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

    Disentangling Puzzles of Spatial Scales and Participation in Environmental Governance: The Case of Governance Re-scaling Through the European Water Framework Directive

    Newig, J., Schulz, D. & Jager, N. W., 01.12.2016, In: Environmental Management. 58, 6, p. 998 - 1014 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    How does the context and design of participatory decision making processes affect their outcomes? Evidence from sustainable land management in global drylands

    de Vente, J., Reed, M. S., Stringer, L. C., Valente, S. & Newig, J., 01.01.2016, In: Ecology and Society. 21, 2, 24 p., 24.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Legacy effects of past land use on current biodiversity in a low-intensity farming landscape in Transylvania (Romania)

    Culbert, P. D., Dorresteijn, I., Loos, J., Clayton, M. K., Fischer, J. & Kuemmerle, T., 01.02.2017, In: Landscape Ecology. 32, 2, p. 429-444 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    A Global Synthesis of Jatropha Cultivation: Insights into Land Use Change and Management Practices

    Walmsley, D. C., Bailis, R. & Klein, A.-M., 06.09.2016, In: Environmental Science & Technology. 50, 17, p. 8993-9002 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Virtuelle Mobilität und Kompetenzerwerb: Wie durch international vernetzte Online-Seminare Kompetenzen für eine heterogene, globale Informationsgesellschaft vermittelt werden können - Dargestellt am Beispiel des Global Classrooms

    Vogt, J. C., Leonie, B. & John, B., 2016, Bildung und Hochschule: Impulse für Studium und Lehre am Beispiel des Leuphana College. Beck, K., Bothe, T., Glaser, T., Heuer, C., Schütz, J. & Seifert, A. (eds.). 1 ed. Münster: Waxmann Verlag, p. 171-204 34 p.

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

  6. Published

    The diffusion of sustainable family farming practices in Colombia: an emerging sociotechnical niche?

    Ortíz, W. & Vilsmaier, U., 2016, International Sustainability Transitions Conference. p. 1 - 69 70 p.

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

  7. Published

    The role of sustainability in nuclear energy plans: What do national energy strategies tell us?

    Gralla, F., John, B., Abson, D. J., Møller, A. P., Bickel, M., Lang, D. J. & von Wehrden, H., 01.12.2016, In: Energy Research and Social Science. 22, p. 94-106 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    The Information-anchoring model of first-offers: When moving first helps versus hurts negotiators

    Loschelder, D. D., Trötschel, R., Swaab, R. I., Friese, M. & Galinsky, A. D., 01.07.2016, In: Journal of Applied Psychology. 101, 7, p. 995-1012 18 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Utilizing international networks for accelerating research and learning in transformational sustainability science

    Keeler, L. W., Wiek, A., Lang, D. J., Yokohari, M., van Breda, J., Olsson, L., Ness, B., Morato, J., Segalas, J., Martens, P., Bojorquez-Tapia, L. A. & Evans, J., 01.09.2016, In: Sustainability Science. 11, 5, p. 749-762 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Climate-neutral and sustainable campus Leuphana University of Lueneburg

    Opel, O., Strodel, N., Werner, K. F., Geffken, J., Tribel, A. & Ruck, W., 15.12.2017, In: Energy. 141, p. 2628-2639 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review