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

    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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. Published

    If you call for frameworks in sustainability management... editorial to the special issue

    Hörisch, J., Schaltegger, S., Weissbrod, I. & Schreck, P., 01.05.2023, In: Journal of Business Economics : JBE. 93, 4, p. 559-566 8 p.

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

  8. Published

    Modernizing persistence–bioaccumulation–toxicity (PBT) assessment with high throughput animal-free methods

    Escher, B. I., Altenburger, R., Blüher, M., Colbourne, J. K., Ebinghaus, R., Fantke, P., Hein, M., Köck, W., Kümmerer, K., Leipold, S., Li, X., Scheringer, M., Scholz, S., Schloter, M., Schweizer, P. J., Tal, T., Tetko, I., Traidl-Hoffmann, C., Wick, L. Y. & Fenner, K., 01.05.2023, In: Archives of Toxicology. 97, 5, p. 1267-1283 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Nine Degrees of Uncertainty in Negotiations

    Schauer, M., Majer, J. M. & Trötschel, R., 01.05.2023, In: Negotiation Journal. 39, 2, p. 207-228 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen der Verklappung von Ladungsrückständen fester Massengüter durch Seeschiffe

    Schatz, V. & Wanner, L., 01.05.2023, In: Natur und Recht. 45, 5, p. 306-314 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  11. Published

    Toward a pluralistic conservation science

    Cumming, G. S., Davies, Z. G., Fischer, J. & Hajjar, R., 01.05.2023, In: Conservation Letters. 16, 3, 8 p., e12952.

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

  12. Published

    Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally

    Engel, T., Bruelheide, H., Hoss, D., Sabatini, F. M., Altman, J., Arfin-Khan, M. A. S., Bergmeier, E., Černý, T., Chytrý, M., Dainese, M., Dengler, J., Dolezal, J., Field, R., Fischer, F. M., Huygens, D., Jandt, U., Jansen, F., Jentsch, A., Karger, D. N., Kattge, J., Lenoir, J., Lens, F., Loos, J., Niinemets, Ü., Overbeck, G. E., Ozinga, W. A., Penuelas, J., Peyre, G., Phillips, O., Reich, P. B., Römermann, C., Sandel, B., Schmidt, M., Schrodt, F., Velez-Martin, E., Violle, C. & Pillar, V., 01.05.2023, In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. 32, 5, p. 695-706 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  13. Published

    Was Naturwissenschaftsdidaktiken und Religionspädagogik voneinander über Inklusion lernen können

    Abels, S. & Witten, U., 01.05.2023, In: Zeitschrift für Inklusion. 2, 716.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransferpeer-review

  14. Published

    A leverage points perspective on Arctic Indigenous food systems research: a systematic review

    Zimmermann, S., Dermody, B. J., Theunissen, B., Wassen, M. J., Divine, L. M., Padula, V. M., von Wehrden, H. & Dorresteijn, I., 05.2023, In: Sustainability Science. 18, 3, p. 1481-1500 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  15. Published

    Practical wisdom and virtue ethics for knowledge co-production in sustainability science

    Caniglia, G., Freeth, R., Lüderitz, C., Leventon, J., West, S. P., John, B., Peukert, D., Lang, D. J., von Wehrden, H., Martín-López, B., Fazey, I., Russo, F., von Wirth, T., Schlüter, M. & Vogel, C., 05.2023, In: Nature Sustainability. 6, 5, p. 493-501 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  16. Published

    Spatial predictions for the distribution of woody plant species under different land-use scenarios in southwestern Ethiopia

    Duguma, D. W., Law, E., Shumi, G., Rodrigues, P., Senbeta, F., Schultner, J., Abson, D. J. & Fischer, J., 05.2023, In: Landscape Ecology. 38, 5, p. 1249-1263 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  17. Published

    Special issue: Frameworks for Sustainability Management

    Hörisch, J. (Editor), Schaltegger, S. (Editor), Weissbrod, I. (Editor) & Schreck, P. (Editor), 05.2023, Berlin: Springer Verlag. (Journal of Business Economics; vol. 93, no. 4)

    Research output: Books and anthologiesSpecial Journal issueResearch

  18. Published

    Sustainability innovations: a proposal for an analytical framework and its empirical application in the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve

    Dabard, C. H. & Mann, C., 05.2023, In: Sustainability Science. 18, 3, p. 1085-1098 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  19. Published

    To assess progress in the social sciences, we should study knowledge cumulation, not disruptiveness

    Newig, J., Rose, M., Aksoy, Z., Beaudoin, S., Bolognesi, T., Fritsch, O., Hofmann, B., Jager, N. W., Kellner, E., Leipold, S., Persson, A., Runhaar, H. A. C. & Webb, R., 05.2023, SSRN Social Science Research Network, p. 1-4.

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  20. Published

    Toward holistic corporate sustainability-Developing employees' action competence for sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises through training

    Schroeder, S., Wiek, A., Farny, S. & Luthardt, P., 05.2023, In: Business Strategy and the Environment. 32, 4, p. 1650-1669 20 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  21. Published

    Using the three horizons approach to explore pathways towards positive futures for agricultural landscapes with rich biodiversity

    Schaal, T., Mitchell, M., Scheele, B. C., Ryan, P. & Hanspach, J., 05.2023, In: Sustainability Science. 18, 3, p. 1271-1289 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review