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

    Business Model Experimentation for Circularity: Driving sustainability in a large international clothing retailer

    Bocken, N. M. P., Miller, K., Weissbrod, I., Holgado, M. & Evans, S., 12.2017, In: Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment. 2017, 1, p. 85-122 38 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Cross-National Complementarity of Technology Push, Demand Pull, and Manufacturing Push Policies: The Case of Photovoltaics

    Hansen, E. G., Ludeke-Freund, F., Quan, X. I. & West, J., 08.2019, In: IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. 66, 3, p. 381-397 17 p., 8424882.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Socio-cultural differences in understanding and development of corporate social responsibility in Germany and Croatia

    Bögel, P. M., Brstilo Lovric, I., Bekmeier-Feuerhahn, S. & Sippel , C. S., 2018, The critical state of corporate social responsibility in Europe. Tench, R., Jones, B. & W. S. (eds.). Bingley: Emerald Publishing Limited, p. 161-178 18 p. (Critical Studies on Corporate Responsibility, Governance and Sustainability; vol. 12).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksChapterpeer-review

  4. Published

    Entry of biocides and their transformation products into groundwater via urban stormwater infiltration systems

    Hensen, B., Lange, J., Jackisch, N., Zieger, F., Olsson, O. & Kümmerer, K., 01.11.2018, In: Water Research. 144, p. 413-423 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    More than Yield: Ecosystem Services of Traditional versus Modern Crop Varieties Revisited

    Ficiciyan, A., Loos, J., Sievers-Glotzbach, S. & Tscharntke, T., 09.08.2018, In: Sustainability. 10, 8, 15 p., 2834.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  6. Published

    Is seashell powder suitable for phosphate recovery from fermentation broth?

    Peinemann, J. C., Krenz, L. & Pleißner, D., 25.03.2019, In: New Biotechnology. 49, p. 43-47 5 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Biodiversity across trophic levels drives multifunctionality in highly diverse forests

    Schuldt, A., Assmann, T., Brezzi, M., Buscot, F., Eichenberg, D., Gutknecht, J., Härdtle, W., He, J.-S., Klein, A.-M., Kühn, P., Liu, X., Ma, K., Niklaus, P. A., Pietsch, K. A., Purahong, W., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schmid, B., Scholten, T., Staab, M., Tang, Z., Trogisch, S., von Oheimb, G., Wirth, C., Wubet, T., Zhu, C.-D. & Bruelheide, H., 01.12.2018, In: Nature Communications. 9, 1, 10 p., 2989 .

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Coming late for dinner: Localized digestate depot fertilization for extensive cultivation of marginal soil with Sida hermaphrodita

    Nabel, M., Schrey, S., Poorter, H., Koller, R., Nagel, K. A., Temperton, V. M., Dietrich, C. C., Briese, C. & Jablonowski, N. D., 30.07.2018, In: Frontiers in Plant Science. 9, 14 p., 1095.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    How business actors can contribute to sustainability transitions: A case study on the ongoing animal welfare transition in the German egg industry

    Hörisch, J., 10.11.2018, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 201, p. 1155-1165 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Fazit und Empfehlungen zur Weiterentwicklung des Ökosystemdienstleistungsansatzes für Wälder

    Bürger-Arndt, R., Ohse, B. & Meyer, K., 2012, Ökosystemdienstleistungen von Wäldern : Workshopbericht. Bürger-Arndt, R., Ohse, B., Meyer, K. & Höltermann, A. (eds.). Bonn-Bad Godesberg: Bundesamt für Naturschutz, p. 126-138 13 p. (BfN-Skripten; vol. 320).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to scientific reportsResearch