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.
- Published
Perceptions of nature and its non-material contributions to people at Mount Kilimanjaro
Degano, M. E., Augustino Kwaslema, S., Böhning-Gaese, K., Hemp, A., Lehnen, L., Martín-López, B., Pearson, J., Mueller, T. & Arbieu, U., 07.2025, In: People and Nature. 7, 7, p. 1697-1712 16 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Accepted/In press
Quantification of phototrophically grown Galdieria sulphuraria and other microalgae using diphenylamine
Hashe, L., Masudi, W. L., Chiyanzu, I., Schönfelder, S., Pleissner, D. & Cowan, A. K., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Applied Phycology.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
We have to talk! Claims of early career researchers to transform circular economy research
Beyeler, L., Eimterbäumer, M., Jürgens, M., Böckel, A., Schoch, K., Bichler, R. M., Straub-Mück, M., Molnár, M. & Jaeger-Erben, M., 07.2025, In: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 221, 3 p., 108423.Research output: Journal contributions › Comments / Debate / Reports › Research
- Published
Contributions of Net-Map to sustainability action research
Cortés-Calderón, S. V., López-Rodríguez, M. D., Jiménez-Aceituno, A., Castro, A. J. & Mancilla-García, M., 08.2025, In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 75, 101542.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Local nutrient addition drives plant diversity losses but not biotic homogenization in global grasslands
Chen, Q., Blowes, S. A., Harpole, W. S., Ladouceur, E., Borer, E. T., MacDougall, A., Martina, J. P., Bakker, J. D., Tognetti, P. M., Seabloom, E. W., Daleo, P., Power, S., Roscher, C., Adler, P. B., Donohue, I., Wheeler, G., Stevens, C., Veen, G. F. C., Risch, A. C., Wardle, G. M., Hautier, Y., Estrada, C., Hersch-Green, E., Niu, Y., Peri, P. L., Eskelinen, A., Gruner, D. S., Olde Venterink, H., D’Antonio, C., Cadotte, M. W., Haider, S., Eisenhauer, N., Catford, J., Virtanen, R., Morgan, J. W., Tedder, M., Bagchi, S., Caldeira, M. C., Bugalho, M. N., Knops, J. M. H., Dickman, C. R., Hagenah, N., Jentsch, A., Macek, P., Osborne, B. B., Laanisto, L. & Chase, J. M., 12.2025, In: Nature Communications. 16, 1, 8 p., 4903.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The role of self-care and self-compassion in networks of resilience and stress among healthcare professionals
Pank, C., von Boros, L., Lieb, K., Dalkner, N., Egger-Lampl, S., Lehr, D., Schäfer, S. K., Tüscher, O. & Wessa, M., 12.2025, In: Scientific Reports. 15, 1, 18545.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- E-pub ahead of print
Disabling barriers—Coping with accessibility of nature in Biosphere Reserves
Winkler, K. J., Kosanic, A. & Martín-López, B., 02.06.2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: People and Nature. n/a, n/a, 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Welcome home! Introducing SocSES: a society for inclusive and impactful social-ecological research
de Vos, A., Quinlan, A., Biggs, R., Bennett, E. M., Martín-López, B., Norström, A. V., Peterson, G. D., Schoon, M., Allen, C. R., Andersson, E., Baird, J., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Berkes, F., Calderon-Contreras, R., Carpenter, S. R., Castro, A. J., Cumming, G. S., Falardeau, M., Liebrecht Fick, W., Folke, C., Galang, E. I. N. E., Gelcich, S., Gordon, L. J., Grimm, N. B., Hamilton, J., Hodbod, J., Speranza, C. I., Koch, L., Kosanic, A., Lembi, R., Locatelli, B., Malmborg, K., Manyani, A., Mathisonslee, M., Ocampo-Melgar, A., Psiuk, K., Queiroz, C., Riechers, M., Schultz, L., Selomane, O., Sherren, K., Spierenburg, M., Trimble, M., Turkelboom, F. & Wallington, C., 06.2025, In: Ecology and Society. 30, 2, 32.Research output: Journal contributions › Other (editorial matter etc.) › Research
- Published
The use of functional traits in assessing productivity in natural ecosystems
Bordin, K. M., Morales, D. D. C., Klipel, J., Bergamin, R. S., Kramer, J. M. F., Müller, S. C., Thomas, P. A. & Rosenfield, M. F., 01.01.2025, Plant Functional Traits: Linking Climate and Ecosystem Functioning. Kumar, M., Bussmann, R. W. & Swenson, N. G. (eds.). Elsevier, p. 111-133 23 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
- Accepted/In press
Inter- und transdisziplinäre Forschungsprojekte als Ansatz für eine transformative Hochschulbildung
Bürgener, L. & Meyer, S., 2025, (Accepted/In press) Didaktik der Interdisziplinären Hochschullehre. Braßler, M., Lerch, S. & Brandstädter, S. (eds.).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Education › peer-review