Exploring and Shaping Sustainability
The societal transformation towards sustainability is one of the defining challenges of our time – scientifically, socially, and politically. In the Emerging Field "Exploring and Shaping Sustainability", researchers at the University of Münster combine disciplinary excellence with inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives, making empirical, normative, and transformative contributions to more sustainable responses to global crises. Within this Emerging Field, sustainability is not only the subject of research – it is also actively shaped, often through participatory formats and in close collaboration with regional partners. Examples of this inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration, and of the strong links between research, teaching, and societal engagement, include the Centre for Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research (ZIN), where researchers from thirteen faculties work together or the Innovation Hub Socio-ecological Sustainability, coordinated by the University of Münster as part of the European University Alliance ULYSSEUS.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a cross-cutting theme within the Emerging Field. As one of Germany’s largest research-oriented institutions for teacher education, the University of Münster develops innovative didactic approaches in teaching and learning research and teacher training. These prepare future educators for ESD and offer continuing education programmes for teaching professionals, helping to integrate sustainability topics into everyday educational practice.
The thematic foci of the Emerging Field address key dimensions of global change – but not in isolation. Rather, the questions explored within each focus area are closely interrelated. Taken together, they enable an integrative understanding of the complex interactions between environment and society.
Focus Area "Sustainable Resources and Ecosystems"
How can we preserve ecosystem functions, use resources responsibly, and at the same time establish sustainable energy and production systems? In this Focus Area of the Emerging Field, these questions are addressed from natural, social, and humanities perspectives through an inter- and transdisciplinary approach – with a particular focus on energy storage and conversion, water management, bioeconomy, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable production processes. An outstanding example is the MEET Battery Research Centre, which, in cooperation with the Helmholtz Institute Münster, is dedicated to the development of future-proof batteries, covering everything from materials research and cell manufacturing to recycling and sustainable battery systems. Projects such as H2Media and hyBit also investigate the media representation and societal acceptance of hydrogen technologies.
The protection and sustainable use of the resource water are central to research efforts of this Emerging Field that approach water quality, treatment, and management from a range of disciplinary perspectives. One example is the European project PREWAPHARM, which develops interdisciplinary strategies to reduce the input of pharmaceuticals into aquatic environments. Another is the Water Network – Universities in Münster, where the University of Münster and Münster University of Applied Sciences collaborate in joint research and have established a cooperative degree programme in Water Science. In the area of ecosystem restoration, researchers of this Emerging Fields lay the scientific foundations for the recovery of species-rich open-land ecosystems, climate-adapted forests, and degraded peatlands. These habitats are not only biodiversity hotspots but also play a crucial role in climate and water protection. Researchers investigate water quality, greenhouse gas and material balances, soil ecological processes, alternative land uses, and the role of microevolutionary dynamics in restoration efforts, for example through several subprojects within the DFG-funded SPP 1374 Biodiversity Exploratories for functional biodiversity research.
Research on the bioeconomy and sustainable production processes within this Emerging Field makes a key contribution to the transition towards a resource-efficient and bio-based economic system. This work takes place, among others, in innovative research alliances such as BioZ and Fraunhofer IME, which are dedicated to developing functional biopolymers as sustainable alternatives to fossil-based raw materials. In addition, researchers are exploring biotechnological processes for wastewater treatment, biogas production, and the manufacture of bio-based chemicals.
Focus Area "Society in Transition – Conflicts, Responsibility, and Participation"
Societal engagement with sustainability is shaped by conflicting goals, questions of responsibility and justice, and the search for viable forms of participation. In this focus area of the Emerging Field, researchers investigate how socio-ecological transformations can be designed to be democratic, fair, and inclusive. Perspectives from political science, sociology, landscape ecology, biology, communication studies, philosophy, theology, education, and urban studies come together in this interdisciplinary effort. A central research topic is the design of participatory processes: How can citizens be involved in sustainability transformations, and what political, social, and institutional frameworks are needed to enable this? Projects such as INCITE-DEM explore the role of governance, participation, and civil society – often in cooperation with local stakeholders. These initiatives rely on transdisciplinary approaches that combine scientific reflection with practical impact.
These questions are addressed in the planned doctoral programme on conflicts over sustainability, the SABio project on bioeconomy in South America, and research into delegitimising communication in energy projects. Sustainable consumption, climate justice, rights of nature, and responsibility towards the non-human environment are equally in focus, alongside questions of digital power relations, especially regarding generative AI.
Research into sustainable digitalisation and generative AI reveals new social, ethical, and ecological conflict lines: Who holds responsibility for algorithmic decisions? Who benefits, and who is excluded? How can digital technologies be designed to be socially just, ecologically sustainable, and economically viable? What power relations exist here, and how do they influence transformation potentials? Researchers of this Emerging Field address these questions by examining the practices and values underpinning current technological developments. Within the framework of the DFG-funded SFB 1459, novel technologies are being studied that could form the basis for more efficient and resource-saving hardware systems of the future. In addition to developments towards more sustainable AI itself, the use of AI to achieve sustainability goals is also being researched. In particular, these algorithms can be used to analyse large datasets, thereby making an important contribution to assessing the current situation, monitoring various sustainability measures, and predicting the dynamics of our ecosystems.
The development of ecologically sustainable and inclusive cities is another key focus of this Emerging Field – especially when examined through the lens of negotiation and decision-making processes. Under the banner Future Green Cities, researchers investigate how urban environments can become hubs of biodiversity, resilience, and social cohesion. Urban biodiversity plays a pivotal role—not only by contributing to climate protection but also by enhancing environmental awareness, well-being, and civic participation among city inhabitants. Projects like FoodMaps go School and events addressing sustainable growth and climate justice clearly demonstrate the close interconnection between research, education, and societal transformation at the University of Münster.
Focus Area "Virtual Spatial Research for a Sustainable Economy and Society"
In the digital age, sustainability is inextricably linked to questions of digital transformation. New digital worlds—namely three-dimensional, virtual, and interactive spaces such as the metaverse or digital twins—play a key role in this context. They hold the potential to significantly accelerate the sustainable transformation of business and society. The University of Münster possesses exceptional interdisciplinary expertise in digital spatial technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), which are actively used across research, education, and knowledge transfer projects. The focus area aims to consolidate and expand this expertise through a shared technical infrastructure and an interdisciplinary knowledge hub. Such integration will help overcome the currently fragmented usage of spatial technologies and significantly advance this emerging discipline. Several internationally recognized institutes at Münster—including the Center for Business Transformation (ChanCe), the eXperiential Reality lab, the Virtual Reality und Game Lab or the Gait-Realtime-Analysis-Interactive-Lab – GRAIL —already provide a strong foundation for pioneering work. Building on these strengths, the university has recently proposed the Research Training Group Spatial4Val designed to educate a new generation of scholars who will lead and shape the interdisciplinary future of spatial research.