Social and Ecological Sustainability

We research what it takes for each of us to experience quality of life and good living conditions, as well as how society can transition toward a sustainable future.

This includes both social aspects, by examining the factors that influence our upbringing, health, and welfare, and ecological aspects, by studying the interactions we have with our environment and how we can collectively create a greener society.

At the core of our work lies the concept of sustainability: To address the challenges we face as a society—such as demographic changes, increasing inequality, exclusion from education, work, and social life, pressures on municipal finances and public services, the need for professional competencies, overexploitation of natural resources, and climate change, to name a few—we need understanding and knowledge rooted in people's actual lives, activities, and everyday experiences.

Our overarching interdisciplinary perspective allows us to view societal challenges in context. For example, we see how health, the environment, and animal welfare are deeply interconnected. What affects one often has consequences for the others. The World Health Organization refers to this as "One Health"—a way of understanding health across humans, animals, and nature.

Our team has broad expertise that spans a wide range of disciplines, including political science, sociology, pedagogy, special education, child welfare and social work, health sciences, social anthropology, urban and regional planning, economics, and agroecology.

The goal of the knowledge we produce is to make it applicable in practice, policy, and research, enabling us to prevent, improve, and transform.