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

    Assessing the environmental fate of S-metolachlor, its commercial product Mercantor Gold® and their photoproducts using a water-sediment test and in silico methods

    Gutowski, L., Baginska, E., Olsson, O., Leder, C. & Kümmerer, K., 01.11.2015, In: Chemosphere. 138, p. 847-855 9 p., 16405.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Assessing the Cultural Fit of a Digital Sleep Intervention for Refugees in Germany: Qualitative Study

    Blomenkamp, M., Kiesel, A., Baumeister, H., Lehr, D., Unterrainer, J., Sander, L. B. & Spanhel, K., 03.04.2025, In: JMIR Formative Research. 9, 15 p., e65412.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Assessing the contribution of products to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: a methodological proposal

    Eberle, U., Wenzig, J. & Mumm, N., 07.2022, In: The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 27, 7, p. 959-977 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Assessing the aquatic biodegradation potential of polymeric excipients for pharmaceutical formulation

    Bading, M., Olsson, O. & Kümmerer, K., 01.11.2024, In: Chemosphere. 368, 9 p., 143739.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Assessing sustainable biophysical human-nature connectedness at regional scales

    Dorninger, C., Abson, D. J., Fischer, J. & von Wehrden, H., 24.04.2017, In: Environmental Research Letters. 12, 5, p. 1-11 11 p., 055001.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Assessing social-ecological vulnerability of coastal systems to fishing and tourism

    Lazzari, N., Becerro, M. A., Sanabria-Fernandez, J. A. & Martín-López, B., 25.08.2021, In: Science of the Total Environment. 784, 13 p., 147078.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Assessing protected area effectiveness in western Tanzania: Insights from repeated line transect surveys

    Kiffner, C., Giliba, R. A., Fust, P., Loos, J. & Waltert, M., 12.2023, In: African Journal of Ecology. 61, 4, p. 966-979 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Assessing participatory practices in community-based natural resource management: Experiences in community engagement from southern Africa

    Dyer, J., Stringer, L. C., Dougill, A. J., Leventon, J., Nshimbi, M., Chama, F., Kafwifwi, A., Muledi, J. I., Kaumbu, J. M. K., Falcao, M., Muhorro, S., Munyemba, F., Kalaba, G. M. & Syampungani, S., 01.05.2014, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 137, p. 137-145 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Assessing Online Consultation in Participatory Governance: Conceptual Framework and a Case Study of a National Sustainability-related Consultation Platform in Germany

    Schulz, D. & Newig, J., 01.01.2015, In: Environmental Policy and Governance. 25, 1, p. 55-69 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Assessing nature’s contributions to people: Recognizing culture, and diverse sources of knowledge, can improve assessments

    Díaz, S., Pascual, U., Stenseke, M., Martín-López, B., Watson, R. T., Molnár, Z., Hill, R., Chan, K. M. A., Baste, I. A., Brauman, K. A., Polasky, S., Church, A., Lonsdale, M., Larigauderie, A., Leadley, P. W., Van Oudenhoven, A. P. E., Van Der Plaat, F., Schröter, M., Lavorel, S., Aumeeruddy-Thomas, Y., Bukvareva, E., Davies, K., Demissew, S., Erpul, G., Failler, P., Guerra, C. A., Hewitt, C. L., Keune, H., Lindley, S. & Shirayama, Y., 19.01.2018, In: Science. 359, 6373, p. 270-272 3 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

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  2. Poetry-Slam-Texte als Lernimpulse
  3. Wirkung und Erfolgsbeitrag der Selbstverpflichtung bei nationalen und internationalen Kooperationen junger KMU
  4. Das Bewegungsgefühl des Reiters
  5. Sustainability impact assessment of new ventures
  6. Mediale Klischeereproduktion
  7. Die Predigten von Plötzensee
  8. Beschäftigungsverhalten mittelständischer Unternehmen
  9. Environmental Fate and Transport of Human Pharmaceuticals
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  12. Is peoples’ belief in a just world associated with (dis)honesty in romantic relationships?
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  14. § 291 Prozesszinsen
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  16. Das Ulrich-HR-Modell in Deutschland
  17. Elements histroriques et evolutions de l'entrepreneuriat en milieu universitair apercus allemands et autrichiens
  18. Determinanten der individuellen Weiterbildungsentscheidung
  19. Anrechnung beruflich erworbener Kompetenzen unter Berücksichtigung von Gender Mainstreaming Aspekten am Beispiel des Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojektes KomPädenZ
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  21. Grundlagen eines kritischen Denkens
  22. The private sector in climate governance: Opportunities for climate compatible development through multilevel industry-government engagement
  23. Italy Today: The Sick Man of Europe by Andrea Mammone and Guiseppe A. Veltri (eds). Abingdon: Routledge, 2010
  24. Law and authority in British legal history, 1200–1900, edited by Mark Godfrey,Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2016, ISBN 978-1-107-12227-7
  25. Liability of Rating Agencies Under German and European Law