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. Published

    Collaboration for a more sustainable agriculture – when does it work?

    Velten, S., 2016, Social and technological transformation of farming systems: Diverging and converging pathways: Proceedings of the 12th European IFSA Symposium12th - 15th July 2016 at Harper Adams University, United Kingdom. Wilcox, A. & Mills, K. (eds.). Harper Adams University, Vol. 1. p. 779-800 19 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Telomere length and environmental conditions predict stress levels but not parental investment in a long-lived seabird

    Young, R. C., Barger, C. P., Dorresteijn, I., Haussmann, M. F. & Kitaysky, A. S., 08.09.2016, In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. 556, p. 251-259 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Still some way to go: institutionalisation of sustainability in German local governments

    Heinrichs, H. & Schuster, F., 04.05.2017, In: Local Environment. 22, 5, p. 536-552 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Reprint of Advancing the integration of corporate sustainability measurement, management and reporting

    Maas, K., Schaltegger, S. & Crutzen, N., 10.11.2016, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 136, Part A, p. 1-4 4 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Reliability and Validity of Assessing User Satisfaction With Web-Based Health Interventions

    Boss, L., Lehr, D., Reis, D., Vis, C., Riper, H., Berking, M. & Ebert, D. D., 31.08.2016, In: Journal of Medical Internet Research. 18, 8, 13 p., e234.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Effect of a Web-Based Guided Self-Help Intervention for Prevention of Major Depression in Adults with Subthreshold Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial

    Buntrock, C., Ebert, D. D., Lehr, D., Smit, F., Riper, H., Berking, M. & Cuijpers, P., 01.09.2016, In: Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey. 71, 9, p. 526-527 2 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung in der Lehramtsausbildung : Erfolgreiche Ansätze und notwendige Schritte

    Barth, M., 2016, Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung in pädagogischen Handlungsfeldern: Grundlagen, Verankerung und Methodik in ausgewählten Lehr-Lern-Kontexten. Schweer, M. K. W. (ed.). Frankfurt: Peter Lang Verlag, p. 49-60 11 p. (Psychologie und Gesellschaft ; vol. 15).

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

  8. Published

    Bright spots: seeds of a good Anthropocene

    Bennett, E. M., Solan, M., Biggs, R., McPhearson, T., Norström, A. V., Olsson, P., Pereira, L., Peterson, G. D., Raudsepp-Hearne, C., Biermann, F., Carpenter, S. R., Ellis, E. C., Hichert, T., Galaz, V., Lahsen, M., Milkoreit, M., Martín-López, B., Nicholas, K. A., Preiser, R., Vince, G., Vervoort, J. M. & Xu, J., 01.10.2016, In: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 14, 8, p. 441-448 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    General strategies to increase the repeatability in non-target screening by liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry

    Bader, T., Schulz, W., Kümmerer, K. & Winzenbacher, R., 07.09.2016, In: Analytica Chimica Acta. 935, p. 173-186 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Experimental and in silico assessment of fate and effects of the antipsychotic drug quetiapine and its bio- and phototransformation products in aquatic environments

    Herrmann, M., Menz, J., Gassmann, M., Olsson, O. & Kümmerer, K., 01.11.2016, In: Environmental Pollution. 218, p. 66-76 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review