Ecornet is a German network of independent research institutes with a focus on the environment and sustainability. The goal of this unprecedented research project "Wissen. Wandel. Berlin" was to strengthen Berlin's pioneering role in the development of innovative approaches to ensuring a liveable, climate-neutral and sustainable city. The Ecornet Berlin website was developed, implemented and designed by Ecologic Institute. It served the public communication of the project's goals, events and results.

Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! is a joint citizen science campaign by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in collaboration with the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. The campaign is taking place in all three countries from 2020 to 2021 as part of the trio presidency of the EU Council. The goals of the campaign are to strengthen scientific collaboration in Europe, promote the level of dedication among citizen scientists and to raise awareness and consciousness for the environment. Ecologic Institute develops and programs the website in four languages. In addition to general information and instructions on the action, the website also offers an ordering system for the action materials of the participating countries.

In the project "Knowledge. Transformation. Berlin.", the Ecornet Berlin research network pursued the goal of expanding Berlin's pioneering role in innovative approaches for a liveable, climate-neutral and resource-efficient city. Therefore, the research network focused on the existing strengths and diversity of Berlin, but also on the existing ecological and social challenges. The goal was to expand Berlin's pioneering role in the development of innovative approaches in an innovatively way. To this end, the associated institutes worked on several projects in the thematic fields of social climate transformation, sustainable economies and digitalization.

This project as part of the National Food Waste Reduction Strategy aims to reduce food waste in private households. A core area of the project is the identification of promising approaches and interventions. These will be implemented in cooperation with practitioners and evaluated for their effectiveness using a standardized method developed within the project.

The project "Circular City Berlin – from potential towards implementation (CiBER 1)" analysed and promoted innovative approaches to the circular economy in various sectors in Berlin. In view of the expected further growth, urban densification and increased economic prosperity of the metropolitan region of Berlin, a long-term sustainable design of urban resource flows is increasingly coming into focus. The corona situation complemented the focus on resilient regional and local economic processes. Local and regional circular value creation is more sustainable, increases the resilience of societies in times of crisis and strengthens social justice and inclusiveness.

This project seeks to bring available knowledge together on the future of the EU agricultural production, including on possible sustainability gaps in the form of food, water and energy security, land take and GHG emissions that need to be closed by 2050. The results contribute to a better understanding on how the agricultural sector can contribute to climate-change mitigation and biodiversity conservation, taking into account the growth potential of the bioeconomy and its impact on the environment.

A torn plastic bag on the riverbank or a yoghurt cup floating in the water are symptoms of serious interference with the highly complex system of seas, the ocean and flowing waterways. The Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! project focuses on this plastic waste problem and our future handling of it. It aims to familiarise young people with the general topic of the ocean and water cycles in the process. They will learn what it means to work scientifically – and try their hand at it.

The aim of the project is to evaluate the agricultural extension services in Schleswig-Holstein with regard to their impact on the protected goods water, climate, soil and biodiversity. In addition, new advisory measures, incentive and control instruments are to be developed on the basis of the analysis and evaluation results.

Piria, Raffaele; Magdalena Magosch and Jakob Eckardt 2020: Offshore Wind Deployment in Germany. Facts and Policy Lessons. Berlin: adelphi.

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.

Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf comments on the EU corona aid package in Tagesspiegel Background. He calls for the EU Parliament to have a greater say in the matter and criticises that the aid programme is not sufficiently linked to the goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

The FIThydro Policy Brief presents summaries of selected key outputs from the H2020 FIThydro project, which are relevant for policy makers, managers and operators involved in the commissioning and operation of hydropower plants.

Creating Green Cities is a podcast on urban-nature based solutions, explained through stories of inspiring innovators from across Europe who have used their passion and creativity to make cities greener. We talk to guests from Barcelona, Budapest, Malmö and Utrecht to find out why green roofs are so cool, what happens when you start talking to hundreds of people about trees, and why it is more difficult to run a community garden than to start one.

Green roofs make buildings cool. Literally. As cities deal with the impacts of climate change, green roofs can offer solutions and help with rainwater management, insulation and cooling, amongst other benefits. No matter the weather, installing a green roof also benefits biodiversity and can transform inaccessible, unused areas into inspiring communal green spaces in the middle of densely built urban centres.