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

    An inclusive future: disabled populations in the context of climate and environmental change

    Kosanic, A., Petzold, J., Martín-López, B. & Razanajatovo, M., 01.04.2022, In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 55, 11 p., 101159.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  3. Published

    Competitive interactions shape plant responses to nitrogen fertilization and drought: evidence from a microcosm experiment with Lilium bulbiferum L. and Secale cereale L.

    Lütke Schwienhorst, J., Pyrlik, C., Tomberge, A., Fichtner, A., Walmsley, D., von Oheimb, G. & Härdtle, W., 01.04.2022, In: Plant Ecology. 223, 4, p. 437-451 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Contextualising coastal management and adaptation: Examining situated practices and path dependencies in Ireland and Germany

    Tubridy, F., Walsh, C., Lennon, M. & Scott, M., 01.04.2022, In: Ocean and Coastal Management. 220, 11 p., 106095.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Demarcating transdisciplinary research in sustainability science—Five clusters of research modes based on evidence from 59 research projects

    Jahn, S., Newig, J., Lang, D. J., Kahle, J. & Bergmann, M., 01.04.2022, In: Sustainable Development. 30, 2, p. 343-357 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Effectiveness of an internet-based intervention to improve sleep difficulties in a culturally diverse sample of international students: A randomised controlled pilot study

    Spanhel, K., Burdach, D., Pfeiffer, T., Lehr, D., Spiegelhalder, K., Ebert, D. D., Baumeister, H., Bengel, J. & Sander, L. B., 01.04.2022, In: Journal of Sleep Research. 31, 2, 12 p., e13493.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Governance in the Face of Extreme Events: Lessons from Evolutionary Processes for Structuring Interventions, and the Need to Go Beyond

    Levin, S. A., Anderies, J. M., Adger, N., Barrett, S., Bennett, E. M., Cardenas, J. C., Carpenter, S. R., Crépin, A. S., Ehrlich, P., Fischer, J., Folke, C., Kautsky, N., Kling, C., Nyborg, K., Polasky, S., Scheffer, M., Segerson, K., Shogren, J., van den Bergh, J., Walker, B., Weber, E. U. & Wilen, J., 01.04.2022, In: Ecosystems. 25, 3, p. 697-711 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    In search of the Holy Grail of Rodent control: Step-by-step implementation of safe and sustainable-by-design principles on the example of rodenticides

    Hohenberger, J., Friesen, A., Wieck, S. & Kümmerer, K., 01.04.2022, In: Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy. 25, 19 p., 100602.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Remotely sensed effectiveness assessments of protected areas lack a common framework: A review

    Gohr, C., von Wehrden, H., May, F. & Ibisch, P. L., 01.04.2022, In: Ecosphere. 13, 4, 14 p., e4053.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  10. Published

    Social actors’ perceptions of wildlife: Insights for the conservation of species in Mediterranean protected areas

    Cortés-Avizanda, A., Pereira, H. M., McKee, E., Ceballos, O. & Martín-López, B., 01.04.2022, In: Ambio. 51, 4, p. 990-1000 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Thinking, doing, organising: Prefiguring just and sustainable energy systems via collective prosumer ecosystems in Europe

    Wittmayer, J. M., Campos, I., Avelino, F., Brown, D., Doračić, B., Fraaije, M., Gährs, S., Hinsch, A., Assalini, S., Becker, T., Marín-González, E., Holstenkamp, L., Bedoić, R., Duić, N., Oxenaar, S. & Pukšec, T., 01.04.2022, In: Energy Research and Social Science. 86, 13 p., 102425.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review