In its last coalition agreement (2016-2021), the State of Berlin committed itself to the "Zero Waste" model in order to transform its waste management towards a circular economy. Re-using goods takes centre stage in this transformation. In the context of the political goal of strengthening the reuse of used goods, the project aims at supporting and executing re-use measures in Berlin in order to foster structures and actors in Berlin that bring the used goods market out of its niche. The Ecologic Institute supports the project for the Berlin Senate Administration by designing and conducting three virtual expert dialogues in Berlin.

Ecomodulation of fees can play a crucial role in incentivising upstream design changes by reducing the fees for products or packaging designed for circular economy. Products or packaging with circular design (e.g., a minimum percentage of recycled content, high reparability index, reduction in weight of material, shift from low to easily recyclable material(s)) could benefit from reduced fees, while those with design barriers, which are also often exported to developing countries for end-of-life treatment, could incur higher fees. Thus, ecomodulation of fees can play a vital role in prioritizing design for as waste prevention, reusability, reparability and recyclability. Against this background, this project run by Ecologic Institute focuses on the product streams batteries, plastic/packaging, textiles and waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE).

In this project, three sufficiency projects are to be implemented, which the contractors had developed together with UBA employees in the previous project.

Thuringia is one of the first German states to draft its own resource conservation strategy. This requires a solid data basis on the resource flows of the state. In the ThüRess project, Ecologic Institute and the Institute of Economic Structures Research (GWS) are developing this database as well as measures for such a resource conservation strategy.

Textiles, including clothing, are a priority product category for the circular economy and one of the focus sectors of the new Circular Economy Action Plan. The textiles sector is a relevant economic sector in the EU, both in terms of job and value creation as well as regarding environmental and social footprint. Environmental pressures from the sector through the use of resources, water, land and chemicals are significant. The impacts occur in every phase of the life cycle: from production of fibres and products to distribution, the use of clothing, collection, sorting and recycling, and the final management of waste.

In this project, Climact and Ecologic Institute analysed the impact assessment for the new EU climate target proposed by the Commission in September 2020. After examining policy options and modelling results, they were compared with recent studies, in particular with Climact's modelling results for 2030. A policy brief highlights key points where the Commission differs from other studies and identifies climate change potentials that deserve more attention in future analyses.

This research project explores whether strengthening the concept of extended product responsibility in international law has the potential of noticeably improving waste management in the Global South. The concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) aims at taking into account waste management issues during the entire life cycle of a product (cradle-to-grave approach). Its main purpose is to reduce the costs of waste management for local authorities and taxpayers, while at the same time providing incentives for producers to design their products so that they are easier to recycle and dispose of in an environmentally sound manner, generating less waste overall.

Global extraction of primary raw materials has been growing continuously for decades, and absolute decoupling between economic growth and resource consumption, let alone environmental impacts associated with the use of natural resources, has not yet been achieved. Although political attention for the issues of resource efficiency, resource conservation and the circular economy has been high for some years at on the international, European and national level, scientific studies call for more ambitious policy approaches in order to achieve global sustainability goals and respecting planetary boundaries in the long term. It therefore appears necessary to further develop resource policies at international and national level.

The project "Circular City Berlin – from potential towards implementation (CiBER 1)" analyses and promotes innovative approaches to the circular economy in various sectors in Berlin. In view of the expected further growth, urban densification and increased economic prosperity of the metropolitan region Berlin, a long-term sustainable design of urban resource flows is increasingly coming into focus. The current corona situation complements the focus on resilient regional and local economic processes. Local and regional circular value creation is more sustainable, increases the resilience of societies in times of crisis and strengthens social justice and inclusiveness.

A torn plastic bag on the riverbank or a yoghurt cup floating in the water are symptoms of serious interference with the highly complex system of seas, the ocean and flowing waterways. The Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! project focuses on this plastic waste problem and our future handling of it. It aims to familiarise young people with the general topic of the ocean and water cycles in the process. They will learn what it means to work scientifically – and try their hand at it.

The objective of this preparatory study is to provide evidence upon which future policy developments in the field of green transition can be based, in particular for consumer products.

The conviction of an everlasting economic growth is increasingly pushing our planet to its ecological limits. Life within these limits would be possible if sustainable consumption patterns were to become firmly established in our society. The policy of sufficiency can make a beneficial contribution to this. It aims to reshape the political, economic and social framework conditions in such a way that consumers are induced to demand sustainable products and services and voluntarily resign from excessive consumption. Against this background, the Institut für zukunftsfähige Ökonomien (ZOE), the Institut für Partizipatives Gestalten (IPG), Ecologic Institute, and R. Andreas Kraemer develop sufficiency policy project drafts that are closely aligned with the needs and requirements of the respective specialist units at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

A torn plastic bag on the riverbank or a yoghurt cup floating in the water are symptoms of serious interference with the highly complex system of seas, the ocean and flowing waterways. The Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! project focuses on this plastic waste problem and our future handling of it. It aims to familiarise young people with the general topic of the ocean and water cycles in the process. They will learn what it means to work scientifically – and try their hand at it.

Ecologic Institute is providing scientific support to the non-fiction youth book Plastik, Müll und Ich being written by children and youth author Gesine Grotrian. The book is aimed at answering the questions that young people have about plastics. It is published by Heinrich Böll Foundation.