Goal and research approach

The central objective of IRG Environment is to overcome scientific disciplinary boundaries and to work together on environmental issues with ecological and social relevance. For this purpose, we integrate disciplinary perspectives to understand (a) the current environmental scientific evidence on environmental challenges, (b) how these are publicly communicated and (c) what psychological factors are crucial for sustainable transformation.

Understand environmental phenomena and develop solutions from an interdisciplinary perspective

The long-term preservation of the environment as the basis of life for all people is a complex and global challenge. Individual scientific disciplines therefore quickly reach their limits when researching and solving ecological problems. For example, scientific findings about the fundamentals and relationships in ecosystems can come to nothing if relevant public actors are not aware of them. But even if individuals have sufficient environmental knowledge, this does not necessarily mean that appropriate action is taken. It is known from social science research that knowledge is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for ecologically sustainable action. Numerous individual characteristics (e.g. attitudes or habits) and context-related factors (e.g. pricing of products) also influence environmental decisions and actions. Ecological problems must, therefore, be dealt with as interdisciplinary as possible.