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.
- PublishedDiversity on a small scale: phylogeography of the locally endemic dwarf succulent genus Oophytum (Aizoaceae) in the Knersvlakte of South AfricaSchmidt, S. A., Schmiedel, U., Carstens, F., Rau, A.-L. & Rudolph-Bartsch, B., 01.04.2025, In: Annals of Botany. 135, 4, p. 735-756 22 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedHow to promote spider diversity of heathlands: impact of management intensityMatevski, D., Temperton, V. M., Walmsley, D., Haerdtle, W., Daniels, J. & Boutaud, E., 04.2025, In: Biodiversity and Conservation. 34, p. 1057-1070 14 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedDiscussion on the validity of commonly used reliability indices in sports medicine and exercise science: a critical review with data simulationsWarneke, K., Gronwald, T., Wallot, S., Magno, A., Hillebrecht, M. & Wirth, K., 06.2025, In: European Journal of Applied Physiology. 125, 6, p. 1511-1526 16 p., e0216065.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research 
- E-pub ahead of printInvestigating values and environmental attitudes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemicDetjen, L., Schröder, S., Schwenck, M., Summa, J., Schreiber, J. & von Wehrden, H., 20.01.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedTrade-offs for healthy and sustainable diets in Europe: Social-ecological dynamics in an intensive agricultural systemJiménez-Aceituno, A., López-Rodríguez, M. D., Castro, A. J., Cortés-Calderón, S., Collste, D., Aparicio, G., Rölfer, L., Bote, M. A., Marín, L. M. R., Gómez-Tenorio, M. Á. & González-Martín, B., 01.03.2025, In: Global Food Security. 44, 21 p., 100829.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedIntellectual humility links to metacognitive abilityFischer, H., Kause, A. & Huff, M., 05.2025, In: Personality and Individual Differences. 238, 7 p., 113028.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedFrom consumers to pioneers: insights from thermal energy communities in Denmark, Germany and the NetherlandsHerreras Martínez, S., Mesman, J., Sneum, D. M., Holstenkamp, L., Harmsen, R., Menkveld, M., Akerboom, S. & Faaij, A., 12.2025, In: Energy, Sustainability and Society. 15, 1, 31 p., 5.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedIvano Alogna, Christine Bakker, Jean-Pierre Gauci (eds). Climate Change Litigation: Global Perspectives. Leiden: Brill Nijhoff, 2021. Pp. 543. ISBN: 9789004447608.Bäumler, J., 04.09.2024, In: European Journal of International Law. 35, 3, p. 763-771 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Critical reviews › Transfer 
- PublishedWater-related problématiques: five archetypical contexts of water governanceBilalova, S., Villamayor-Tomas, S. & Newig, J., 01.2025, In: Ecology and Society. 30, 1, 40 p., 10.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- Accepted/In pressNegotiating With Yourself and Winning: The Dual Commitment Model for Intrapersonal Sustainability Goal ConflictsSevincer, A. T., Majer, J. M. & Trötschel, R., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Motivation Science.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
