Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change (SustainScapes)

What Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change (SustainScapes) does

Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change (SustainScapes) is an academic research center hosted by the Department of Biology at Aarhus University in Denmark. Officially launched on March 1, 2021, the center is led by Center Director Professor Signe Normand, Co-Director Professor Tommy Dalgaard (representing the Department of Agroecology), and Center Coordinator Malene Siri Berg Jacobsen. SustainScapes brings together an international, interdisciplinary team of biologists, agroecologists, social scientists, and data scientists — reported at approximately 12 staff — to develop the scientific basis and spatially explicit, locally anchored solutions for sustainable landscapes under global change. Its research is organized into five work packages: Global Change Drivers & Delays, Nature-based Solutions, Global & Dynamic Context, Local Empowerment, and Innovative Approaches, with outputs disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, academic conferences, and direct stakeholder engagement.

The center's core technology is an interdisciplinary integration framework that combines biology, agroecology, social sciences, and data sciences to address how historical, ongoing, and future human pressures shape landscapes in a globalized world. Its proprietary research approaches emphasize spatially explicit, locally tailored solutions and nature-based solutions for biodiversity maintenance and bio-based production, backed by access to multiple field activity sites across different ecosystems. The center is anchored institutionally within Aarhus University's Department of Biology infrastructure and receives core financial support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, whose logo is displayed on the center's website.

SustainScapes does not operate as a commercial enterprise. It generates no product revenue, has no disclosed pricing model, and does not sell goods or services. Its funding model is grant-based, with the Novo Nordisk Foundation identified as the primary funder. The center's go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven, engaging academic researchers, policy makers, and local communities through participatory research, scientific publications, conferences, an official website, and an active LinkedIn presence. Its served segments are the academic research community (primary), government and policy makers, and local communities affected by landscape change.

Name

Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change (SustainScapes)

Legal name

Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change

Website

https://sustainscapes.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SustainScapes is an Aarhus University research center that conducts interdisciplinary research on sustainable landscapes under global change, funded primarily by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and serving academics, policy makers, and local communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Environmental Research Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation (BPAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO), Climate Adaptation & Resilience Programs (BPADALAD), Nature, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Conservation (BPADALAE)

Keywords

• Interdisciplinary sustainability research
• Nature-based solutions research
• Global change ecology
• Landscape agroecology studies
• Biodiversity bio-based production

Headquarters

HQ city

Aarhus

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Funding: SustainScapes is funded primarily by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, receiving financial support for conducting interdisciplinary research on sustainable landscapes under global change.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SustainScapes is a university research center that conducts interdisciplinary research on sustainable landscapes under global change, providing scientific evidence and spatially explicit, locally tailored solutions for biodiversity maintenance and bio-based production. The center brings together biologists, agroecologists, social scientists, and data scientists to address landscape sustainability across five work packages: Global Change Drivers & Delays, Nature-based Solutions, Global & Dynamic Context, Local Empowerment, and Innovative Approaches.

Product overview

SustainScapes is an academic research center at Aarhus University's Department of Biology, not a commercial product company. It does not offer commercial products or services. The center provides scientific research, knowledge dissemination, and educational programs focused on sustainable landscapes under global change. Research activities span five work packages: Global Change Drivers & Delays, Nature-based solutions, Global & dynamic context, Local empowerment, and Innovative Approaches. The center's activities include scientific publications, field research activities, and collaboration opportunities through open positions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research
• Spatially Explicit Sustainable Solutions
• Nature-based Solutions Research

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Department of Biology, Aarhus UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainScapes is hosted by and closely integrated with the Department of Biology at Aarhus University. The center leverages departmental infrastructure, staff, and academic resources.
• Department of Agroecology, Aarhus UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainScapes has a Co-Director from the Department of Agroecology, indicating close collaboration between departments for interdisciplinary research on sustainable landscapes.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Stockholm Resilience Centre: A university-based interdisciplinary research centre focused on resilience and sustainability of social-ecological systems. Closely comparable to SustainScapes in mission, interdisciplinary structure, and academic-housing model, though larger and broader in scope.
• German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv): A German research centre integrating biodiversity science across disciplines, housed at universities in Leipzig, Jena and Halle. Highly comparable to SustainScapes in mission, interdisciplinary structure, and integration of biological and social sciences, though larger.

Broad incumbents

• Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI): An independent policy research institute working on environment, sustainability, and global change. Comparable to SustainScapes in policy-relevant sustainability research and interdisciplinary structure, with a stronger global field presence.
• Wageningen University & Research (WUR): A leading Dutch university and research institute focused on agriculture, agroecology, and landscape management. Highly comparable through its agroecology and landscape sustainability work, but operates as a broad incumbent rather than a single specialized centre.
• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ): A large German research centre covering environmental research across ecosystems and human-landscape interactions. Comparable to SustainScapes in its landscape and biodiversity scope, but operates as a broad, multi-site incumbent.
• Senckenberg Nature Research Society: A large German research society conducting biodiversity, ecosystem, and nature-based solutions research. Comparable to SustainScapes for its biodiversity and landscape sustainability focus, but at a much larger scale with extensive museum and field infrastructure.
• Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK): A large, established German research institute studying climate impacts and Earth-system science. Comparable to SustainScapes for its policy-relevant sustainability research, but significantly larger, more global, and modelling-focused rather than landscape-field focused.
• International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA): An international research institute conducting interdisciplinary systems analysis on environmental, economic, and social change. Comparable to SustainScapes in its interdisciplinary, global-change framing, though at a far larger scale and with a quantitative-modelling emphasis.
• UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH): A major UK research centre covering ecology, hydrology, and land-use change. Comparable to SustainScapes in landscape and ecosystem research, with a much larger staff and a more applied monitoring focus.

Emerging players

• Wyss Academy for Nature: A University of Bern-led initiative integrating research and practical action for nature-positive outcomes. Comparable to SustainScapes in its interdisciplinary, solutions-oriented nature research model, with a stronger implementation and policy-action emphasis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sustainscapes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for Sustainable Landscapes under Global Change (SustainScapes)