Bioeconomy | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

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Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Producing Bio-Ethanol from Residues and Wastes

A technology with enormous potential in need of further research and development

Waste-based bio-ethanol has the potential to both fight climate change and reduce land competition. However, in order to unlock its potential, support for research and development, as well as an enabling political framework, are needed. In this policy brief, Ecologic Institute's Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers and Jorrit Gosens explain the technology's need of further research and development. The policy brief is available for download.Read more

Publication

Resource-Efficient Land Use – Towards a Global Sustainable Land Use Standard (GLOBALANDS)

The German Federal Agency of Environment (UBA) published a synthesis report in October 2015. The report summarises major findings of the research and discussions undertaken in the project "Global Land Use and Sustainability (GLOBALANDS)", in which the Ecologic Institute played a major role. The synthesis report describes future pathways towards global sustainable land use and presents recommendations for German policy. The report ends with remaining questions, which need further investigation and discussion. It is available for download.Read more

Project

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Soil

Sustainable Subsoil Management as Part of the Bioeconomy (Soil³)

October 2015 to September 2018

October 2018 to September 2021

Fertile soils are an indispensable resource for agriculture and the Bioeconomy as a whole. Subsoils contain a major part of the nutrients essential for plants, a resource potential that has thus far not yet been fully understood nor used. In order to harness this untapped potential, the Soil³ project examines the subsoil processes and application of alternative subsoil management measures. The Ecologic Institute will conduct research on the costs, benefits and social acceptance of these measures.Read more

Publication

International Governance Screening of Global Urban Policies and their Impacts on Sustainable Land Use

Discussion Paper prepared by GLOBALANDS Project

Wunder, Stephanie and Franziska Wolff 2015: International Governance Screening of Global Urban Policies and their Impacts on Sustainable Land Use. Discussion Paper prepared by GLOBALANDS Project. Öko-Institut, Ecologic Institute, Berlin.Read more

Project

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Sustainability

Promoting Stakeholder Engagement and Public Awareness for a Participative Governance of the European Bioeconomy (BioSTEP)

March 2015 to February 2018

The bioeconomy holds potential solutions to important challenges of the future. The social, economic and environmental impacts associated with its products and processes, however, will require extensive dialogue processes on the future development of the bioeconomy. Coordinated by Ecologic Institute, the BioSTEP project aims at promoting stakeholder engagement and public awareness for a participative governance of the European bioeconomy.Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Soil

Bioökonomie und Landkonflikte

Genug Land für alle(s)?

In times of conflicting environmental objectives, the bioeconomy has evolved as one of the most contested fields in resource and climate policies. This article by Timo Kaphengst and Stephanie Wunder stresses the overall scarcity of land as a significant obstacle for further expansion of biomass production for the bioeconomy. The authors argue for a more demand-driven strategy to alleviate stress on land ecosystems. The article is available for download.Read more

Publication

Towards a Definition of Global Sustainable Land Use?

A discussion on theory, concepts and implications for governance

In this discussion paper Timo Kaphengst from Ecologic Institute approaches the question of how sustainable land use can be defined at a global scale. The paper thereby contributes to the concept of sustainable land use governance currently developed in the GLOBALANDS project. The discussion paper is available for download.Read more

Event

GLOBALANDS: Global Land Use Governance - First International Workshop

TimeLoc

27 May 2013

Berlin

Germany

The GLOBALANDS project has taken major steps forward. On 27 May 2013, the first international expert workshop took place at the Ecologic Institute in Berlin. With inputs from high-level experts from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Commission, the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) and others, the participants discussed the status and perspectives of sustainable land...Read more

Presentation

Speech

Bioeconomy

Sustainability

Biofuels at a Dead End or Part of the German "Energiewende"? Policy, Actors and Discourses from a European Perspective.

TimeLoc

19 April 2013

Berlin

Germany

Timo Kaphengst

"Fair Fuels" is a socio-ecological research project (SÖF), which over the past four years has addressed the question of whether biofuels can be produced and used in a socioecologically compatible manner. The project also looked at the socioecological impacts that derive from present production and promotion. At its final conference on 19 April 2013 in Berlin, Timo Kaphengst gave a presentation on the European biofuels policy and the discourse about the criteria for sustainable biofuel production. The presentation is available for download.

The main topic of the final conference wasRead more

Presentation

Energy Efficiency of Buildings

TimeLoc

2 August 2012

Washington

United States

Dominic Marcellino

On August 2, 2012, Dominic Marcellino, Fellow at Ecologic Institute DC, spoke at the "Net-Zero House Symposium", where he presented research results regarding the energy efficiency of buildings. The Net-Zero House Symposium in DC was a half-day discussion event on the building and promotion of net-zero and highly energy efficient buildings.

In total, three speakers presented the current research work of their respective organizations in building energy efficiency. Dominic Marcellino focusedRead more