Policy Brief | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

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Publication

Remediating Historical Soil Contamination

Effective Measures and Policy Solutions

The problem of historical contamination remains an important gap in European policymaking on soils. Political commitment is required to address the issue of historical contamination systematically by providing a common EU framework to guide and facilitate activities at the national level, where in turn establishing and implementing national strategies for managing soil contamination is important. Finally, improving knowledge, sharing, and availability of existing information, and engaging stakeholders in the process of remediating soil contamination is recommended by the authors, lead by Ana Frelih-Larsen and Sophie Ittner of Ecologic Institute. The RECARE policy brief is available for download.Read more

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Subsoil Compaction – A threat to sustainable food production and soil ecosystem services

The persistent damaging impacts of subsoil compaction call for policy intervention in order to secure yields and adapt to climate change, as well as to sustain soil ecosystem services for future generations. The authors of this RECARE Policy Brief, including Ana Frelih-Larsen of Ecologic Institute, demand that policy responses need to address the underlying drivers of farmers' decision-making concerning field traffic through a systematic and coordinated approach for sustainable soil management in Europe. The RECARE policy brief is available for download.Read more

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Soil Sealing and Land Take

Despite the extensive loss of productive soils and the valuable ecosystem services that soils provide, the awareness of the magnitude and negative implications of these processes remain relatively low. In this RECARE policy brief, Ecologic Institute's Sandra Naumann and Ana Frelih-Larsen together with Gundula Prokop from the Austrian Environment Agency illustrate the scale of the problem and identify ready-made solutions and steps policy makers and practitioners can take across different levels, from city planning to national and European level. The RECARE policy brief is available for download.Read more

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Policies for Sustainable Shipping in the Baltic Sea – SHEBA Policy Brief

A ranking of 20 policy options

Shipping is vital for trade in the global economy and in particular for countries whose economies are closely tied to trading, like those surrounding the Baltic Sea. However, compared to other sectors, shipping is also a significant driver of environmental pressures, such as the spread of alien species or other physical influences. Underwater noise and emissions of nitrogen oxide and fine dust are additional significant pressures from shipping compared to other land and sea-based activities. Shipping is also a source of greenhouse gases (GHG). Ecologic Institute's policy brief presents an assessment of 20 policies with the potential to tackle the pressures from shipping. The policy brief is available for download.Read more

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Marine Strategy Framework Directive

AQUACROSS Policy Review

Krüger, Ina et al., (2016): Marine Strategy Framework Directive, AQUACROSS Policy Review, European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation grant agreement No. 642317.Read more

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Co-creation in Sustainability Science

Challenges and potential ways forward in implementing co-creation in European research and innovation funding

This policy brief explores and explains the concept and rational of co-creation, both as a general concept as well as in the specific context of sustainability science. Furthermore, it takes a detailed look at its use and potential in the framework of European research & innovation funding. On this basis, it identifies a number of lessons learned with regard to the application of the concept and puts forward concrete policy recommendations. The RECREATE policy brief, written by Ecologic Institute's Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers, is available for download.Read more

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The Business Benefits of Engaging with the Sustainable Development Goals

Aquacross Business Brief

This brief aims to highlight the benefits to business of engaging with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how the EU Horizon 2020 project Knowledge, Assessment, and Management for Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Across EU Policies (AQUACROSS) can assist with the SDGs focused on managing aquatic ecosystems. The business brief is available for download.Read more

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Stepping up Waste Prevention

Challenges and Opportunities for National Waste Prevention Programmes

Ecologic Institute co-authored the RECREATE policy brief no. 7 on challenges and opportunities for national waste prevention programs. The authors state that the political framework needs to be more enabling and with further support for research and development targeted at measuring waste prevention and behavior change to unlock the potential of waste prevention. The RECREATE policy brief is available for download.Read more

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Policy Brief

Marine Policy

The UN Ocean Conference – June 2017

Guidance to the ENVI Committee of the European Parliament

Ecologic Institute published a briefing for the ENVI Committee of the European Parliament to guide their participation in the upcoming UN Ocean Conference to be held June 2017 in New York City. The brief provides a short overview of the UN 2030 Agenda and specifically, Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (SDG 14). The brief identifies key issues and the position of main stakeholders. In a final section, several recommendations to guide EU participation are provided. The briefing is available for download.

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SWITCH-ON Opening Europe to the World to Achieve Sustainability

This policy brief illustrates how SWITCH-ON supports globally-connected science, digital innovation, and the use of open data to help citizens, governments, and businesses in Europe and across the globe move towards a sustainable future. It shows how the 14 SWITCH-ON products are closely aligned to the SDGs by addressing several EU environmental policy objectives. The SWITCH-ON Policy Brief No.4 is available for download.