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. 2025
  2. Published

    More-than-human synchronizations expose the fractures of the agrarian commodity frontier in the Bolivian Chiquitanía

    Ortiz-Przychodzka, S., Keleman-Saxena, A., Benavides-Frías, C., Díaz-Reviriego, I. & Hanspach, J., 12.2025, In: Journal of Rural Studies. 120, 12 p., 103846.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Older people care increases the gender gap in academia

    Vidal-Abarca, M. R., Martín-López, B., Sala-Bubaré, A., Anton-Pardo, M., Catalan, N., Freixa, A., Lupon, A., Nicolás-Ruiz, N., Poblador, S., Rodríguez-Lozano, P., Sánchez-Montoya, M. D. M. & Suárez, M. L., 12.2025, In: Scientific Reports. 15, 1, 10 p., 33336.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Plant traits and associated ecological data from global change experiments and climate gradients in Norway

    Vandvik, V., Halbritter, A. H., Macias-Fauria, M., Maitner, B. S., Michaletz, S. T., Telford, R. J., Bison, N., Chacon-Labella, J., Cotner, S., Egelkraut, D., Garen, J., Gaudard, J., Geange, S. R., Rosati, M. A., Andersen, E. A. S., Ahler, S. J., Atkinson, J., Baumane, M., Bradler, P. M., Dawson, H. R., Eckberg, J., Elsy, A. D., Erkelenz, J., Eshelman, S. E., Guclu, C., Gullvåg, R., Gya, R., Hartford, S., Hayden, M. T., Holle, M. J. M., Kullberg, A. T., Lepley, K., Correia, M., Löwenstein, C. E., Maré, C., Mauki, D., Navarro, J., Oberholzer, B., Olivier, B., Olson, A. N., Ray, C. A., von Oppen, J., Vorstenbosch, T., Wang, J. A. & Enquist, B. J., 12.2025, In: Scientific data. 12, 1, 24 p., 1477.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Regeneration and sustainable chemistry: Current dynamics, interconnections, and perspectives

    Zuin Zeidler, V. G. & Corrêa Gomes, C. J., 12.2025, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 56, 7 p., 101055.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  6. Published

    Testing Camera Trapping to Survey the Ground-Dwelling Bird Assemblage of Two Afromontane Rainforest Fragments in Rwanda

    Sun, P. & Wronski, T., 12.2025, In: African Journal of Ecology. 63, 8, 13 p., e70137.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    The role of self-care and self-compassion in networks of resilience and stress among healthcare professionals

    Pank, C., von Boros, L., Lieb, K., Dalkner, N., Egger-Lampl, S., Lehr, D., Schäfer, S. K., Tüscher, O. & Wessa, M., 12.2025, In: Scientific Reports. 15, 1, 18545.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Thinking Beyond the Bargaining Table: Negotiators’ Perceptions, Behaviours and Outcomes in Negotiations Affecting External Parties

    Zhang, K., Zhang, H., Aaldering, H., Majer, J. M. & Trötschel, R., 12.2025, In: European Journal of Social Psychology. 55, 7, p. 1152-1170 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Unveiling local knowledge: a case study on inner development and sustainable transformation in rural areas

    Schwenck, C., Pfendtner-Heise, J. & von Wehrden, H., 12.2025, In: Discover Sustainability. 6, 1, 24 p., 225.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Variation in wood density across South American tropical forests

    Author Collaboration für "Variation in wood density across South American tropical forests", Sullivan, M. J. P., Phillips, O. L., Galbraith, D., Almeida, E., de Oliveira, E. A., Almeida, J. & Klipel, J., 12.2025, In: Nature Communications. 16, 1, 12 p., 2351.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Exploring culture(s) of sustainability at higher education institutions: a systematic review of concepts and pathways

    Holst, J., Fritz, H., Nölting, B., Lang, D. J., Löde, V. L., Ober, S., Parodi, O., Potthast, T., Scheiding, C. T., Weynand, M. & Singer-Brodowski, M., 26.11.2025, In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 25, 9, p. 489-506 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch