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. Published

    Partitioning Behavior of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds between Pore Water and Sediment in Two Sediment Cores from Tokyo Bay, Japan

    Ahrens, L., Yamashita, N., Yeung, L. W. Y., Taniyasu, S., Horii, Y., Lam, P. K. S. & Ebinghaus, R., 15.09.2009, In: Environmental Science & Technology. 43, 18, p. 6969-6975 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Participatory scenario planning to facilitate human-wildlife coexistence

    Jiren, T. S., Riechers, M., Kansky, R. & Fischer, J., 01.12.2021, In: Conservation Biology. 35, 6, p. 1957-1965 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Participatory scenario planning in place-based social-ecological research: Insights and experiences from 23 case studies

    Oteros-Rozas, E., Martín-López, B., Daw, T. M., Bohensky, E. L., Butler, J. R. A., Hill, R., Martin-Ortega, J., Quinlan, A., Ravera, F., Ruiz-Mallén, I., Thyresson, M., Mistry, J., Palomo, I., Peterson, G. D., Plieninger, T., Waylen, K. A., Beach, D. M., Bohnet, I. C., Hamann, M., Hanspach, J., Hubacek, K., Lavorel, S. & Vilardy, S. P., 01.01.2015, In: Ecology and Society. 20, 4, 66 p., 32.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Participatory Scenario Planning: From Scenario ‘Stakeholders’ to Scenario ‘Owners’

    Freeth, R. & Drimie, S., 03.07.2016, In: Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development. 58, 4, p. 32-43 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Participatory governance and sustainability: Findings of a meta-analysis of stakeholder involvement in environmental decision making

    Fritsch, O. & Newig, J., 2012, Reflexive governance for global public goods. Brousseau, E., Dedeurwaerdere, T. & Siebenhüner, B. (eds.). Cambridge (Mass.): The MIT Press, p. 181-203 23 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  6. Published

    Participatory energy scenario development as dramatic scripting: A structural narrative analysis

    Upham, P., Klapper, R. & Carney, S., 01.02.2016, In: Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 103, p. 47-56 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. 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 contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Participatory and collaborative governance for sustainable flood risk management: An emerging research agenda

    Challies, E., Newig, J., Thaler, T., Kochskämper, E. & Levin-Keitel, M., 01.01.2016, In: Environmental Science & Policy. 55, 2, p. 275-280 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Participation in River Basin Planning Under the Water Framework Directive – Has it Benefitted Good Water Status?

    Rimmert, M., Baudoin, L., Cotta, B., Kochskämper, E. & Newig, J., 01.10.2020, In: Water Alternatives. 13, 3, p. 484-512 29 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Participation in protected area governance: A systematic case survey of the evidence on ecological and social outcomes

    Huber, J. M., Newig, J. & Loos, J., 15.06.2023, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 336, 117593.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review