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.
- Accepted/In press
Enhancing public participation through social learning and local identity: the case of climate adaptation in small and medium sized municipalities
Reifenstahl, T., Augenstein, K. & Möller, S., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Sustainability—Special Issue “Resources and Waste Management”
Friege, H., Raatz, S. & Lou, Z., 08.2025, In: Sustainability (Switzerland). 17, 16, 2 p., 7369.Research output: Journal contributions › Other (editorial matter etc.) › Research
- Published
How Do Negotiators Resolve Conflict Over Resources of Changing Value: The Role of Trust in Sequential Negotiations
Heydenbluth, C., Aaldering, H., Zhang, H., Majer, J. & Trötschel, R., 2025, In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Self-consumption and self-sufficiency in energy sharing communities in Germany: What is the impact of wind energy?
Wiesenthal, J., 2025, In: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 1532, 1, 012002.Research output: Journal contributions › Conference article in journal › Research › peer-review
- Accepted/In press
Habitat and land-use intensity shape moth community structure across temperate forest and grassland
Achury, R., Staab, M., Seibold, S., Müller, J., Heidrich, L., Püls, M., Hacker, H., Fonseca, C. R., Fischer, M., Blüthgen, N. & Weisser, W., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Animal Ecology.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Plant traits and associated ecological data from global change experiments and climate gradients in Norway
Vandvik, V., Halbritter, A. H., Macias-Fauria, M., Maitner, B. S., Michaletz, S. T., Telford, R. J., Bison, N., Chacon-Labella, J., Cotner, S., Egelkraut, D., Garen, J., Gaudard, J., Geange, S. R., Rosati, M. A., Andersen, E. A. S., Ahler, S. J., Atkinson, J., Baumane, M., Bradler, P. M., Dawson, H. R., Eckberg, J., Elsy, A. D., Erkelenz, J., Eshelman, S. E., Guclu, C., Gullvåg, R., Gya, R., Hartford, S., Hayden, M. T., Holle, M. J. M., Kullberg, A. T., Lepley, K., Correia, M., Löwenstein, C. E., Maré, C., Mauki, D., Navarro, J., Oberholzer, B., Olivier, B., Olson, A. N., Ray, C. A., von Oppen, J., Vorstenbosch, T., Wang, J. A. & Enquist, B. J., 12.2025, In: Scientific data. 12, 1, 24 p., 1477.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Resolving the Complexity-Flexibility Dilemma in Multi-Issue Negotiations: Nested Bracketing as a Strategy to Enhance Negotiation Outcomes
Zhang, H., Majer, J., Warsitzka, M. & Trötschel, R., 2025, In: Journal of Applied Psychology.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Nachhaltigkeit in Kommunen – von einer reinen Managementaufgabe zum ganzheitlichen Ansatz
Heinrichs, H., Groß, M., Haubner, O., Riedel, H., Rinawi-Molnar, N. & Scheller, H., 29.07.2025, Zukunft Stadt: Die globale und lokale Bedeutung von SDG 11: Wie die sozialökologische Transformation in Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft gelingen kann. Handlungsempfehlungen – Chancen – Entwicklungen. 1 ed. Heidelberg: Springer Gabler, p. 93-132 139 p. (SDG - Forschung, Konzepte, Lösungsansätze zur Nachhaltigkeit).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Transfer
- Accepted/In press
The tree growth–herbivory relationship depends on functional traits across forest biodiversity experiments
Li, Y., Schuldt, A., Bauhus, J., Belluau, M., Berthelot, S., Burghardt, K. T., Bruelheide, H., Castagneyrol, B., Chu, C., Eisenhauer, N., Ferlian, O., Fründ, J., Gebauer, T., Gravel, D., Jactel, H., Li, S., Liang, Y., Parker, J. D., Parker, W. C., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Staab, M., Verheyen, K., Schmid, B., Ma, K. & Liu, X., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Nature Ecology and Evolution.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Pathways to synergize reductive with relational logics in environmental policy
Pérez-Hämmerle, K. V., Moon, K., Raymond, C. M., Lucas, P., Hakkarainen, V. & Wood, P., 2025, In: Ecosystems and People. 21, 1, 20 p., 2529585.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review