As part its on-going participation to a framework contract with the European Commission on supporting the implementation of European water policies, Ecologic Institute led an assessment of how Member States' current Rural Development Programmes (2014-2020) address agricultural pressures on water bodies and promote measures that can contribute to protect and restore the water environment, reducing flood and drought risk. The report is available for download.

The Heads of State and Government, the G20 Leaders should understand that "Energy Transformation has many Co-Benefits but Looks Bad in Outdated Economic Statistics". This is the key message of a T20 Policy Brief presented by 15 Experts in 11 Think Tanks in 7 countries ahead of the G20 Summit under the Presidency of Germany in Hamburg in July 2017. T20 or "Think 20" is a network of think tanks in the G20 countries. Ecologic Institute founder R. Andreas Kraemer coordinated the drafting, and Max Gruenig, President of Ecologic Institute US contributed. The Policy Brief is available for download.

Ever tried bycatch curry, or discussed ocean sustainability while sipping seaweed cocktails? Participants of the first Science Sips event got to experience exactly that on 30 March 2017 while sitting across the impressive dinosaur fossils exhibited at the Berlin Museum for Natural History.

<p>The aim of the conference is to present and discuss the results of the stakeholder engagement activities in BioSTEP and its value to the current policy discussions on the bioeconomy and the circular economy. BioSTEP has analysed in three policy workshops the participation processes that are necessary to build and strengthen the new value chains of the bioeconomy. The policy workshops discussed how bioeconomy strategies can be developed in a participatory way, ensuring that the change of economic value chains, necessary for a transition to a bioeconomy, is understood and supported by all stakeholders.</p>&#13;

Brexit, immigration, Euro crisis, economic stagnation in some member states, EU skeptical and nationalist parties on the rise - 60 years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, the European Union is in turbulent times. The frequency and force of the various crises have created the impression that the EU is not in a position to serve the interests of its citizens and solve their problems. This is also reflected in a loss of confidence in the EU and its institutions - which was most clearly expressed in the Brexit referendum. The discussion will be introduced by keynote speeches by Silke Karcher (BMUB), Frederik Moch (DGB) and Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf (Ecologic Institute).

<p>Despite extensive discussions, no agreement has been found regarding a common soil indicator for measuring Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in Germany. Major obstacles include low data availability and the effort needed to measure physical soil conditions regularly. During an expert workshop on 27 March 2017 in Berlin, a new and simpler approach, developed by Ecologic Institute in cooperation with the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), was discussed to determine its suitability for LDN. The core idea of the approach is to measure land use and land use change, directly referring to soil quality in the sense of LDN. The workshop minutes are available for download.</p>&#13;

Transforming the linear economy, which has remained the dominant model since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, into a circular one is by no means an easy task. Such a radical change entails a major transformation of our current production and consumption patterns, which in turn will have a significant impact on the economy, the environment and society. Understanding these impacts is crucial for researchers as well as for policy-makers engaged in designing future policies in the field. This requires developing an in-depth knowledge of the concept of the circular economy, its processes and their expected effects on sectors and value chains.

This T20 Policy Brief shows that international policy and law build on the false assumption that displaced people and refugees can return to their place of origin when conditions improve, conflicts subside or homes are rebuilt. This cannot hold for many of those affected by climate change, and global governance of migration and flight needs to adapt. Ecologic Institute founder R. Andreas Kraemer coordinated the drafting of this T20 Policy Brief, and Katriona McGlade contributed. The Policy Brief is available for download.

Efficient energy policies rely strongly on consistent and comparable data provided by a sound data collection process and robust monitoring and verification (M&V) procedures. The third multEE policy brief presents five concrete policy recommendations to guarantee an efficient data collection process as well as a systematic M&amp;V process of the measures. The policy brief is available for download.

<p>The objective of this project was to provide Members of ENVI Committee of the European Parliament an overview of key issues and stakeholders' positions in preparation to the UN Ocean Conference in June 2017. The brief provides a short overview of the UN 2030 Agenda and specifically, Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (SDG 14). The brief identifies key issues for discussion at the upcoming Ocean Conference and the positions of the main stakeholders. The brief also provides an overview of the role of the EU and its current marine policies, actors and institutions. In a final section, several recommendations based on findings are suggested to guide the participation of ENVI Members at the Ocean Conference. The brief relies on discussions and position papers produced in preparation to the Ocean Conference until March 2017.</p>&#13;

About a quarter of German groundwater exceeds the nitrate limit of the European Union for drinking water. A substantial reduction of inputs can only be achieved through measures in agriculture. The study examines existing drinking water cooperations between farmers and drinking water suppliers in water conservation areas in North Rhine-Westphalia. In doing so, positive approaches should be harnessed for a purposeful policy.

How can European countries better monitor and calculate energy savings and CO2 emission reduction? This short video tutorial, produced by Ecologic Institute presents functionalities and benefits from the use of an innovative Monitoring &amp; Verification Platform (MVP). This IT tool has been designed to provide EU member states with an easy-to-use and cost-effective system to assess the impact of their implemented energy saving measures and plans.

For the project "A Taste of the Future of the Seas", Ecologic Institute designed some fact sheets as well as a project flyer in small postcard format. The flyer promotes the series of project events Science Sips as well as the Theme Day event. The postcard contains various facts about the sustainability of oysters and specific recommendations about sustainable consumption options. The postcard is styled according to the project style-guides and contains important event and contact information.