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

    The role of emerging scientists in restoration ecology: insights from a SER2023 conference workshop

    Weidlich, E. W. A., Amaral, V., Lengefeld, E., Reis, B. P., Garbowski, M., Martelli, E., Moraes, L. F. D. & Murphy, S. D., 03.2025, In: Restoration Ecology. 33, 3, 5 p., e14318.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch

  2. E-pub ahead of print

    Defeminizing Sustainability: How to Boost Men’s Motivation for Proenvironmental Behavior

    Hällfritzsch, M., Volpi, L., Daniel, K. G., Somogyi, C., Kause, A., Reese, G. & Loschelder, D. D., 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Motivation Science.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published
  4. Published

    One Fits Them All? Metaphors in Multilingual Biology Classes

    Sowinski, R. & Abels, S., 01.09.2024, Connecting Science Education with Cultural Heritage: Proceedings of the ESERA 2023 Conference. Kaya, G., Sardag, M. & Gul, K. (eds.). Oxford: European Science Education Research Association, Vol. 3. p. 246-256 11 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    A Universal Digital Stress Management Intervention for Employees: Randomized Controlled Trial with Health-Economic Evaluation

    Freund, J., Smit, F., Lehr, D., Zarski, A. C., Berking, M., Riper, H., Funk, B., Ebert, D. D. & Buntrock, C., 22.10.2024, In: Journal of Medical Internet Research. 26, 13 p., e48481.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Revisiting the sustainability science research agenda

    Sahle, M., Lahoti, S. A., Lee, S. Y., Brundiers, K., van Riper, C. J., Pohl, C., Chien, H., Bohnet, I. C., Aguilar-Rivera, N., Edwards, P., Pradhan, P., Plieninger, T., Boonstra, W. J., Flor, A. G., Di Fabio, A., Scheidel, A., Gordon, C., Abson, D. J., Andersson, E., Demaria, F., Kenter, J. O., Brooks, J., Kauffman, J., Hamann, M., Graziano, M., Nagabhatla, N., Mimura, N., Fagerholm, N., O’Farrell, P., Saito, O. & Takeuchi, K., 01.2025, In: Sustainability Science. 20, 1, p. 1-19 19 p., e0261190.

    Research output: Journal contributionsOther (editorial matter etc.)Research

  7. Published

    Toward Sustainable Water Governance? Taking Stock of Paradigms, Practices, and Sustainability Outcomes

    Bilalova, S., Newig, J. & Villamayor-Tomas, S., 01.01.2025, In: Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water. 12, 1, 12 p., e1762.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  8. Published

    Values-based barriers and good practices in sustainability-oriented innovation management

    Ivanov, K., 03.2025, In: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 32, 2, p. 1393-1411 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  9. Published

    Policy as normative influence? On the relationship between parental leave policy and social norms in gender division of childcare across 48 countries

    Author Collaboration für "Policy as normative influence?", Schindler, S., Schuster, C., Olsson, M. I. T., Froehlich, L. & Hübner, A. K., 04.2025, In: British Journal of Social Psychology. 24 p., e12806.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. E-pub ahead of print

    Lagged Multidimensional Recurrence Quantification Analysis for Determining Leader–Follower Relationships Within Multidimensional Time Series

    Tomashin, A., Gordon, I., Leonardi, G., Berson, Y., Milstein, N., Ziegler, M., Hess, U. & Wallot, S., 10.10.2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Psychological Methods. 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Recently viewed

Researchers

  1. Tanja Maier

Publications

  1. Personal als Ressource?
  2. Die Medien und das Neue
  3. Linking transitions to sustainability
  4. Authoritarianism as a group phenomenon
  5. Chancen för erneuerbare Energien in Wärmenetzen
  6. Queering
  7. Keeping in touch
  8. Chemisches Gewichtheben
  9. Ein internetbasiertes Problemlösetraining zur Reduktion psychischer Beanspruchung bei belasteten Lehrern
  10. Analysing the Gender Wage Gap Using Personnel Records of a Large German Company
  11. Mechanisms promoting tree species co-existence
  12. Strategien und Umsetzungspotenziale einer Berufsbildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung
  13. Children's literature and translation studies
  14. Biographische Kleinformen
  15. Sustainability of rural electrification programs based on off-grid photovoltaic (PV) systems in Chile
  16. Import, Export und Produktivität in niedersächsischen Unternehmen des verarbeitenden Gewerbes
  17. Zur psychophysischen Bedeutung c-förmiger Simplex-Organisationen bei der Multidimensionalen Skalierung
  18. Einkaufszentren in Kanada bedeutungsverlust und umstrukturierung
  19. Kollaboration in globalen wertschöpfungsnetzwerken
  20. German taxi drivers' experiences and expressions of driving anger
  21. §40 Wasserkraft
  22. Croatia
  23. Mindestanforderungen an das Betreiben von Handelsgeschäften.
  24. Erstunterricht
  25. Bildungsreise in digitale Welten
  26. Gute fachliche Praxis
  27. The Termination of International Sanctions
  28. Magnesium recycling system prepared by permanent mould- and high pressure die casting
  29. Transdisziplinarität in der Nachhaltigkeitsforschung
  30. Tendenzen einer Erinnerungspolitik
  31. Notions of justice held by stakeholders of the Newfoundland fishery
  32. Modernization and postmodernization - Cultural, economic and political change in 43 societies
  33. Training participation of a firm's aging workforce
  34. Der heiße Begriff des Opfers
  35. Environmental scorecard
  36. Gender-Aspekte bei der Einführung und Akkreditierung gestufter Studiengänge