Harald Heinrichs · Pim Martens Gerd Michelsen · Arnim Wiek Editors

Michael von Hauff
TU Kaiserslautern, FB Wirtschaftswissenschaften, 
Kaiserslautern, Germany
Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany
Goddert von Oheimb
Institute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, 
Technische Universität Dresden, Tharandt, Germany
Henrik von Wehrden
Centre for Methods, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, 
Germany 
Institute of Ecology, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, 
Germany
FuturES, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany
Olaf Weber
School for Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED), 
University of Waterloo, Waterlooo, Canada
Annika Weinert
Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lüneburg, 
Lüneburg, Germany
Annika Weiser
Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research, 
Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany
Arnim Wiek
School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Contributors

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1
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016 
H. Heinrichs et al. (eds.), Sustainability Science, DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-7242-6_1
Chapter 1
 Introduction
Harald Heinrichs , Arnim Wiek , Pim Martens , and Gerd Michelsen
Abstract Three hundred years after defi ning sustainable development in forestry 
and 25 years after conceptualizing sustainability as a societal guiding vision and 
regulative idea, the necessity for further operationalizing and realizing sustainabil-
ity is greater than ever. The textbook at hand provides a state-of-the-art overview of 
key areas of sustainable development. Like a mosaic, the chapters compose building 
blocks, which assemble an encompassing perspective on sustainability science. We 
hope to contribute with this textbook to the further establishment of sustainability 
science and to enable the next generation of sustainability experts to get a “grip” on 
the challenging and exciting “centenary topic” of sustainable development.