Rewetting peatlands – but how? This new guide provides an overview of the key steps involved in planning, financing and authorising peatland protection projects in Lower Saxony, as well as the associated measures. Commissioned by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the brochure features contributions from Felix Dengler and Ulf Stein on behalf of the Ecologic Institute.

In 2024, the EU comprehensively revised its Environmental Crime Directive (ECD). This report analyses how the 'ecocide' regulation of the ECD could be transposed into German law.

Nature-based solutions, such as green spaces or river restoration, can make a valuable contribution to municipal climate adaptation. The new topic page 'Nature-based climate adaptation' on the Federal Environment Agency's website highlights different aspects of such approaches and offers municipalities targeted support in their planning and implementation. In addition to information on the legal framework and funding issues, it also contains practical examples and helpful publications. Ecologic Institute designed and implemented the content of the website on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency.

As part of the annual Marine Nature Conservation Colloquium, scientists from the research projects commissioned by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) present their interim results and open questions. On behalf of Ecologic Institute, Dr. Grit Martinez presented initial results from the research project The German North Sea and Baltic Sea over 100 years ago (HISTOMAR). The "Shifting Baseline Syndrome" was the focus of the presentation and the subsequent discussion.

The kick-off conference at the Umweltforum Berlin on 11 and 12 March 2025 marked the start of the new 'Circular Textiles' funding measure from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), in which a total of 16 joint research projects and an accompanying networking and transfer project will be working on solutions to support a circular textile economy until 2028. The aim of the event, which was attended by around 100 people, was to present the individual projects, identify common challenges and derive cross-cutting topics for collaborative work.

The research project “Feasibility Study on the Establishment of an Environmental Information and Classification System for Pharmaceuticals in Germany”, led by Ecologic Institute, developed a concept for an environmental information and classification system for Germany and conducted a feasibility analysis for this concept, evaluating organizational, technical, legal, financial and political feasibility. The project results were presented to a wide range of interested parties at a final presentation held at the beginning of March 2025. Over 110 participants, including representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, health insurance companies, doctors, pharmacists and environmental authorities, took part in the online event.

On 4 March 2025, over 100 stakeholders from administration, agriculture, civil society, NGOs, and academia convened in Hamburg to kick off the participatory process for developing the city's Zukunft Agrar+ 2045 strategy. The aim: to jointly develop a long-term vision for Hamburg's agricultural sector that will inform practical measures and shape the city's transition toward sustainability and climate neutrality.

On 25 February 2025, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, the expert dialogue "Access not Ownership: Opportunities and Challenges of the Sharing Economy" took place. The event was organized by the Ecologic Institute on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection, and the Environment (SenMVKU) and was held in Berlin.

Pharmaceutical substances from creams and gels can enter wastewater when washed off after application. However, this can be reduced by first wiping your hands with a paper towel, disposing of it in the household waste, and only then washing your hands.

This animated video visualizes the different methods of disposal throughout Germany.

The symposium "The future task of a near-natural landscape water balance" of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) was organized by Ecologic Institute and took place on 18 April 2024, in Bonn. This publication summarises the most important contents of the conference as well as the research and implementation needs identified.

This interactive infographic shows what the future could look like in 20 to 30 years - in two scenarios: one with resolute climate protection and another scenario that leaves everything as it is. The intention is to make the consequences of climate change more tangible and to illustrate the urgency of climate protection measures.

On 21 January 2025, the United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN) hosted a panel discussion to discuss the next steps in the global plastics negotiations. The fifth round of negotiations in November 2024 ended without an agreement – a failure? Doris Knoblauch, scientist at Ecologic Institute, took part in the panel discussion and reported on the progress of the negotiations and how things could now proceed from her perspective.

On 21 January 2025, Ecornet experts will meet in Berlin to discuss how a sustainable food transformation can succeed. Register and bring your perspectives into the discussion!

On 15 January 2025, the final event of the project 'Information and teaching materials for the environmentally conscious use of human medicinal products' took place. The event served to present the information and teaching materials developed in the project, as well as to discuss the plan for disseminating these materials.