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
Participatory co-learning for human–wildlife coexistence: Reflections on a novel program applying systems thinking, nonviolent communication, and learning-based approaches
Kansky, R., Maassarani, T. & Fischer, J., 10.2024, In: Ambio. 53, 10, p. 1479-1491 13 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Land use intensification causes the spatial contraction of woody-plant based ecosystem services in southwestern Ethiopia
Duguma, D. W., Law, E., Shumi, G., Schultner, J., Abson, D. J. & Fischer, J., 12.2024, In: Communications Earth and Environment. 5, 1, 10 p., 263.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Quantifying ecosystem services of rewetted peatlands − the MoorFutures methodologies
Tanneberger, F., Berghöfer, A., Brust, K., Hammerich, J., Holsten, B., Joosten, H., Michaelis, D., Moritz, F., Reichelt, F., Schäfer, A., Scheid, A., Trepel, M., Wahren, A. & Couwenberg, J., 01.06.2024, In: Ecological Indicators. 163, 10 p., 112048.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
A theoretical framework to support green agripreneurship avoiding greenwashing
Mendes, J. A. J., Oliveira, A. Y., Santos, L. S., Gerolamo, M. C. & Zeidler, V. G. Z., 09.2025, In: Environment, Development and Sustainability. 27, 9, p. 21779-21835 57 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Design of greener drugs: aligning parameters in pharmaceutical R&D and drivers for environmental impact
Vidaurre, R., Bramke, I., Puhlmann, N., Owen, S. F., Angst, D., Moermond, C., Venhuis, B., Lombardo, A., Kümmerer, K., Sikanen, T., Ryan, J., Häner, A., Janer, G., Roggo, S. & Perkins, A. N., 01.07.2024, In: Drug Discovery Today. 29, 7, 10 p., 104022.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Is it just conservation? A typology of Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ roles in conserving biodiversity
Dawson, N. M., Coolsaet, B., Bhardwaj, A., Booker, F., Brown, D., Lliso, B., Loos, J., Martin, A., Oliva, M., Pascual, U., Sherpa, P. & Worsdell, T., 21.06.2024, In: One Earth. 7, 6, p. 1007-1021 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Intrinsic, instrumental and relational values behind nature’s contributions to people preferences of nature visitors in Germany
Kachler, J., Felipe-Lucia, M. R., Isaac, R., Bonn, A. & Martín-López, B., 07.2024, In: Ecosystems and People. 20, 1, 17 p., 2342361.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Setting the agenda for climate assemblies. Trade-offs and guiding principles
Pfeffer, J., 06.2024, In: Climate Policy. 24, 6, p. 843-858 16 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Sustainable human resource management and job satisfaction—Unlocking the power of organizational identification: A cross-cultural perspective from 54 countries
CSREM 2024 - Sustainable human resource management and job satisfaction & Wojtczuk-Turek, A., 09.2024, In: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 31, 5, p. 4910-4932 23 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Longitudinal prediction of primary school children's COVID-related future anxiety in the second year of the pandemic in Germany
Voltmer, K. & von Salisch, M., 08.05.2024, In: PLoS ONE. 19, 5, 16 p., e0302065.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review