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. 2019
  2. Published

    Nitrogen fixation and carbon assimilation of the desert legume Tephrosia apollinea under PEG-induced osmotic stress

    Hussain, M. I., El-Keblawy, A., Aljabi, A. E., Aljabi, D. E., Hafez, M., Al Jasmi, A., Schampoel, T. & Temperton, V. M., 02.2019, In: Flora. 251, p. 105-113 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Spatial characterization of coastal marine social-ecological systems: Insights for integrated management

    Lazzari, N., Becerro, M. A., Sanabria-Fernandez, J. A. & Martín-López, B., 02.2019, In: Environmental Science & Policy. 92, p. 56-65 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published
  5. Published

    The 3 rd green & sustainable chemistry conference successfully brings together scientists and innovators from all over the world to discuss sustainable chemistry

    Elschami, M. & Bazzanella, A., 02.2019, In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 15, p. 115-117 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Zukunftsfähige Bildung. Unterricht als Bewältigung von Herausforderungen im Sinne einer Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung

    Kater-Wettstädt, L., 02.2019, Jahrbuch für Allgemeine Didaktik 2018.: Unterrichten wir das "Richtige"? Die Frage nach zeitgemäßen Inhalten in der Schule. Zierer, K. (ed.). Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, p. 65-74 9 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearch

  7. Published

    Building a Coalition with Depoliticized Sustainability Discourse: The Case of a Transdisciplinary Transition Management Arena in Peru

    Noboa, E., Upham, P. J. & Heinrichs, H., 31.01.2019, In: Journal of Sustainable Development. 12, 1, p. 84-107 24 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Cultural ecosystem services provided by urban green change along an urban-periurban gradient

    Riechers, M., Strack, M., Barkmann, J. & Tscharntke, T., 26.01.2019, In: Sustainability. 11, 3, 10 p., 645.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Web-Based Stress Management Program for University Students in Indonesia: Systematic Cultural Adaptation and Protocol for a Feasibility Study.

    Juniar, D., van Ballegooijen, W., Karyotaki, E., van Schaik, A., Passchier, J., Heber, E., Lehr, D., Supardi Sadarjoen, S. & Riper, H., 25.01.2019, In: JMIR Research Protocols. 8, 1, 11 p., e11493.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Nachhaltige Verwaltung

    Heinrichs, H. & Schuster, F., 11.01.2019, Handbuch zur Verwaltungsreform. Veit, S., Reichard, C. & Wewer, G. (eds.). Wiesbaden: Springer Verlag, p. 1-11 11 p. (Springer Reference Sozialwissenschaften)(Springer Reference Live).

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

  11. Published

    Enabling the identification of industrial symbiosis (IS) through information communication technology (ICT)

    Lütje, A., Willenbacher, M., Möller, A. & Wohlgemuth, V., 08.01.2019, Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2019. Bui, T. X. (ed.). IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., p. 709-719 11 p. (Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences; vol. 2019-January).

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