Sustainability and Infrastructure Systems

Sustainable development requires the transformation of whole systems in the direction of environmental and societal compatibility. The Department of Sustainability and Infrastructure Systems (until 2024: Competence Center Sustainability and Infrastructure Systems) takes a systemic approach to analyzing the framework conditions of this transformation. We take the economic, political, ecological and social aspects into account.

In order to separate economic growth from resource consumption or environmental damage, innovations to increase the efficiency of resource utilization and reduction of emissions are needed. Our research strengthens the knowledge base required for this task.

The transition to sustainability can open up new economic opportunities, not only for industrialized nations, but also in developing countries, which implies the adjustment of structural framework conditions. Especially in infrastructure systems many and varied path dependencies must be overcome. Our studies point to ways in which different sustainability goals can be reconciled.

In all areas we regard both, innovations in individual products and production processes as well as the long-term developments at the sector level. Our team of economists and social scientists, engineers and natural scientists combines an advanced range of methods with application-oriented expertise. With our scientific analyses we provide our customers from politics, administration, associations and businesses with momentum for sustainable development.