The European Commission regularly tracks the progress towards sustainable development objectives within the EU and the individual Member States, drawing upon sustainable development indicators (SDIs). In a consortium with the Vienna University of Economics and Business, INFRAS and the Haymarket Media Group, Ecologic Institute was drafting these monitoring reports for the years 2013 and 2015 on behalf of Eurostat. Ecologic covered the analysis on Natural Resources, Climate Change and Energy and Global Partnership.

<p>Rendering the use of raw materials more sustainable along their life cycle within Europe requires continuous and open debate between political, economic, societal and academic actors. The COBALT project will help foster such debate by organizing international conferences and specific sectoral dialogues. Furthermore, in order to improve existing skills towards enabling a more sustainable use of raw materials, exemplary teaching courses will be developed addressing businesses and geological surveys.</p>&#13;

The interdisciplinary research project "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) assesses the impacts of environmental crime as well as effective and feasible policy options for combatting it, with a focus on the EU. The project is funded under the 7th Research Framework Programme of the EU (FP7). Ecologic coordinates the work of 11 European universities and think tanks involved in the project.

Since 2008, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety has financed the National Climate Initiative (NKI in German), in order to achieve its national target of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by the year 2050. In order to make optimal use of the funds, it is necessary to include technological innovation and societal processes in funding initiatives. This necessitates new approaches on many levels, involving many stakeholders and aspects of daily life. Researchers from Ecologic Institute, Arepo Consult, Oeko-Institut, and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU) supported the implementation and further development of the National Climate Initiative project.

In this research project for the Federal Environment Agency, Ecologic Institute develops specific proposals for governance of geoengineering at the international level. Based on a comprehensive analysis of regulatory framework and its gaps, the study identifies general options and specific recommended actions for the effective governance of geoengineering. A key consideration is that the recommendations can be implemented in practice.

To make the human impact on the environment more transparent for a non specialist audience, the European Commission develops a composite indicator on environmental pressures. The Ecologic institute supports the development process by drafting a methodological report, which summarizes the methodological choices and their consequences. Additionally papers for the communication of the index are supplied.

In 2010, the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing. The Protocol sets forth rules on access to genetic resources. Among other purposes, research is a main driver of demand for genetic resources. Moreover, the protocol contains an obligation for Parties to ensure that the countries where the genetic resources are found and relevant indigenous communities in these countries are compensated for the use of genetic resources and related knowledge. Ecologic Institute is contributing to a study investigating the options for implementation of the Protocol at the EU level. The study is available for download.