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. 2009
  2. Published
  3. Published

    Kulturelle Bildung für Kulturelle Vielfalt. Bildung und Bewusstseinsbildung in der Öffentlichkeit

    Stoltenberg, U., 2009, Kulturelle Vielfalt gestalten: Handlungsempfehlungen aus der Zivilgesellschaft zur Umsetzung des UNESCO-Übereinkommens zur Vielfalt kultureller Ausdrucksformen (2005) in und durch Deutschland. Lüdtke, H. (ed.). Bonn: Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission, p. 27-30 4 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearch

  4. Published

    Kulturelle Dimension einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung

    Stoltenberg, U., 2009, Nachhaltigkeit: Burnout eines revolutionären Anspruchs?. Evangelische Akademie Loccum, p. 65-81 17 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearch

  5. Published
  6. Published

    Learning and Communicating Sustainability as a Participative Method. An integrative concept about learning and the construction of knowledge

    Stoltenberg, U., 2009, World in Transition. Sustainability Perspectives for Higher Education. Adomßent, M., Beringer, A. & Barth, M. (eds.). Bad Homburg: VAS Verlag für Akademische Schriften, p. 146-150 5 p. (Higher education for sustainability; no. 4).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearch

  7. Published

    Leben in Dörfern: Die Bedeutungen öffentlicher Räume für Frauen im ländlichen Raum

    Thiem, A., 2009, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. 252 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologiesMonographsResearch

  8. Published

    "Lehren" über Nachhaltigkeit und Naturschutz: ein Projektbericht

    Hofmeister, S., 2009, Naturschutz als politisches Handeln: Naturschutz als politisches Handeln. Eisel, U., Körner, S. & Wiersbinski, N. (eds.). Kassel university press, Vol. 3. p. 131-151 21 p. (Arbeitsberichte des Fachbereichs Architektur, Stadtplanung, Landschaftsplanung; no. 168).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearch

  9. Published

    Materialflusskostenrechnung: ein Ansatz fur die Identifizierung und Bewertung von Verbesserungen in der Okobilanzierung

    Möller, A., Prox, M. & Viere, T., 2009, Ökobilanzierung 2009: Ansätze und Weiterentwicklungen zur Operationalisierung von Nachhaltigkeit. Feifel, S. (ed.). Karlsruhe: KIT Scientific Publishing, p. 45-54 10 p.

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

  10. Published

    Medialisierung der Wissenschaft und ihre Relevanz für das Verhältnis zur Politik

    Peters, H.-P., Brossard, D., de Cheiveigne, S., Dunwoody, S., Heinrichs, H., Jung, A., Kallfass, M., Miller, S., Petersen, I., Tsuchida, S., Cain, A. & Paquez, A.-S., 2009, Medienorientierung biomedizinischer Forscher im internationalen Vergleich. Peters, H. P. (ed.). Jülich: Forschungszentrum, p. 9-46 38 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearch

  11. Published

    Mediatisierte Politikgestaltung: Expertise und politische Entscheidungsprozesse in wissenschaftsbasierten Themenfeldern

    Heinrichs, H. & Petersen, I., 2009, Medienorientierung biomedizinischer Forscher im internationalen Vergleich. Peters, H. P. (ed.). Jülich: Forschungszentrum, p. 177-227 51 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearch