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. 2014
  2. Published

    Mindfulness As/Is Care: Biopolitics, Narrative Empathy, and Technoscientific Practices

    Stingl, A. I. & Weiss, S. M., 21.03.2014, The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Mindfulness. Le, A., Ngnoumen, C. T. & Langer, E. J. (eds.). Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia, Vol. 1-2. p. 608-629 22 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  3. Published

    Vision Statement for the Planet in 2050

    Bhave, A., Ceausu, S., Deshmukh, A., Jewell, J., Pan, W. & Timm, J.-M., 14.03.2014, Creating a Sustainable and Desirable Future : Insights from 45 Global Thought Leaders . Costanza, R. & Kubiszewski, I. (eds.). 1 ed. New Jersey: World Scientific Publishing Company, p. 51-54 4 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  4. Published

    Atmospheric mercury speciation and mercury in snow over time at Alert, Canada

    Steffen, A., Bottenheim, J. W., Cole, A. S., Ebinghaus, R., Lawson, G. S. & Leaitch, W. R., 03.03.2014, In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 14, 5, p. 2219-2231 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Identifying core habitat before it's too late: The case of Bombina variegata, an internationally endangered amphibian

    Scheele, B. C., Boyd, C. E., Fischer, J., Fletcher, A. W., Hanspach, J. & Hartel, T., 01.03.2014, In: Biodiversity and Conservation. 23, 3, p. 775-780 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Transport of perfluoroalkyl acids in a water-saturated sediment column investigated under near-natural conditions

    Vierke, L., Möller, A. & Klitzke, S., 01.03.2014, In: Environmental Pollution. 186, p. 7-13 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Adolescent growth: Genes, hormones and the peer group. Proceedings of the 20th aschauer Soiree, held at Glücksburg Castle, Germany, 15th to 17th November 2013

    Hermanussen, M., Meitinger, T., Veldhuis, J. D., Low, M. J., Pfäffle, R., Staub, K., Panczak, R., Groth, D., Brabec, M., Von Salisch, M., Loh, C. P. A., Tassenaar, V., Scheffler, C., Mumm, R., Godina, E., Lehmann, A., Tutkuviene, J., Gervickaite, S., Nierop, A. F. M., Holmgren, A., Aßmann, C., Van Buuren, S., Koziel, S., Zadzińska, E., Varela-Silva, I., Vignerová, J., Salama, E., El-Shabrawi, M., Huijic, A., Satake, T. & Bogin, B., 03.2014, In: Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews. 11, 3, p. 341-353 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsConference article in journalResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Bat pest control contributes to food security in Thailand

    Wanger, T. C., Darras, K., Bumrungsri, S., Tscharntke, T. & Klein, A. M., 03.2014, In: Biological Conservation. 171, p. 220-223 4 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Do wild bees complement honeybee pollination of confection sunflowers in Israel?

    Pisanty, G., Klein, A.-M. & Mandelik, Y., 03.2014, In: Apidologie. 45, 2, p. 235-247 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Effects of anthropogenic disturbances on soil microbial communities in oak forests persist for more than 100 years

    Fichtner, A., Oheimb, G., Härdtle, W., Wilken, C. & Gutknecht, J., 03.2014, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 70, p. 79-87 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  11. Published

    Erdsystem, Klima und globale Stoffkreisläufe

    Palm, W.-U. & Urban, B., 03.2014, Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften. Heinrichs, H. & Michelsen, G. (eds.). Berlin: Springer Verlag, p. 213-257 45 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesEducation