In the framework of the scientific accompanying research (PlastikNet) of the research focus "Plastics in the Environment – Sources • Sinks • Solutions" (Plastik in der Umwelt – Quellen • Senken • Lösungsansätze) Ecologic Institute coordinated 20 joint research projects, which dealt with plastics in the environment funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF).

Natacha Amorsi et. al. 2016: WaterDiss. Analysis and uptake of water research results. In: André Martinuzzi and Michal Sedlacko (eds.): Knowledge Brokerage for Sustainable Development. Innovative Tools for Increasing Research Impact and Evidence-Based Policy-Making. Routledge: London.

The Rostock Energy Alliance (Energiebündnis Rostock) was founded in April 2011 by the City of Rostock and nine other municipal stakeholders from sectors such as public transport, housing and waste and water management. Their united goal is a locally based energy supply fully sourced from renewables. While CO2 emissions should be reduced, quality of life should not. The Alliance meets face-to-face biannually to exchange knowledge and experience, as well as to seek synergies for various constituent activities. The Alliance aims to reduce the annual CO2 emission per person to 2.5t or less by 2030. Compared to 2010, this is equal to a 2% reduction per year. To date (2015), the Energy Alliance supported the city in the creation of an energy transition concept and the current implementation of associated measures, in addition to the foundation of an energy cooperative.

This assessment report gives an overview of the key indicators for the POCACITO (Post-Carbon Cities of Tomorrow) case study of Rostock. This mid-sized city is located in Central Europe on the north-east coast of Germany. Rostock is a regional centre and coastal city. The assessment provides an outline of some of its main challenges and opportunities. The report was used in the POCACITO project for workshops with stakeholders in Rostock on vision building and back-casting to derive a 2050 roadmap as well as a scenario modelling on Rostocks measures for climate change mitigation.

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) as a promising nature-based solution are the focus of a new chapter, written by Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis and Sandra Naumann. The authors utilize a range of case studies and evidence from across Europe to underline the potential of SUDS as a tool to reduce the negative effects of urban flooding and resultant water pollution. The diverse environmental and societal co-benefits are also presented as well as insights on the potential cost-effectiveness of SUDS as compared to grey infrastructure solutions.

Ecologic Institute has developed a web-based monitoring tool within the framework of the National Climate Initiative's Strategic Development Project, which enables grant recipients to create interim and final reports.

'Protecting the natural environment is part of our responsibility for future generations' – this is the environmental policy guiding principle of the coalition agreement of Merkel's third cabinet. Has the Federal Government made environmental protection its guiding principle in the last four years? The answer: there is light and shadow. More light in international environmental policy and more shade at home. There have been some important achievements, but in the last four years none of the negative environmental trends have been stopped or even reversed. All in all far too little – as Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf finds in this opinion paper.

In this chapter the authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Josselin Rouillard, examine how the Water-Energy-Food nexus is emerging at different scales and national contexts worldwide. The chapter presents empirical evidence of innovations in terms of policy instruments. Normative suggestions for theorizing future nexus governance are also presented.

Using natural resources sustainably in the long term requires applying and scaling-up resource efficient technologies and infrastructures as well as changing behaviour and social practices. Technologies and infrastructure can only then unfold resource savings potential, when accepted and used across society. In this context, socio-economic and socio-cultural developments will affect both the availability and the use of technological and social innovations.

<p>In the frame of this project a short study on the policy instrument of specific CO2-emission targets for car manufacturers in the EU is carried out which analyses and evaluates the policy instrument. The foci of the research are two questions: How did the instrument perform regarding the reductions of specific CO2-emissions of passenger cars? And how much can it contribute to reduce overall CO2-emissions of passenger transport in the EU, so as to contribute to reaching the target of the Paris agreement to stay below a warming of 2&deg;C?</p>

In order to support businesses in improving their resource efficiency, EU Member States use a variety of policy measures. This infographic illustrates the scope of application of ten selected policy measures taken by 28 EU countries. It shows the major differences in the extent of implementation between the Member States, as well as between the individual measures. The infographic was created for the final report of the project "A Framework for Member States to Support Business in Improving its Resource Efficiency".

The chapter "Why are Green Fiscal Policies such a Small Part of Green Economic Policies? Evidence from three European Countries" of the book 'The Green Market Transition - Carbon Taxes, Energy Subsidies and Smart Instrument Mixes' presents and compares the green tax systems in place in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. One of the chapters authors, Ecologic Institute's Marius Hasenheit, describes the evolution of green taxes in Germany.

<p>More than 450 decision-makers discussed the urgent matters of our time during the "World Food Convention 2017", where the Ecologic Institute was a partner. Stephanie Wunder, Ecologic Institute's Senior Fellow joined the World Food Convention's panel on "Human Eating Behaviour" in June 2017. In her statement she pointed out that eating behavior can be changed and diets can be healthier and more environmentally friendly at the same time. However, as she underlined, we should not trust that the informed consumer will simply change the system, and that we need to make it easier for people to live healthier: provide access to good foods, get the prices right and reconnect people to the food system.</p>&#13;

This article describes the functionality of the Adaptive Marine Policy (AMP) toolbox, which was developed in order to operationalize the design and implementation of adaptive policies on the basis of the Ecosystem-Based Approach (EBA). It aims at providing policy makers with a practical framework to design and implement adaptive policies. The authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Benjamin Boteler and Ina Krüger, summarize the results of the application of the toolbox to the marine litter issue in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. The article is available for download.

In the wake of the German elections in 2017, the lead candidate of the Green Party, Cem Özdemir, presented his foreign policy concept. Dr. Camilla Bausch of Ecologic Institute and Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff of the German Marshall Fund were invited to comment on his approach, which he framed as "value-based realism".