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

    Are Si–C bonds formed in the environment and/or in technical microbiological systems?

    Rücker, C., Winkelmann, M. & Kümmerer, K., 08.2023, In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 30, 39, p. 91492-91500 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Drivers of ecosystem service specialization in a smallholder agricultural landscape of the Global South: a case study in Ethiopia

    Brück, M., Fischer, J., Law, E. A., Schultner, J. & Abson, D. J., 01.07.2023, In: Ecology and Society. 28, 3, 38 p., 1.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Moving beyond “the” business case: How to make corporate sustainability work

    Busch, T., Barnett, M. L., Burritt, R. L., Cashore, B. W., Freeman, R. E., Henriques, I., Husted, B. W., Panwar, R., Pinkse, J., Schaltegger, S. & York, J., 02.2024, In: Business Strategy and the Environment. 33, 2, p. 776-787 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published
  5. Published

    Leitartikel: Worauf warten wir noch – auf Godot?

    Kemfert, C., 01.06.2023, In: Wirtschaftsdienst. 103, 6, p. 358-359 2 p.

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

  6. Published

    The role of transdisciplinarity in building a decolonial bridge between science, policy, and practice

    Zonta, A. L., Jacobi, J., Mukhovi, S. M., Birachi, E., von Groote, P. & Abad, C. R., 23.05.2023, In: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. 32, 1, p. 107-114 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Spatial characterization of social-ecological systems units for management in Tropical Dry Forests

    Santillán-Carvantes, P., Balvanera, P., Thomsen, S., Mora, F., Pérez-Cárdenas, N., Cohen-Salgado, D., Ramírez-Ramírez, R., Gavito, M. E. & Martín-López, B., 12.2023, In: Landscape Ecology. 38, 12, p. 4303-4323 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Stakeholders’ Perspectives of Species Diversity in Tree Plantations: a Global Review

    Cagnoni, L. B., Weidlich, E. W. A., Guillemot, J., Morselo, C., Weih, M., Adler, A. & Brancalion, P. H. S., 08.2023, In: Current Forestry Reports. 9, 4, p. 251-262 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

  9. Published

    Green and Sustainable Chemistry Teacher Education: Experiences from a Brazilian University

    Gomes, C. J. C. & Zuin Zeidler, V. G., 09.2023, In: Sustainable Chemistry. 4, 3, p. 272 - 281 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Genetic editing of wood for sustainability: Trees engineered to have less lignin could make paper production less polluting

    Zuin Zeidler, V. G., 14.07.2023, In: Science. 381, 6654, p. 124-125 2 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsComments / Debate / ReportsResearch