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.
- Published
Between the lines: linking carbon management to carbon accounting actions in the pursuit of corporate decarbonization
Johnson, M. P., Strobel, J. & Trencher, G., 13.05.2025, In: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal. 38, 4, p. 1121-1148 28 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The role of sense of ownership in rural community mini-grid management: qualitative case study from Tanzania
Ngoti, I. F., 12.2024, In: Energy, Sustainability and Society. 14, 1, 16 p., 63.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Impact of land transformation, management and governance on subjective wellbeing across social–ecological systems
Santillán-Carvantes, P., Tauro, A., Balvanera, P., Requena-Mullor, J. M., Castro, A. J., Quintas-Soriano, C. & Martín-López, B., 03.2025, In: Sustainability Science. 20, 2, p. 469-483 15 p., 119369.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2021
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), 06.07.2022, Cham: Springer International Publishing. 369 p. (European Yearbook of International Economic Law; vol. 12)Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research
- Published
European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2022
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), 24.05.2023, Cham: Springer International Publishing. 581 p. (European Yearbook of International Economic Law; vol. 13)Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research
- Published
National ecosystem restoration pledges are mismatched with social-ecological enabling conditions
Benra, F., Brück, M., Sigman, E., Pacheco-Romero, M., Shumi, G., Abson, D. J., Frietsch, M. & Fischer, J., 12.2024, In: Communications Earth and Environment. 5, 1, 10 p., 731.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Assessing the aquatic biodegradation potential of polymeric excipients for pharmaceutical formulation
Bading, M., Olsson, O. & Kümmerer, K., 01.11.2024, In: Chemosphere. 368, 9 p., 143739.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Advancing sustainable chemistry education: Insights from real-world case studies
Araripe, E. & Zuin Zeidler, V. G., 12.2024, In: Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 9, 10 p., 100436.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- E-pub ahead of print
Colonization and extinction lags drive non-linear responses to warming in mountain plant communities across the Northern Hemisphere
Bektaş, B., Chisholm, C., Egelkraut, D., Lynn, J., Block, S., Deola, T., Dommanget, F., Enquist, B. J., Goldberg, D. E., Haider, S., Halbritter, A. H., He, Y., Jaunatre, R., Jentsch, A., Klanderud, K., Kardol, P., Lachmuth, S., Loucougaray, G., Münkemüller, T., Niedrist, G., Nomoto, H., Seltzer, L., Paul Töpper, J., Rew, L. J., Seipel, T., Shah, M. A., James Telford, R., Walker, T. W. N., Wang, S., Wardle, D. A., Wolff, P., Yang, Y., Vandvik, V. & Alexander, J. M., 20.11.2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Ecography. 15 p., e07378.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Exposure of Bromus hordeaceus to fossil- and plant-based micro- and nanoplastics: Impacts and plant-plastic interactions vary depending on polymer type and growth phase
Alonso-Crespo, I. M. & Mateos-Cárdenas, A., 01.11.2024, In: Chemosphere. 368, 11 p., 143715.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review