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.

On 27 February 2015, experts from Germany and the United States joined in Washington, D.C. at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to discuss their work as it related to the conference theme, The Geopolitics of Energy. This conference was sponsored by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University with participation by Ecologic Institute Berlin.

This report shows the results from the implementation of the MCA in eight RISC-KIT cases that highlights several key lessons for future DRR projects with regards to a) the importance of sufficient preparation for participatory sessions; b) stakeholder interaction and inclusion in the DRR projects; c) the way research results are presented to non-research communities; d) and the challenges of implementing single-approaches to diverse contexts.

Prevailing resource use patterns of the global socio-industrial metabolism are unsustainable. For effective resource policies, drivers for such unsustainable resource use and their effects need to be better understood and mapped. In the context of the FP7 research project DYNAMIX, Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers and co-authors identified by means of meta-analysis a set of ten driver categories that affect unsustainable resource use.

Milesecure 2050 Analysis of Concrete Anticipatory Experiences on Energy Transition at the Local Level. February 2015. Milesecure 2050 Policy Brief. Turin: Politecnico di Torino.

Kemper, Melanie and Mascha Schacht 2015: Konzept Online-Informationsangebot "Umweltverträglicher Pflanzenschutz" – www.uba.de/pflanzenschutz-im-garten-startseite, Berlin, February 2015, unpublished.

The new Director of Ecologic Institute, Dr. Camilla Bausch, spoke with Axel Weiß from the Südwestrundfunk (SWR) about her new position at the Institute. During the interview, Dr. Camilla Bausch talked about the Institute's work and achievements, its 20th anniversary taking place this year, and the Institute's formula for success in cooperation and competition with other environmental think tanks. As a climate and energy expert, she also highlighted opportunities and challenges on the road to the UN climate conference in Paris at the end of 2015.

On 2 March 2015, Eurostat published its most recent Flagship Publication Smarter, greener, more inclusive?. The report, commissioned by Eurostat, assesses the EU's progress in implementing the Europe 2020 strategy. Commissioned by Eurostat, Andreas Prahl, Katharina Umpfenbach and Eike Velten of Ecologic Institute edited the chapter on climate change and energy. It discusses progress towards the so-called 20-20-20 targets which aim at cutting EU greenhouse gas emissions, increasing renewable energy supply, and improving energy efficiency.

Ecologic Institute would like to congratulate some of our important partners who are also celebrating their anniversaries in 2015.

This assessment report gives an overview of the key indicators for the POCACITO (Post-Carbon Cities of Tomorrow) case study of Rostock. This mid-sized city is located in Central Europe on the north-east coast of Germany. Rostock is a regional centre and coastal city. The assessment provides an outline of some of its main challenges and opportunities. The report was used in the POCACITO project for workshops with stakeholders in Rostock on vision building and back-casting to derive a 2050 roadmap as well as a scenario modelling on Rostocks measures for climate change mitigation.

Kaphengst, Timo and Christiane Gerstetter (2015). Addressing Multiple Values of Biodiversity in Development Cooperation - Policy Brief January 2015. Berlin: Ecologic Institute.

The European Commission and the Council call for increased regional cooperation between Member States. In addition to strengthening the internal market, this cooperation is meant to facilitate the implementation of the EU 2030 energy efficiency and renewable targets. In this policy paper, Ecologic Institute's Katharina Umpfenbach, Andreas Graf and Camilla Bausch take a closer look at the existing landscape of regional institutions in the European electricity sector to explore their potential contribution to an effective future governance framework. The policy paper is available for download.

Despite many efforts and policy initiatives to strengthen sustainability in business and society the efforts taken so far do not seem to be sufficient to address current sustainability challenges and environmental degradation. However, there are numerous local initiatives, companies and social innovators that have successfully established sustainable practices. They often operate in a niche but provide innovative ideas and alternatives that have the potential to improve sustainability at a greater scale.