In 1992, the economist and the physicist Hans-Peter Dürr gave a joint talk at a conference of Verein für Socialpolitik (VfS) on the topic of “economics and nature”. During the discussion, it turned out that the point of view presented had no backing among the attendees of VfS, and Busch-Lüty and colleagues decided to establish an independent society. Busch-Lüty initiated in 1996 the establishment of VÖÖ as part of a small, interdisciplinary group of scientists as a German-speaking section of International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE). The local mayor and former Member of the European Parliament acted as a patron of the constitutive conference in April 1996 in Heidelberg. The 50 scientists present shared the belief that the calls of Rio Earth Summit 1992 for establishing a sustainable development are legitimate and need to be realized. Based on the insight that economic growth would be the wrong answer to persistent ecological problems, the scientists wanted to act strategically to alter the academic landscape.