Dear colleagues,

Universities play an important role as promoters of sustainable development – regarding knowledge production as well as the institutional organization of science. Facing the global dimension and the complexity of today’s problems, universities can hardly meet the challenge of social responsibility within given structures. The concept of sustainability provides a foundation for reflection and action. Its potential for innovation should be examined with regard to the university as a whole.

At the University of Lüneburg, Germany, the three-year research and development project “Sustainable University” is dedicated towards the question of how Universities do already and can possibly meet the challenges connected to the new paradigm of sustainable development (cf. http://www.uni-lueneburg.de/sustuni/e_index.htm). Within this project, we currently engage in a reflection on different theories and concepts of sustainability/sustainable development. We have been discussing sophisticated theories and concepts of the German speaking area. However, we would like to systematically include the international discussion in our reflection.

Therefore, we kindly ask you to share your knowledge with us and inform us about sustainability concepts you know and work with (from your country or international concepts). In case you feel there is a lack of sophisticated theories, this information would also be valuable to us. We are especially interested in concepts of sustainability/sustainable development that are theory-based on the one hand and that operationalise sustainability very clearly on the other hand (e.g. through concrete elements/principles, objectives, rules and indicators).

Thank you for your support.
With kind regards,

Prof. Dr. Gerd Michelsen

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Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication
UNESCO Chair "Higher Education for Sustainable Development"
Prof. Dr. Gerd Michelsen
Chairholder
Scharnhorsstr. 1, Building 14
D- 21335 Lüneburg
Phone: +49 (0) 4131 677-2920
Fax: +49 (0) 4131 677-2819
unesco@uni-lueneburg.de
http://www.uni-lueneburg.de/infu/chair