School of Sustainability
Organisational unit: Research School
- Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM)
- Institute of Ecology
- Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
- Institute of Sustainability Governance
- Institute of Sustainability Material Flows and Circularity
- Institute of Sustainability Psychology
- Institute of Sustainable Chemistry
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
- Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute
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.
- 2025
- Published
Sensemaking and abductive reasoning for transformative biodiversity conservation
Cortés-Capano, G., Loos, J., Hausmann, A. & Kortetmäki, T., 06.2025, In: People and Nature. 7, 6, p. 1296-1308 13 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Temporal changes in taxonomic and functional alpha and beta diversity across tree communities in subtropical Atlantic forests
Freitag Kramer, J. M., Bordin, K. M., Bergamin, R. S., Klipel, J., Picolotto, R. C., Zanini, K. J., Zwiener, V. P. & Müller, S. C., 06.2025, In: Oikos. 2025, 6, 15 p., e10961.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The Challenge of Introducing Sustainability-Oriented Innovation—An Ethnographic Study
Śliwińska, I., Beńko, P., Breuer, H., Ciesielska, M., Ivanov, K., Kasz, J. & Matras-Postołek, K., 06.2025, In: Sustainable Development. 33, 3, p. 4191-4203 13 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Welcome home! Introducing SocSES: a society for inclusive and impactful social-ecological research
de Vos, A., Quinlan, A., Biggs, R., Bennett, E. M., Martín-López, B., Norström, A. V., Peterson, G. D., Schoon, M., Allen, C. R., Andersson, E., Baird, J., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Berkes, F., Calderon-Contreras, R., Carpenter, S. R., Castro, A. J., Cumming, G. S., Falardeau, M., Liebrecht Fick, W., Folke, C., Galang, E. I. N. E., Gelcich, S., Gordon, L. J., Grimm, N. B., Hamilton, J., Hodbod, J., Speranza, C. I., Koch, L., Kosanic, A., Lembi, R., Locatelli, B., Malmborg, K., Manyani, A., Mathisonslee, M., Ocampo-Melgar, A., Psiuk, K., Queiroz, C., Riechers, M., Schultz, L., Selomane, O., Sherren, K., Spierenburg, M., Trimble, M., Turkelboom, F. & Wallington, C., 06.2025, In: Ecology and Society. 30, 2, 32.Research output: Journal contributions › Other (editorial matter etc.) › Research
- Published
Human-wildlife conflict in Rwanda: Linking ecoregion, changing conservation status and the local communities’ perception
Sun, P., Bariyanga, J. D. & Wronski, T., 01.06.2025, In: Global Ecology and Conservation. 59, 17 p., e03550.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Mapping the intersection of planetary boundaries and environmentally extended input-output analysis: A systematic literature review
León, M. F. G., Bankert, A., Becerra, D. T. & Abson, D. J., 01.06.2025, In: Sustainable Production and Consumption. 56, p. 546-560 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- E-pub ahead of print
Disabling barriers—Coping with accessibility of nature in Biosphere Reserves
Winkler, K. J., Kosanic, A. & Martín-López, B., 02.06.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: People and Nature. n/a, n/a, 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Introduction to ‘Exploring the frontiers: unveiling new horizons in carbon efficient biomass utilization’
Liu, Z. H., Li, B. Z., Yuan, J. S., Clark, J., Zeidler, V. Z., Laurens, L., Ragauskas, A. J., Coutinho, J. A. P. & Han, B., 02.06.2025, In: Green Chemistry . 27, 24, p. 6922-6924 3 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2024
Bäumler, J. (Editor), Binder, C. (Editor), Bungenberg, M. (Editor), Krajewski, M. (Editor), Rühl, G. (Editor), Tams, C. J. (Editor), Terhechte, J. (Editor) & Ziegler, A. R. (Editor), 10.06.2025, Cham: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland. 448 p. (European Yearbook of International Economic Law; vol. 11)Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research
- E-pub ahead of print
(Re-)learning time use and perception for sustainable development in schools – Qualitative results from a self-inquiry-based learning intervention
Frank, P., Grauer, C. & Fischer, D., 12.06.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Time & Society. 38 p., 0961463X251343830.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review