EUROSTAT has issued its 2017 edition on Sustainable Development in the European Union. The report provides an updated snapshot of the current situation concerning a selected number of indicators related to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Over the past five years, the EU has made significant progress towards five goals and moderate progress towards eight SDGs. Ecologic Institute's authors covered the chapters on SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The publication is available for download.

McFarland, Keighley and Julia M. Wittmayer 2017: Hitting a policy wall. The transformative potential and limitations of community pick-up point schemes. In: Backhaus, Julia et. al. (eds.): Social Innovation and Sustainable Consumption. Research and Action for Societal Transformation. Routledge: London.

This report addresses the design and the implementation of two financial instruments which can help increase the financial resources available for water resources management: "water charges" and "payments for ecosystem services". Both instruments involve a greater participation of water users or beneficiaries in covering the costs associated with the provision of the water resources management service. The report is available for download in English and Spanish.

This side event presents analysis on both long-term climate policy scenario development as well as the respective governance frameworks and discuss it with practitioners involved. Furthermore, case studies from around the world are showcased.

Ecologic Institute has recently launched an online collaboration facility that helps climate innovators bring new solutions to market: the BRIGAID Market Analysis Framework (MAF+). By helping to identify actual market needs for solutions against droughts, floods and extreme weather events, MAF+ improves innovators' capacities to recognize business opportunities in the field of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. This work is carried out within the BRIGAID project, funded under the Horizon 2020 programme of the EU.

Food Waste policy is affected by a large range of EU policies. EU food waste policy though lacks an integrated approach. Participants see opportunities to go beyond sectoral solutions through an integrated EU Food Policy. Workshop documentation is available for download.

13 case studies from different parts of the world are presented in this report as examples for policy-makers and stakeholders interested in developing long-term climate policy frameworks that are compatible with the Paris Agreement.

The MinFuture website provides an overview of the project objectives, structure and partners as well as events and news related to relevant issues of the project. Furthermore, project outputs such as deliverables, policy briefs and publications are regularly promoted on the website. Ecologic Institute is responsible for the concept, design and programming.

George Mason University's "German Campus Weeks" program, sponsored by the German embassy, featured a presentation on climate and energy policy by Ecologic Institute's Elizabeth Zelljadt. She explained Germany's energy transition (Energiewende) and the country's role in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to about 40 undergraduates.

This report has been prepared as part of work-package 5 of the FIThydro project on Fishfriendly Innovative Technologies for Hydropower. It aims at investigating the regulatory landscape influencing actions relevant to environmental improvements in the context of planning and operating hydropower plants. Emphasis is given to the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive, nature protection policies and policies on renewable energy and climate change adaptation, thereby outlining opportunities, barriers and challenges in reaching multiple environmental objectives. The report is available for download.

Successful innovations require more than a great idea and technical expertise – they need a market. The BRIGAID Market Analysis Framework (MAF+) aims to support innovators to identify market opportunities, tune their innovations to meet actual market needs, and develop their business strategy. This document proposes how an innovator, a supporting partner, and an observer (i.e. the intended users of the MAF+) will interact with the online portal. The aim is to clearly lay out the path these users will follow and define the required software functionality at each step of the assessment. The document served as a blueprint to guide the web development of the MAF+ online portal. Detailed explanations of the 12 exercises are included in the annex, which compiles the draft templates used to inform the development of the portal. The report is available for download.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly recognised for their potential to contribute to a range of urban challenges and policy objectives. But, to what extent do current policy frameworks support or hinder their implementation? At the international conference on "Nature-based solutions: From Innovation to Common-Use", Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis addressed this question in a session on 'Blue-green infrasturcture in smart cities'. Held in Tallinn (Estonia) from the 24 to 26 October 2017, the flagship conference was part of the Presidency of the Estonian Republic of the Council of the European Union.

The World Resources Forum 2017 entitled "Accelerating the Resource Revolution" was held in Geneva from 24 to 25 October 2017. Ecologic Institute's Mandy Hinzmann presented the TRAFIS project with a lecture on "Transforming infrastructures towards sustainability - lessons learnt from ICT-based peer-to-peer carsharing service Drivy in Germany". The presentation slides are available for download.

The World Resources Forum 2017 entitled "Accelerating the Resource Revolution" was held in Geneva from 24 to 25 October 2017. Ecologic Institute's Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers reflected on the conception and evaluation of policy mixes for resource conservation based on the experiences of the SimRess project. The presentation slides are available for download.

Bieling C., Gerdes H., Ohnesorge B., Plieninger T., Schaich H., Schleyer C., Trommler K., Wolff F. 2018: Developing landscape scenarios and identifying local management options: outcomes and evaluation of a participatory approach in the Swabian Alb, Germany. In: Padmanabhan M. (ed.): Transdisciplinary Research and Sustainability - Collaboration, Innovation and Transformation. Routledge, London: 134-150.