The European CIRCASA stakeholder workshop took place in Brussels on 5 December 2018. This workshop was part of a series of workshops that took place in eight regions across the world. The workshop gathered 30 participants from across Europe, including representatives from the agricultural and food industry, farmers, regional and national policy-makers, non-governmental organisations and the European Commission. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the most promising management options for maintaining and enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) in Europe; barriers to and solutions for their implementation; as well as to identify the key knowledge and research needs for farmers and other stakeholders for bringing forward SOC management in Europe. On 16 January 2019, these results were reflected on with the CIRCASA Stakeholder Advisory Board. The outcomes of the stakeholder consultation will feed directly into the development of an international strategic research agenda on soil organic carbon.

Marine plastic pollution is a fast growing problem and it is not yet possible to estimate how severe the impacts currently are. Between 4.8 and 12.7 Mt of plastics ends up in the ocean each year, adding to the uncontrolled plastic waste already floating around the world’s seas. Despite many good initiatives and action plans, the world is about to lose the overall battle. There is an urgent need to vibrantly address the plastic pollution crisis of the oceans on a global level. This report by adelphi and Ecologic Institute provides suggestions in this regard. The report is available for download.

Marine science is often still understood narrowly as a specialization of the natural sciences, to the exclusion of social sciences and humanities. Yet contributions from social sciences and humanities in marine research are necessary to explain what happens in the ocean and on the coasts. In order to help broaden perspectives on marine research, Ecologic Institute hosted a Strategy Group meeting to take stock of social sciences and humanities in marine research, and explore research needs, theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches.

Senator Bernie Sanders invited some of the most prominent voices in America to the US Congress to discuss how to handle the increasing threat of climate change. Dr. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute reflected on global trends in the field of energy, climate policy, and business.

For the Federal Environment Agency of Germany a consortium of Consideo, adelphi, Ecologic Institute, FEST and sociodimensions developed a quantitative simulation model to run scenarios on the potentials for a transition of society towards sustainability. The model explores the effects of a transition on the environment, climate change, use of resources, the economy, welfare, and happiness. The publication is available online.

This deliverable explores four key social and economic facets of NBS in the context of urban regeneration, namely: human health and well-being; sustainable economic prosperity; social cohesion and environmental justice; and citizen safety. It defines each concept and proposes indicators for measuring their impact in order to create a shared understanding and common approach within the CLEVER Cities project. Purely environmental aspects and indicators are beyond the scope of this document and are explored elsewhere in the project.

Robust strategies for sustainable resource management depend on a solid understanding of the physical economy – the anthropogenic stocks and flows of matter and energy. MinFuture provides a framework for the description and monitoring of the physical economy using Material Flow Analysis (MFA). It distinguishes and visualises seven components, which are organised in a hierarchical structure (pyramid). This factsheet presents the framework and summarizes the project results.

This webinar presented findings from two projects on strategies to reach ambitiously low-emission levels in European industry. It looked at technological solutions, but also at strategies such as the reduction of demand and the increase rates of recycling. A recording of the webinar as well as the presentations are available online.

At the November 2018 food conference of the Austrian council presidency Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, discussed the role of urban food policies to support healthy lifestyles. She discussed the opportunities of local food initiatives with regard to health, food security and sustainability. Many local initiatives have in common that they try to tackle food production and consumption in a more integrated way by reconnecting people to their food production, stimulating healthy eating behaviours and supporting environmentally sound regional production. The session discussed how to overcome barriers and how to benefit from inter-sectorial collaboration throughout the process of planning and implementing coherent policies.

Public campaigns and other policy instruments can significantly influence consumer behavior and contribute to a reduction of consumer food waste. The REFRESH Policy Workshop "Public campaigns and other policy options for behaviour change" discussed the findings of REFRESH work on consumer behaviour and policy recommendations with regard to reducing consumer food waste. Based on a detailed report and policy brief developed by the Ecologic Institute, the workshop provided ideas and inspirations for EU and national policy makers in designing appropriate interventions against consumer food waste. The workshop took place on 19 November 2018 in the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Berlin. The background report, policy brief, workshop minutes, agenda and presentation are available for download.

As the institution in charge of the German government sponsored initiative "Scientific Coordination of the Support Measure for Sustainable Management" (NaWiKo), Ecologic Institute was involved with several of its working papers. These are available for download and summarise the results of various NaWiKo research projects on specific individual aspects of a sustainable economy, including policy recommendations for promoting sustainable food systems in Germany. The working papers are available for download.

Triggered by Brexit, the EU began a process of reflection, soul-searching and possibly reform – the so-called "Bratislava process" or the "process on the Future of Europe". EU institutions, Member States and civil society have made a number of contributions to this process. This paper of the Ecologic Institute discusses how the EU reform process can help improve EU climate and energy policies.

Dr. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute spoke on the evolving role of cities in the context of the UN climate regime at a seminar organised by the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) in Spain. This seminar on "The place and role of cities in global governance" brought together representatives of leading international think tanks that study cities. In her presentation on "The Evolving Role of Cities as Non-state Actors in the International Climate Regime", Dr. Bausch outlined the evolution of the role of cities and city networks in the international climate regime over the last three decades.

Triggered by Brexit, the EU began a process of reflection, soul-searching and possibly reform – the so-called "Bratislava process" or the "process on the Future of Europe". EU institutions, Member States and civil society have made a number of contributions to this process. This paper of the Ecologic Institute discusses how EU climate and energy policies can support the EU reform process.

At the 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference, Ecologic Institute's Hugh McDonald and Sandra Naumann presented and discussed Ecologic work on nature-based solutions and managing aquatic biodiversity. The UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 14) took place from 13 to 29 November 2018 in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt). Approximately 3,800 representatives from government, NGOs, indigenous groups, academia, business and civil society came together to discuss the theme "Investing in biodiversity for people and planet".