B.Sc. Elisabeth Hartmann

About me

Research on socio-ecological economics & education for sustainable development
Elisabeth Hartmann conducts research at the intersection of socio-ecological economics (SEE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). Her goal: to shape social change within planetary boundaries and enable a good life for all.
From practice to research: ESD & climate justice
Her work at Green City e.V., in particular organising climate workshops at schools, led her to ESD. In her bachelor's degree in geography (LMU Munich, minor in sociology) and the ESD certificate programme 'el mundo' (LMU), she combined theory and practice: her bachelor's thesis developed a city walk on climate justice.
Focus on socio-ecological economics in her master's degree
In her Master's programme in SEE and Policy (WU Vienna), she focuses on degrowth, feminist economics and EU resource policy. Her Master's thesis explores the latter using quantitative content analysis. Methodologically, she otherwise tends to focus on qualitative empirical social research, especially with focus groups.

Research interests

• Climate communication and its application to communication about SEE and the biodiversity crisis
• Degrowth policies (e.g. working time reduction and resource reduction targets)
• Transdisciplinary research, especially in cooperation with environmental NGOs
• ESD and transformative education

Talks

• Klimagerechtigkeit vor der Haustür: Wirkungen eines Stadtrundgangs auf Wissen, Haltungen und Handlungsabsichten. September 2024. WisskommConnected. Berlin, Germany.
• Learning from Climate Communication: Engagement methods for Degrowth in German-speaking cities. 2025. 18th Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics and 11th International Degrowth Conference. Oslo, Norway.
• Cis-male Work-time reduction and (child) care work. September 2025. 1. Netzwerktreffen Young Science Alltagsökonomie. Kompetenzzentrum für Alltagsökonomie. Vienna, Austria.
• Walking into Contestation: City Walks (CW) as Spaces of Climate Dialogue and Pre-Figuration for Eco-Social Transformation in Munich. September 2025. Spaces of contestation: transgressing policies and practices of eco-social transformation. Regional Studies Association Research Network on Eco-Social Policy and Practice for Innovation and Transformation (ESPPRIT). Vienna, Austria.

Publications

• Geneuss, Katrin; Antony, Lea; Hartmann, Elisabeth; Hoppe, Imke (2026): Digitalität im Kontext von Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation. In: Maurer Björn; Schluchter, Jan (Hrsg.): „Digitalität und Nachhaltigkeit in der Bildung" Beltz Juventa. Im Druck.
• Hartmann, Elisabeth; Geneuss, Katrin; Hoppe, Imke (2024): Dialogue and Disruption at the Doorstep: Participant Perceptions during a City Walk as a Climate Communication Format. Sustainability 16, 4490. Abrufbar unter: https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114490

Teaching

Summer semester 2025: 10-day field trip on “learning spaces outside school” to Northern Germany together with Imke Hoppe