In line with the 1987 report of the United Nations Brundtland Commission, sustainable development is understood to mean the use of natural, social and economic resources to meet the needs of current generations without restricting the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Today there is a consensus that the three pillars of sustainability - economy, ecology and social issues - are not independent, but rather are interrelated and interdependent. Sustainable value creation is achieved when the goals of one pillar are achieved more effectively or efficiently without making greater demands on the resources of another pillar. Sustainability is therefore always an interdisciplinary and integrative approach and is also concerned with dealing with conflicting objectives.

In view of the far-reaching economic, ecological and social challenges, companies and non-profit organizations in particular have a special role to play in implementing sustainability goals. Sustainable management of the value chain not only has a positive impact on people and the environment, but can also lead to economic benefits - from better recording and thus governance of energy and raw material costs across the value chain, resource-saving production systems and supply chains, sustainable development concepts for social systems, targeted use of sustainable corporate management tools and the retention of increasingly critical customers and employees. The research and transfer focus "Sustainable Value Creation" is thus also linked to the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (UN SDG). New knowledge and solutions for application-oriented problems of the sustainability transformation of society, companies and organizations are to be developed as part of the focus on sustainability. The many sustainability projects are examples of where the university can provide support.