A team at Ecologic Institute has produced new best-practice guidelines for co-creating research. The guidelines are based on experiences gathered in the Horizon 2020 project COACCH (Co-designing the Assessment of Climate Change Costs). The authors summarise an in-depth evaluation carried out over the four-year collaborative research process. Based on this evaluation, the Ecologic Institute team highlights lessons learned and proposes step-by-step guidelines for best-practice in co-creation.
The guideline "More sustainability through coupled infrastructures" presents a comprehensive approach on how municipalities can make their infrastructure systems more sustainable through innovative sector coupling. It emphasizes the role of new technical possibilities and the need for a systemic perspective in order to fully exploit the potential of infrastructures and focus on long-term sustainability.
The current issue of the journal KW Korrespondenz Wasserwirtschaft (03/2021) focuses on plastics in the environment. The thematic issue contains articles from the collaborative projects PLASTRAT, RUSEKU, SubμTrack, MikroPlaTaS and PlastikBudget.
In our brochure "Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World", we introduce Ecologic Institute as a transdisciplinary research organization. Readers gain an overview of our capabilities in research, policy analysis, education, communication and stakeholder events. Suitable for clients, partners, funders and the interested public, the brochure describes the many ways that Ecologic Institute brings new insights into environmental policy.
In July 2020, the Federal Environment Agency published the trend report "Meat of the Future", which analyzes the environmental impacts of plant-based meat substitutes, edible insects and in-vitro meat. Ecologic Institute developed policy options on how the market development of meat alternatives can be better aligned with the goal of sustainability.
This brochure provides insights into the contents of the Federal Environment Agency's online information platform "River restoration". The aim of the platform and this brochure is to motivate and support potential actors for increased implementation of river restoration measures. Therefore, basic knowledge on the ecological development of rivers and brooks is provided in a clear and understandable way. It also provides information on practical issues of planning, financing and land provision, but also on flood protection, nature conservation, agriculture and recreation. Restoration project examples further illustrate these topics. The brochure is available for download.
The final results brochure of the REFRESH project provides an overview of the work undertaken within the project including key insights and links to the results that are available online at the REFRESH project website.
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and National Climate Protection Initiative (ed.), 2020: Unternehmensbeiträge zum Klimaschutz. Ergebnisse der Arbeitsgruppen des Dialogforums "Wirtschaft macht Klimaschutz".
Technological developments and trends can contribute significantly to resource conservation. In addition to political framework conditions, social routines, patterns of action and consumption styles are important, as they have a considerable influence on individual and societal resource requirements. The present trend analysis therefore systematically examines how socio-economic and socio-cultural trends can affect the use of resources.
This brochure describes the threats to soils in Europe, how the RECARE project has addressed these and provides clear examples of soil management options and policy solutions. Ecologic Institute's Ana Frelih-Larsen and Sandra Naumann contributed to the RECARE project brochure, which is available for download.
The national and international political agenda shows that resource conservation is a central task for environmental policy: In Germany, Europe and globally, there are political programmes and strategies aimed at fostering sustainable resource use. In five theses, this brochure from the SimRess project shows that an integrative and systemically designed resource policy contributes to achieving the goals of resource protection and climate protection. The study was carried out by Ecologic Institute with Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers and Susanne Langsdorf as co-authors. The brochure is available for download.
Bio-based industries aim to convert biological inputs, residue and wastes into greener everyday products. The industry is small compared to more traditional ones and it is a nascent industry undergoing rapid developments. Developing bio-based products demand technological innovations and market development. The fifteen success stories of specific bio-based products in this brochure, span over nine EU Member States, and they cover a wide range of products and applications. The brochure is available for download.
This brochure includes a set of infographics presenting the top 20 innovative bio-based products in Europe. Through an assessment of the active marketplace, EU-based development, innovation degree and market potential, the top 20 most innovative BBPs holding the greatest promise for commercial deployment within the next 5–10 years were identified. This selection includes engineering materials, new bioplastics, high added-value products for demanding applications in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields as well as sustainable substitutes for critical raw materials. The brochure is available for download.
Green growth brings about multiple social and economic benefits. Together with Ecofys, Ecologic Institute produced a brochure, which highlights examples of green growth that stem from a range of sectors (energy, buildings, transport, agriculture and industry) and are located throughout Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. The brochure presents cutting-edge technologies, forward-thinking entrepreneurs, smart combinations of financing options, and innovative project designs. The brochure is available for download.
This brochure is aimed at veterinarians. It provides information on how veterinary medicines enter the environment, explains their environmental impact and shows how environmental aspects can be taken into account in daily veterinary work. The advisory role of veterinary medicine in relation to preventive health management is of particular importance.