Jorrit Holst
Jorrit Holst is a sustainability researcher at Institut Futur, Freie Universität Berlin, and an external PhD student at Leuphana University Lüneburg. His research examines the systemic integration and practice of sustainability in education.
Jorrit Holst is a sustainability researcher at Institut Futur, Freie Universität Berlin, and an external PhD student at Leuphana University Lüneburg. At the intersection of sustainability science, empirical social science, and educational science, his research examines the systemic integration and practice of sustainability in education. With a methodological focus on indicator development and large-scale assessments, he has recently published on the policy integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in line with SDG 4.7, the measurability and effectiveness of whole-institution approaches to sustainability as well as on cultural shifts and transformation pathways in education systems. As part of the German National Monitoring on ESD led by Prof. Dr. Gerhard de Haan, his work contributes to the scientific advisory to the UNESCO program "ESD for 2030" in Germany.
PhD-Thesis: "Sustainability in Education: An Empirical Assessment of Systemic Integration and Organisational Practice" (submitted 3 March 2026; defended 1 June 2026, summa cum laude; Reviewers: Prof. Dr. Daniel Fischer, Prof. Dr. Kai Niebert, Prof. Dr. Matthias Barth)
Selection of recent publications (for a more extensive list, see the profiles at Google Scholar or Freie Universität Berlin):
- Holst, J., Fritz, H., Nölting, B., Lang, D. J., Löde, V., Ober, S., Parodi, O., Potthast, T., Scheiding, C., Weynand, M. & Singer-Brodowski, M. (2025): Exploring Culture(s) of Sustainability at Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Review of Concepts and Pathways. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-08-2024-0550
- Holst, J., Brock, A., Grund, J., Schlieszus, A.-K., & Singer-Brodowski, M. (2025). Whole-school sustainability at the core of quality education: Wished-for by principals but requiring collective and structural action. Journal of Cleaner Production(519), Article 145897, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145897
- Holst, J., Grund, J., & Brock, A. (2024). Whole Institution Approach: Measurable and highly effective in empowering learners and educators for sustainability. Sustainability Science, 19, 1359–1376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-024-01506-5
- Holst, J., Singer‐Brodowski, M., Brock, A., & Haan, G. de (2024). Monitoring SDG 4.7: Assessing Education for Sustainable Development in policies, curricula, training of educators and student assessment (input‐indicator). Sustainable Development(32), 3908–3923. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2865
- Holst, J. (2023). Towards Coherence on Sustainability in Education: A Systematic Review of Whole Institution Approaches. Sustainability Science, 18(2), 1015–1030. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01226-8