Institute
The Institut für Nachhaltigkeit at HWR Berlin was founded in May 2012 to bundle and intensify the research and teaching activities of HWR Berlin on sustainability science and sustainable economics.
It aims to make a publicly recognised contribution to the sustainable restructuring of global economies and companies. To this end, the theoretical foundations are to be formulated and integrated into teaching, companies and organisations.
The institute works on the following research and subject areas:
- Sustainable economy and sustainable business practices
- Sustainability management
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
- Ethics in business and administration
- Environmental law
- Socio-ecological transformation processes
The main areas of work are:
Implementation of sustainability science content in teaching
This includes the further development of the NaQM Master's degree programme, the Master's degree programme in Industrial Engineering - Energy and Environmental Resources, the Bachelor's degree programme in Industrial Engineering - Environment and Sustainability as well as elective subjects in the aforementioned subject areas.
Intensification of research through joint projects and programmes
These include: the 10-year programme "Jahrbuch Nachhaltige Ökonomie" (2009-2018, four projects have been funded to date), the "Fachkongress Nachhaltige Ökonomie" (since 2012) and a number of individual research projects.
Conferences and public events
These include: the "Sustainability Forum" series, which has been continued by the Institute in cooperation with the Gesellschaft für Nachhaltigkeit e.V. and SUSTAINUM since 2012, the "Sustainable Economics Congress" and a series of other events on sustainability-related topics in the various departments. INa also presents itself at the annual HWR Berlin research forum.
Publications
The members of the Institute regularly publish: textbooks and other monographs, edited volumes, articles in anthologies and journals and give interviews. Information on the various publications is provided in a self-produced research report and on the Institute's regularly updated website.
Involvement of students, doctorates
Students are involved in the research projects and participate in the further development of teaching through teaching assignments. The Institute aims to support further graduates in their doctoral studies.
Long-term co-operations
From the outset, the Institute has worked together with a number of organisations in the aforementioned key areas of work, including SUSTAINUM Consulting, the Gesellschaft für Nachhaltigkeit e.V., the Netzwerk Nachhaltige Ökonomie, Green Brands, the Centre for Sustainability Management, the Jour fixe Initiative politische Ökonomie, ecocrowd, UnternehmensGrün, and DG HochN.
Through its activities, the Institute aims to consolidate the reputation of the HWR Berlin as one of the key universities for sustainability science in the German-speaking world.