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. 2022
  2. Published

    Design principles for advancing higher education sustainability learning through transformative research

    Bernert, P., Wanner, M., Fischer, N. & Barth, M., 23.12.2022, In: Environment, Development and Sustainability. Special Issue, 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Transformationspfade für eine Kultur der Nachhaltigkeit an deutschen Hochschulen

    Fritz, H., Holst, J., Lang, D. J., Nölting, B., Parodi, O., Potthast, T. & Singer-Brodowski, M., 21.12.2022, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 31, 4, p. 254-256 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransferpeer-review

  4. Published

    Food Security, Women, and Higher Education in Aceh

    Shamadiyah, N. & Amalia, N., 17.12.2022, In: Proceedings of Malikussaleh International Conference on Multidisciplinary Studies (MICoMS). 3, 6 p., 00053.

    Research output: Journal contributionsConference article in journalResearch

  5. Published

    A framework to enable sustainability-oriented transition activities in HEIs: Learnings from two case studies in Germany and Switzerland

    Kirst, E. & Schroth, T., 15.12.2022, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 379, 134605.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  6. Published

    An automated, modular system for organic waste utilization using Hermetia illucens larvae: Design, sustainability, and economics

    Pahmeyer, M. J., Siddiqui, S. A., Pleissner, D., Gołaszewski, J., Heinz, V. & Smetana, S., 15.12.2022, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 379, Part 2, 8 p., 134727.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Biodiversity–stability relationships strengthen over time in a long-term grassland experiment

    Wagg, C., Roscher, C., Weigelt, A., Vogel, A., Ebeling, A., de Luca, E., Roeder, A., Kleinspehn, C., Temperton, V. M., Meyer, S. T., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Buchmann, N., Fischer, M., Weisser, W. W., Eisenhauer, N. & Schmid, B., 14.12.2022, In: Nature Communications. 13, 1, 11 p., 7752.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Connecting curricula and competence through student learning journeys

    Birdman, J., Barth, M. & Lang, D. J., 09.12.2022, In: Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy. 18, 1, p. 560-575 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Does storytelling for sustainability work? An experiment

    Sundermann, A., Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Hanss, D. & Selm, H., 08.12.2022, Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling. Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A. (eds.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 26-44 19 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  10. Published

    Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling

    Fischer, D. (Editor), Fücker, S. (Editor), Selm, H. (Editor) & Sundermann, A. (Editor), 08.12.2022, 1st ed. London : Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 142 p. (Routledge-SCORAI Studies in Sustainable Consumption)

    Research output: Books and anthologiesCollected editions and anthologiesResearch

  11. Published

    Of sustainability and storytelling - An introduction to this book

    Sundermann, A., Fischer, D., Fücker, S. & Selm, H., 08.12.2022, Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling. Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A. (eds.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 3-10 8 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  12. Published

    Storytelling for sustainability: A preliminary conclusion

    Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A., 08.12.2022, Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling. Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A. (eds.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 127-136 10 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  13. Published

    Storytelling for sustainability in higher education

    Molthan-Hill, P. & Fischer, D., 08.12.2022, Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling. Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A. (eds.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 74-87 14 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  14. Published

    Sustelling: Storytelling for sustainability

    Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H., Storksdieck, M. & Sundermann, A., 08.12.2022, Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling. Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A. (eds.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 13-25 13 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  15. Published

    SusTelling in the Reception Lab – On How Young Adults Perceive Storytelling for Sustainability

    Fücker, S., Fischer, D., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A., 08.12.2022, Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling. Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A. (eds.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 45-60 16 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  16. Published

    Telling your own stories: Teaching and learning storytelling

    Selm, H., Fischer, D., Janßen, H., Schäfer, T., Sundermann, A. & Fücker, S., 08.12.2022, Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling. Fischer, D., Fücker, S., Selm, H. & Sundermann, A. (eds.). Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 63-73 11 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  17. Published

    Dataset of physiological, behavioral, and self-report measures from a group decision-making lab study

    Burns, A., Wallot, S., Berson, Y. & Gordon, I., 01.12.2022, In: Data in Brief. 45, 8 p., 108630.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  18. Published

    Designing benign molecules: The influence of O-acetylated glucosamine-substituents on the environmental biodegradability of fluoroquinolones

    Lorenz, S., Suaifan, G. & Kümmerer, K., 01.12.2022, In: Chemosphere. 309, Part 2, 136724.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

  19. Published

    Does online-delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia improve insomnia severity in nurses working shifts? Protocol for a randomised-controlled trial

    Ell, J., Brückner, H., Johann, A. F., Feige, B., Steinmetz, L., Frase, L., Järnefelt, H., Riemann, D., Lehr, D. & Spiegelhalder, K., 01.12.2022, In: Sleep Medicine. 100, Sp1, p. s115 1 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsConference abstract in journalResearch

  20. Published

    Energiewende steht für die Chance auf Re-Industrialisierung, nicht für De-Industrialisierung

    Gornig, M. & Kemfert, C., 01.12.2022, In: Wirtschaftsdienst. 102, 12, p. 933-935 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  21. Published

    Habitat diversity and peat moss cover drive the occurrence probability of the threatened ground beetle Carabus menetriesi (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in a Bavarian mire

    Harry, I., Assmann, T., Dormann, C. F. & Skarbek, C. J., 01.12.2022, In: Journal of Insect Conservation. 26, 6, p. 863-871 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review