierick, K., Schmitt, T., Schuldt, B., Seidel, D., Six, D., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Thorn, S., von Oheimb, G., Wegmann, M., Weisser, W. W. & Eisenhauer, N., 03.2023, In: Global Change Biology. 29, 6, p. 1437-1450 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  21. Published

    Rent Control, Market Segmentation, and Misallocation: Causal Evidence from a Large-Scale Policy Intervention

    Mense, A., Michelsen, C. & Kholodilin, K. A., 03.2023, In: Journal of Urban Economics. 134, 22 p., 103513.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review