On 20 September 2019, people around the world were demonstrating for a rapid policy change to protect the climate and for a future worth living. The Ecologic Institute was on the road together with the Ecornet Institutes and the Scientists for Future in Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt am Main.

Consumption levels of meat are high in Germany and increasingly become the subject of controversial public debates around environmental problems, health effects, animal welfare and the climate impact of food and diets. In this context, meat alternatives are discussed as an alternative. At the expert workshop "Meat of the Future" on 17 September in Berlin, it was discussed what role these trends and products (more specifically vegetable substitutes, insects and meat produced in-vitro) can play for sustainable diets which environmental policy options exist for shaping these trends.

On 10 September 2019, the final conference of the project "Mikroplastik im Wasserkreislauf" (Microplastics in the Water Cycle, MaWi for short) took place in Karlsruhe. The project results were presented and discussed at the event. A poster exhibition was also organized as part of the conference. Some of the posters are available on the event website.

There are numerous regulatory approaches for handling plastic products and plastic waste in various areas such as waste and recycling policy, marine protection or chemicals policy. During the workshop, Linda Mederake gave an insight into existing plastic regulations and initiatives at the international, European and national levels to reduce the amount of plastics entering the environment. She critically discussed what stages in the life cycle of plastics are targeted by political solutions and she also highlighted regulatory gaps.

The IPCC published a special report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) in August 2019. The report shows that climate change is increasing pressure on land systems. At the same time, however, land systems also play an important role in climate protection, for example through the preservation of ecosystems, more sustainable agriculture and forestry, more climate-friendly diets and the avoidance of food wastage.

Due to climate change, the Emscher region is expected to face increased challenges from low flows and drought in the coming decades. For affected water bodies, cooperation between different actors is crucial. The workshop discussed problems and solutions for their cooperation.

Hannes Schritt hold a presentation concerning water in Berlin and Virtual Water at the BUNDjugend German-Egyptian Youth Exchange in Berlin. As part of the presentation he explained the water cycle of Berlin: Treated waste water is reused as drinking water to ensure water availability. In addition, Berlin gets drinking water by river bank filtration from Havel, Spree and Dahme. As a result of both, Berlin's drinking water quality depends on good water quality of the effluent of the waste water treatment plants and the rivers crossing the city. After presenting primarily technical aspects Hannes Schritt talked about political conflicts and inititiatives concerning water in Berlin and the concept of Virtual Water. The presentation slides are available for download.

In a broadcast on Bayerische Rundfunk on 30 July 2019, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, expressed his views on the core elements and added value of climate change acts at federal state's level. The broadcast aired on the occasion of the meeting of the Bavarian Climate Cabinet on climate protection in Bavaria. Stephan Sina co-authored a study on climate change acts at federal state's level with Dr. Heidi Stockhaus for WWF Germany, which was mentioned in the broadcast.

How can food systems be transformed to become more sustainable and climate-friendly? This and other questions about rebuilding agriculture and food systems to become future proof are answered by Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute in her interview for ERNÄHRUNGS UMSCHAU. In the interview, she reflects about the role of science and policy consultancy, identifies the opportunities arising from the EAT Lancet report, and identifies policy approaches. The interview can be read free of charge at ERNÄHRUNGS UMSCHAU online.

The widespread use of plastics, the mass consumption of disposable plastic products and the longevity of plastics lead to a waste volume that can hardly be managed anymore. Many people are particularly alarmed by the pollution of the oceans by microplastics and plastic waste. Despite all this, the volume of packaging per capita continues to rise and has doubled over the last twenty years – to 213 kilograms in 2015. The intense public debate has also called for a political response: A European plastics strategy is currently aimed at banning straws and plastic tableware. But can this solve the environmental problem? How serious are the effects of plastic waste and microplastics on the environment? What are the right steps to take to reduce the impact on the environment and the use of plastics?

On 26 June 2019, the NaWiKo workshop "Sustainable management in companies through employee integration in corporate sustainability innovations" took place in the facilities of the KUKA Gmbh in Siegen. The aim of the workshop was to discuss findings from research projects dealing with the relevance of the involvement of employees and users in corporate sustainability innovations with company representatives from the manufacturing industry. The goal of the exchange was to discuss the role and the challenges regarding Open Innovation (meaning the involvement of employees and users) for corporate sustainability innovations in terms of whether and under what conditions research findings can be relevant for and applicable to everyday business life.

In June 2019, the stakeholder workshop "Optimal soil management to ensure yield capacity & acceptance analysis of measures to upgrade the subsoil" of the BMBF-funded BonaRes project "Soil³ – Sustainable Subsoil Management" took place in Moltzow (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). This workshop is part of a series of workshops with the aim to discuss and gather the prevailing opinions on subsoil management measures with the help of an acceptance analysis. Ecologic Institute researchers discussed with farmers and other ecological actors under which conditions they would implement or support these measures.

On 17 June 2019, the NaWiKo workshop "Sustainable management in companies based on the example of bioplastics" took place at the facilities of Bio-Molkerei Söbbeke GmbH, a sustainable creamery, in Gronau near Münster. The aim of the workshop was for company representatives from the packaging and food industry to discuss findings from research projects that dealt with sustainability effects of bioplastics and bio-based materials.

On 17 June 2019 the workshop "Federal and regional governments in dialogue on sustainable food systems. From individual projects to a holistic strategy?" took place at the EUREF Campus in Berlin with 30 participants. The aim of the event was to discuss how strategies could be developed that not only address the topic of sustainable nutrition in a politically comprehensive way, but which are also based on the numerous good individual initiatives and projects at the federal and regional level.

The Ecologic Institute organised in June 2019 the two-day Future Workshop of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) on Floodplains and River Development as Future Tasks for Departmental Research. The BfN introduced the instrument of future workshops in 2015 in order to determine and discuss medium- and long-term research needs in selected topic areas on an annual basis. The main target is the exchange between research institutions, operators and users of research results with the specialist departments of the BfN.