Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
Organisational unit: Institute
Organisation profile
The aim of research and teaching at our institute is to make an active contribution to shaping societal transformation towards sustainability. We work on appropriate scientific and philosophical foundations as well as on ways to include different (civil) societal actors in research processes.
The institute is subdivided into the following four core areas: (i) Sustainability Ethics (ii) Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, (iii) Sustainability Science and (iv) Social Sustainability.
Main research areas
Unsere Forschung deckt ein breites Spektrum an thematischen und methodischen Zugängen ab. Innerhalb der Fakultät Nachhaltigkeit am Schnittpunkt von natur- und sozialwissenschaftlich fokussierter Forschung angesiedelt, ist unsere Arbeit geprägt durch inter- und transdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit - innerhalb der Universität und über ihre Grenzen hinaus.
Im Rahmen dieser Kooperationen arbeiten wir lösungsorientiert und zielen darauf ab, im wechselseitigen Austausch zwischen Wissenschaftlern/-innen unterschiedlicher Disziplinen sowie relevanten gesellschaftlichen Akteuren sozial robustes Wissen zu erzeugen.
Forschungsschwerpunkte und Kernkonzepte
Sustainability Science
Transdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung
Nachhaltigkeitsethik
- 2042: A transformative longitudinal study - Collaborative Economy- Soetebeer, I. (Project staff) & Burandt, S. (Project manager, academic) - 31.03.15 → 31.03.18 - Project: Research 
- TRANSFORM: Accelerating sustainability entrepreneurship experiments in local spaces- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Schaltegger, S. (Project manager, academic) - 01.04.18 → 31.03.25 - Project: Other 
- ForReal: Accompanying, systematizing and transferring research in Real-World Laboratories- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Schäpke, N. (Coordination), Bergmann, M. (Partner), Stelzer, F. (Partner) & Singer-Brodowski, M. (Partner) - 01.01.15 → 30.06.18 - Project: Research 
- INaMi: Arbeitsgruppe Local Living Economies / Buy Local – Forschung zu nachhaltigkeits-orientierten Business-Netzwerken zur Stärkung der lokalen Wirtschaft und des lokalen Unternehmertums anhand des model case BUY LOCAL, Lüneburg- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Modelsee, F. (Project staff) - 01.10.12 → 30.09.14 - Project: Research 
- BOTTOM-UP SUSTAINABILITY TRANSFORMATIONS: Supporting local actors fostering change towards sustainability- Lam, D. (Project manager, academic) - 01.09.16 → 31.12.20 - Project: Dissertation project 
- Bridging The Great Divide in Sustainability Science: Bridging The Great Divide in Sustainability Science: Linking High-Performance Modeling and Transition Experiments to Foster Transformational Change Towards Sustainability- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Kümmerer, K. (Project manager, academic), von Wehrden, H. (Project manager, academic), Forrest, N. (Project staff), Engler, J.-O. (Project staff), Zimmermann, H. (Project staff), Wiek, A. (Project manager, academic), Laubichler, M. (Project manager, academic), Ghosh, A. (Project staff), Reich, M. (Project staff), John, B. (Project staff) & Feller, R. L. (Project staff) - Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony - 01.06.16 → 30.09.19 - Project: Research 
- CapaCity: Building Capacity for Climate Resilience and Sustainability in Cities- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), John, B. (Project manager, academic), Wiek, A. (Project manager, academic), Keeler, L. W. (Project manager, academic), Beaudoin, F. D. (Project manager, academic), Fink, J. (Project manager, academic), Shandas, V. (Project manager, academic), Lerner, A. (Project manager, academic), Almasan, O. (Project manager, academic) & Tamm, K. (Project manager, academic) - 01.02.18 → 15.03.19 - Project: Research 
- CapaCity: Building Sustainability Implementation Capacity in City Staff and Leadership- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), John, B. (Project staff), Wiek, A. (Project manager, academic), Keeler, L. W. (Project staff), Beaudoin, F. D. (Project manager, academic), Fink, J. (Project staff), Shandas, V. (Project staff), Lerner, A. (Project staff), Almasan, O. (Project staff) & Tamm, K. (Project staff) - 01.03.17 → 28.02.18 - Project: Research 
- College Studien in der Praxis- T.U.N. e.V. - DialogN- Hellmann, K. (Project manager, academic) & Adzersen, A. (Project manager, academic) - 01.04.12 → 30.09.12 - Project: Practical Project 
- CCP: Complexity or control? Paradigms for sustainable development- Vilsmaier, U. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Hörl, E. (Project manager, academic), Laubichler, M. (Project manager, academic), Herberg, J. (Coordination), Caniglia, G. (Project staff), Leistert, O. (Project staff), Schrickel, I. (Project staff), Meyer, E. (Project staff) & Schmieg, G. (Project staff) - Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony - 01.01.15 → 31.03.20 - Project: Research 
- NaKoV: Development and implementation of an integrated sustainability management system in the local public sector, based on the sub-projects “Accounting System Reform” (Freiburg) and “Administrative Reform in the Case of Energy Management (Lüneburg)”- Heinrichs, H. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Kirst, E. (Project staff) & Plawitzki, J. (Project staff) - German Federal Environmental Foundation - 01.05.12 → 30.04.17 - Project: Research 
- EdFCA: Educating Future Change Agents - Higher Education as a Motor of the Sustainability Transformation- Barth, M. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Halberstadt, J. (Project manager, academic) & Wiek, A. (Project staff) - Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony - 01.03.16 → 30.04.20 - Project: Research 
- Einführungsphase und Begleitangebot Td Projekte/Master Sustainability Science- Vilsmaier, U. (Project manager, academic) & Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) - 01.01.12 → 30.04.15 - Project: Teaching 
- EEVA: Entwicklung, Erprobung und Verbreitung neuer Qualifizierungsangebote für "Change Agents" zu transformativem Lernen am Beispiel Reallabore- Barth, M. (Project manager, academic) & Bernert, P. (Project manager, academic) - German Federal Environmental Foundation - 23.10.17 → 22.12.20 - Project: Research 
- ESD for 2030: Lernen für und in resiliente(n) und nachhaltige(n) Kommunen- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Bürgener, L. (Coordination) & Drautz, S. (Project staff) - German Federal Environmental Foundation - 01.01.21 → 31.12.24 - Project: Research 
- Evaluation der Sportgerichtsurteile des HFV der Saison 2007/2008- Zick, A. (Project manager, academic), Winands, M. (Project staff) & Scherer, J. (Project staff) - 01.06.08 → 30.09.10 - Project: Research 
- GCSO_Annual Membership Meeting- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) - 01.03.19 → 30.09.19 - Project: Other 
- TM 1.1 KT 05 Gesund: Gesund im Beruf- Oermann, N. O. (Project manager, academic), Rössler, W. (Project manager, academic), Cacace, M. (Partner), Wiencke, M. (Partner), John, S. M. (Partner), Ekkernkamp, A. (Partner) & Maier, B. (Partner) - Investitions- und Förderbank Niedersachsen – NBank - 01.09.11 → 31.03.16 - Project: Research 
- Global Classroom-Liberal Arts Education für das 21. Jahrhundert mit internationaler Perspektive- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Laubichler, M. (Project manager, academic), Leonie, B. (Project staff), John, B. (Project staff) & Caniglia, G. (Project manager, academic) - 01.01.12 → 31.01.17 - Project: Research 
- GLOCULL: Globally and Locally-sustainable Food-Water-Energy Innovation in Urban Living Labs- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Bernert, P. (Project staff) - Federal Ministry of Education and Research - 01.05.18 → 31.03.22 - Project: Research 
- KuNaH: Hochschulen in Gesellschaft – Realexperimente transformativer Lern- und Forschungsprozesse für eine Kultur der Nachhaltigkeit an Hochschulen: Teilprojekt D - Begleitung Realexperimente und Synthese- Schaltegger, S. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Partner), Potthast, T. (Coordination), Singer-Brodowski, M. (Partner), Nölting, B. (Partner), Parodi, O. (Partner) & Scheiding, C. (Project staff) - 01.10.22 → 31.12.25 - Project: Research 
- Innovation Plus 2021/2022 Nr. 63- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) - Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony - 01.01.21 → 31.12.22 - Project: Teaching 
- TM 1.3 IP Verbund 1 INaMi: Innovations- und Transferverbund Nachhaltiger Mittelstand- Schaltegger, S. (Project manager, academic), Petersen, H. (Coordination), Klewitz, J. (Project staff), Schock, M. (Project staff), Schmitt-Sattelberg, A. (Project staff), Modelsee, F. (Project staff), Weber, U. (Project staff) & Schäffler, A. (Project staff) - Investitions- und Förderbank Niedersachsen – NBank - 19.08.09 → 31.03.16 - Project: Transfer (R&D project) 
- IPBES: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services- Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic) - 01.01.15 → 31.12.18 - Project: Research 
- RESI: Kölner Netzwerk „Resozialisierung und Soziale Integration- Plewig, H.-J. (Project manager, academic) & Kohlschmidt, A. (Partner) - 01.04.09 → 01.09.12 - Project: Research 
- Leverage Points for Sustainability Transformation: Institutions, People and Knowledge- Vilsmaier, U. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Newig, J. (Project manager, academic), Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic), Schomerus, T. (Project manager, academic), von Wehrden, H. (Project manager, academic), Sieveking, A. (Project staff), Klaniecki, K. T. (Project staff), Dorninger, C. (Project staff), Clarke, E. A. (Project staff), Horcea-Milcu, A. I. (Project staff), Lam, D. (Project staff), Patru-Duse, I. A. (Project staff), Jager, N. W. (Project staff), Derwort, P. (Project staff), Patru-Duse, I. A. (Project staff), Apetrei, C.-I. (Project staff), Freeth, R. C. (Project staff), Engbers, M. (Project staff), Peukert, D. (Project staff), Berkau, A. J. (Project staff), Lutz, L. M. (Coordination), Leventon, J. (Project manager, academic) & Abson, D. (Project manager, academic) - Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony - 01.04.15 → 31.03.21 - Project: Research 
- LLE: Local Living Economies - Buy Local Initiativen und nachhaltige Regionalentwicklung- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Keeler, L. W. (Project manager, academic), Luthardt, P. (Project manager, academic), Al-Badri, A. (Project staff), Blauth, C. (Project staff), Bohr, K. (Project staff), Brodersen, L. (Project staff), Cammann, J. (Project staff), Haas, J. (Project staff), Johannsen, L. (Project staff), Klemmer, E.-M. (Project staff), Koltzau, J. (Project staff), Kurwan, J. (Project staff), Livonius, M. (Project staff), Nicklas, H. (Project staff), Rathgens, J. (Project staff), Schmidt, N. (Project staff), Seufert, J. (Project staff), Thiede, C. (Project staff), Vonnahme, M. (Project staff) & Weiss, F. (Project staff) - 01.04.15 → 01.04.16 - Project: Teaching 
- Lüneburg Maps GIZ: Lüneburg Maps: Ein grüner Stadtplan für nachhaltige Mobilität- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Seidel, A. (Project staff) - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH - 01.01.19 → 30.07.20 - Project: Research 
- MONA: Modes of sustainability-related research in comparison (MONA): Modes of research and their impact on scientific and societal project outcomes - a comparative analysis of 100 third-party funded sustainability-related research projects- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Newig, J. (Partner), Jahn, S. (Project staff) & Kahle, J. (Project staff) - 30.08.13 → 08.09.21 - Project: Research 
- Monitoring Neubau Zentralgebäude, Teilvorhaben: Ambient Intelligence, Nutzereinbindung, Innovative Bauteile- Bollow, E. (Project manager, academic) - 01.09.16 → 30.06.21 - Project: Research 
- EQUIVAL: Nurturing a Shift towards Equitable Valuation of Nature in the Anthropocene- Pascual, U. (Coordination), Balvanera, P. (Project manager, academic) & Martín-López, B. (Partner) - 11.11.17 → … - Project: Research 
- TM 1.3 C FuE-Projekt 10: One Lüneburg - Entwicklung eines nachhaltigen Quartiers in der Hansestadt Lüneburg- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Japsen, A. (Project staff) - Investitions- und Förderbank Niedersachsen – NBank - 31.12.12 → 31.12.15 - Project: Transfer (R&D project) 
- OpenNESS: OPERATIONALISATION OF NATURAL CAPITAL AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES- Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic) - 01.10.13 → 31.05.17 - Project: Research 
- tdAcademy: Platform for Transdisciplinary Research and Studies- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Grauer, C. (Project staff) & Lam, D. (Project manager, academic) - Federal Ministry of Education and Research - 01.06.20 → 31.08.23 - Project: Research 
- P4F: Politics4Future: Youth teacher engagement on SDG 4.7 – Building political agency in youth teacher trai-nees for global citizenship learning, sustainability and social transformation- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Joon, D. (Project staff) & Bürgener, L. (Coordination) - German Federal Environmental Foundation - 01.01.22 → 01.07.24 - Project: Research 
- Postdoc Academi 2 Kursdurchlauf- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) - 15.12.19 → 15.08.20 - Project: Other 
- PostDoc Academy: 3. Kursdurchlauf an der Leuphana- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) - 01.08.20 → 31.03.22 - Project: Research 
- Postdoc Academy - 4. Kursdurchlauf- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) - 07.12.21 → 07.06.22 - Project: Teaching 
- Postdoc Academy: Seminar 1st course cycle- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Barth, M. (Project manager, academic) - 15.11.18 → 15.07.19 - Project: Other 
- PoST: Processes of Sustainability Transformation (Promotionskolleg)- Barth, M. (Project manager, academic), Kater-Wettstädt, L. (Coordination), Fischer, D. (Partner), Halberstadt, J. (Partner), Schaltegger, S. (Partner), Leventon, J. (Partner), Heinrichs, H. (Partner), Lang, D. J. (Partner), Wiek, A. (Partner), Kümmerer, K. (Partner), von Wehrden, H. (Partner), Vilsmaier, U. (Partner), Rodriguez Aboytes, J. G. (Project staff), Pöggel, K. (Project staff), Hübel, C. (Project staff), Buhr, M. (Project staff), Beyers, F. (Project staff), Laudan, J. (Project staff), Albrecht, S. (Project staff), Weber, H. (Project staff), Rathgens, J. (Project staff), Keβler, L. (Project staff), Hilser, S. (Project staff) & Juarez Bourke, S. (Project staff) - 08.12.16 → 31.12.21 - Project: Research 
- "Sustainability and Digitalization - a European perspective"- Barth, M. (Project manager, academic), Trittin-Ulbrich, H. (Partner), Lang, D. J. (Partner) & von Wehrden, H. (Partner) - 01.12.19 → 31.08.22 - Project: Teaching 
- Sustainability assessment of municipal climate protection with a focus on urban energy systems based on systemic analysis and stakeholder perspectives- Bickel, M. (Project manager, academic), Schomerus, T. (Project staff) & Lang, D. J. (Project staff) - 01.04.14 → 01.04.17 - Project: Dissertation project 
- Hoch-N: Sustainability at universities: develop - network - report - develop a guideline for the implementation of sustainability aspects for the operation of universities - sub-projects: Research field of action- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Barth, M. (Project manager, academic) & Kirst, E. (Project staff) - Federal Ministry of Education and Research - 01.11.16 → 30.04.21 - Project: Research 
- SUSTIL: Szenarien zur Umsetzung der UN-Nachhaltigkeitsziele in Stadt und Landkreis Lüneburg: Implikationen für die Steuerung von Landnutzung- Hörisch, J. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), von Wehrden, H. (Project manager, academic), Ackerschott, A. (Project staff), Kohlhase, E. (Project staff) & Schmidt, A. (Project staff) - Federal Ministry of Education and Research - 01.02.20 → 31.01.25 - Project: Research 
- tdAcademy: Modul Gäste und Fellows- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Grauer, C. (Project staff) & Lam, D. (Project staff) - 01.05.20 → 31.05.25 - Project: Research 
- sTeleBES : Telecoupled use of biodiversity and ecosystem services: synthesis of concepts, methods and evidence- Schröter, M. (Project manager, academic), Bonn, A. (Coordination), Koellner, T. (Project manager, academic) & Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic) - 01.11.16 → 01.11.17 - Project: Research 
- Time matters. Unlocking the transformative potential of strategic approaches towards a more sustainable metal use- Weiser, A. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Project staff) & Kümmerer, K. (Project staff) - 01.01.15 → 31.03.19 - Project: Dissertation project 
- Global TraPs: Transdisciplinary Processes for Sustainable Phosphorus Management- Vilsmaier, U. (Partner) & Lang, D. J. (Partner) - 01.01.10 → 31.12.15 - Project: Research 
- Understanding human-carnivore relationships: from social conflicts to ecosystem services- Martín-López, B. (Project manager, academic), Lozano Mendoza, J. (Project staff), von Wehrden, H. (Partner), Dorresteijn, I. (Partner) & Fischer, J. (Partner) - 01.11.16 → 31.10.17 - Project: Research 
- Unesco Chair- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) - Ministry of Science and Culture of the State of Lower Saxony - 01.01.13 → 31.12.19 - Project: Other 
- UROC - Living Campus Accelerator Toolkit- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Schäpke, N. (Coordination) - 03.02.17 → 15.03.18 - Project: Research 
- BiodiWert: Was sind erfolgreiche Konzepte zur Wiederherstellung artenreichen Grünlandes in Deutschland? Eine multiregionale Bewertung sozial-ökologischer Systeme und pilothafte Umsetzung (Grassworks)- Temperton, V. (Project manager, academic), Leventon, J. (Project staff), Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic), Martín-López, B. (Project staff), May, F. (Project staff), Tischew, S. (Partner), Kirmer, A. (Partner), Kollmann, J. (Partner), Beckmann, V. (Partner), Dieker, P. (Partner), Thiele, J. (Partner) & Metzner, J. (Partner) - Federal Ministry of Education and Research - 01.10.20 → 30.09.21 - Project: Research 
- Wettbewerb Zukunftsstadt - Planungs- und Umsetzungskonzept der Vision 2030+ (2. Phase)- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Vilsmaier, U. (Project manager, academic), Weiser, A. (Project staff) & Seidel, A. (Project manager, academic) - Federal Ministry of Education and Research - 01.01.17 → 30.06.18 - Project: Transfer (R&D project) 
- EPISUS: What Epistemology for Sustainability Science? Experiments and Theories for Social Transformation- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) & Caniglia, G. (Project manager, academic) - 01.10.17 → 30.09.19 - Project: Research 
- Wirtschaftsethik – Quo vadis? Symposion der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg am 10./11. Februar 2012- Oermann, N. O. (Project manager, academic) - 01.02.12 → 10.05.12 - Project: Scientific event 
- 2030+: Zukunftsstadt Lüneburg 2030+- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), Vilsmaier, U. (Project manager, academic), Luthardt, P. (Coordination) & Prien-Ribcke, S. (Partner) - 23.11.15 → 31.03.18 - Project: Transfer (R&D project) 
- Zukunftsstadt Lüneburg 2030+: Ein urbanes Reallabor für die lokale Umsetzung der Sustainable Development Goals - Teilvorhaben: Leuphana Universität Lüneburg- Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic) - Federal Ministry of Education and Research - 01.01.20 → 31.03.24 - Project: Transfer (R&D project) 
