On 27 March 2018, around 20 social scientists, all involved in a project of the research program "Plastic in the Environment", funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, met to network and discuss future possibilities to increase the visibility of the social and political dimensions of plastics in the environment. The chair for science and technology policy at the Munich Center for Technology in Society organized the meeting together with Ecologic Institute.

Around 50 scientists from twelve collaborative projects of the research focus on plastics in the environment met for a first exchange on sampling, sample preparation and analysis of microplastics at the Water Technology Center (TZW) in Karlsruhe. The workshop, organized by TZW and the Ecologic Institute, aimed to coordinate and learn from each other the many difficulties in identifying and quantifying microplastics from water or soil samples.

The 2018 European Think Tank Summit brings together key representatives from the think tank landscape in Europe to exchange ideas, discuss best practices and learn from each other's expertise. Ecologic Institute Director, Dr. Camilla Bausch, chaired a break-out session that addressed the complex question of using strategic communication to reach target groups in a time marked by a superabundance of information.

The first meeting of think tanks focusing on EU climate policy explored how European climate action can help to address the multiple crises the EU is facing. Supported by the Mercator Foundation, convened by Mercator Senior Fellow R. Andreas Kraemer and hosted by Ecologic Institute, 20 representatives from policy institutes from 10 countries identified windows of opportunity for policy intervention, and explored ways and means for cooperation and coordination in the EU.

The workshop "Car Sharing in Germany" took place on 8 March 2018, hosted in Berlin by Ecologic Institute. In the first part of the workshop experts addressed the current state of affairs of car sharing in Germany, confirming the dynamic nature of the industry and the difficulties involved in assessing its size and effects. In the second portion of the workshop they focused on future developments as well as the importance of policy for a societal transition away from privately owned vehicles. Ecologic Institute co-organized the workshop as part of the CIRCULAR IMPACTS project and in collaboration with Service Innovation Labs.

At the kick kick-off event for its six thematic working groups, the dialogue forum "Business Mitigates Climate Change" of around 200 leading German companies discussed how they could increase their climate change mitigation efforts and move forward on the way to a low carbon economy. Ecologic Institute organised the conference together with Ernst & Young and Wuppertal Institut.

The BONARES conference "Soil as a Sustainable Resource" took place in Berlin from 26 to 28 February 2018. Ecologic Institute staff attended the conference and presented the interim results of the Soil³ project – Sustainable Subsoil Management. Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, gave a presentation on "Social acceptance of measures to improve the subsoil in German agriculture".

Imagine a ceiling panel offering lighting, efficient cooling and improved acoustics all in one. Or an app that calculates the energy use of single appliances in your home as well as the cost of their power consumption at any given moment. And how about an environmentally-friendly process to insulate buildings using digitalization and robotics? These were among the innovations in the running for the PERPETUUM Energy Efficiency Prize. Dr. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute headed the jury to choose the winner of the competition.

Ecologic Institute has been ranked 7th among Top Environment Policy Think Tanks in the 2017 Global Think Tank Ranking of the University of Pennsylvania. Ecologic Institute is proud to be among the Top Ten for the 8th year in a row. The results and the respective report were released on 30 January 2018, with launch events worldwide in over 100 cities. The Berlin launch was hosted by Ecologic Institute and the European Council on Foreign Relations, with support by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

At a time of turbulence and change in the EU, the Tönissteiner Kreis discussed options for "Building green bridges for Europe" at its annual conference. As part of this broad subject, Dr. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute discussed the energy transition, its prospects and international dimensions with Graeme Maxton (General Secretary of the Club of Rome), Martin Kaiser (Executive Director at Greenpeace Germany) and Dr. Markus Hartwig, a green energy entrepreneur.

In January 2018, the Ecologic Institute hosted a group of students from the University of Maryland for a Seminar on Energy, Climate Change and Options for a Low-Carbon Economy. Berlin was the host city for the first leg of the two-week seminar – followed by a week in Venice, hosted by the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC). In Berlin, Grit Martinez, R. Andreas Kraemer and Benjamin Görlach taught sessions on the basics of climate change and climate policy, on adaptation to climate change, and on the German energy transition. The course was rounded off with an excursion to Lusatia, a coal mining region southeast of Berlin.

The fruits of Yasmine Ostendorf's Writer-in-Residence term at Ecologic Institute were presented at a festive December evening at Zabriskie Bookshop. The publication "Creative Environment – A guide to art and sustainability initiatives in Berlin" was rolled out to a vibrant group of scientists, artists, curators and the general public. The publication is available online and in hard copy.

Shortly before Christmas 2017, decision makers from the Midwest in the USA and Canada took the opportunity to come to Germany and get a feel for the many different facets and recent developments of German energy policy. The group consisted of US representatives from Illinois, Kansas and Wisconsin, as well as Canadian members of the legislative assembly from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. During the tour, participants were able to meet and engage with representatives from federal ministries and agencies, municipalities, the German parliament, think tanks, as well as businesses and embassies.

On 8 December 2017, Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, presented a comparative overview of climate change laws at state level in Germany at a workshop on the further development of the Climate Change Act for Baden-Württemberg. He focused on common features and differences in the existing climate change acts, and highlighted elements of interest for the amendment of the Climate Change Act for Baden-Württemberg.

Donald Trump's announcement that the USA will pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement triggered the German Federal Agency for Civic Education to put American climate policy on stage in its popular series "What's Up America". Dr. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute, Prof. Dr. Ottmar Edenhofer of PIK Potsdam and the New York Times Berlin correspondent Melissa Eddy addressed the reasoning behind this controversial decision and possible consequences.