To research guiding principles, strategies and instruments for a sustainable development on an international level, it is necessary to deal with the historic and radical changes of recent decades which are commonly referred to with the keyword "globalisation". The complex relationships between the rise of the transnational economy and the objectives of environmental friendliness and justice are in the centre of attention. Surprisingly, environmental friendliness has so far only played a minor role in the political and scientific discussion on globalisation.

The book "Fair Future" is the product of three years of research in the cross-cutting project "Which Kind of Globalisation is Sustainable?". The project "Sustainable Germany in a Globalised World" researches how Germany is positioned within these complex relationships. Questions about globalisation and sustainability play a role in numerous research works of the Wuppertal Institute, in particular in the PhD Collegium "Ecology and Fairness in the World Trade Regime".