Since 2016, young people have been successfully researching and mapping plastic pollution in and around rivers in Germany. Now the expeditions are going into a new round: In the project "Plastic Pirates – German coast", school classes and youth groups search for plastic waste on the coasts and the river system of the Elbe – including its tributaries such as the Havel, Mulde or Saale.

In order to make informed decisions, consumers need information on the sustainability performance of BBPs that is evidence-based, trustworthy, transparent and clear. The Horizon Europe funded project "3-CO" responds to this need by designing a supportive framework for Labels and Certification Schemes (LCS) for industrial BBPs that are sustainable in terms of resources, processes and materials used.

The project aims to communicate the benefits and challenges of emissions trading and provides information to interested partner countries. The upcoming project phase focuses on intensifying the dissemination of knowledge on emissions trading within the framework of various events. Workshops, informative panels and side events are organized by the consortium in Germany and abroad, for and with foreign governments, government-related institutions and interested stakeholders.

The Ecologic Institute, part of a pan-European consortium, is implementing the "Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters" support platform for the European Climate, Environment and Infrastructure Executive Agency (CINEA) and the European Commission, aiming to protect and restore aquatic ecosystems, prevent pollution, and promote a sustainable blue economy, which includes designing and managing the EU Blue Parks Community support services and contributing to the development of mission indicators.

The project "Climate Adaptation Naturally Nature-based Solutions for Municipalities" aims to communicate the potential of nature-based solutions for climate adaptation in cities and municipalities in a targeted manner and to support cities and municipalities in the implementation of such solutions with the help of practice-oriented applications. The project primarily addresses climate adaptation managers in the municipalities, but also representatives from urban planning and development, green space offices and nature conservation authorities, education and culture, water and wastewater management.

In addition to the protection of still intact peatlands, the restoration and sustainable management of previously drained peatland soils are important contributions for protecting biodiversity and the mitigation of climate change. In order to address these needs in a more targeted manner, the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) published the first National Peatland Protection Strategy in September 2021. Together with DUENE e.V., partner in Greifswald Moor Centrum, Ecologic Institute supports the implementation of the National Peatland Protection Strategy.

The European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO) aims to help ensure the EU achieves climate neutrality by providing scientifically rigorous analysis of economy-wide progress and an independent check on EU climate policy processes. ECNO analyses the data underlying a comprehensive set of progress indicators to present a unique, up-to-date picture of the whole economy, and identify any gaps in data collection, benchmarking, and monitoring that need to be addressed. Ecologic Institute has developed an indicator framework in a previous project that ECNO's methodology is based on.

The aim of the project "Editorial preparation of the update of the strategy for adaptation to climate change in Baden-Württemberg" is the editorial preparation and graphical presentation of the update of the adaptation strategy in Baden-Württemberg.

With the European Green Deal, the EU wants to become climate neutral by 2050. To achieve this, we must decarbonize our energy systems and economies. An important building block is the EU Taxonomy Regulation, which aims to channel money flows into green projects, technologies, and processes. The policy does so by classifying what is environmentally sustainable and what is not, thereby providing transparency for investors. In this project, Ecologic Institute critically accompanies this design process, prepares keynotes and fosters exchange between stakeholders from politics, industry, academia, and civil society.

Ecologic Institute and the University of Geisenheim will analyse the extent to which measures for strengthening biodiversity have been integrated in the application of urban development funding by German municipalities, and what good practice examples exist. Based on this research, municipalities will be informed about measures that are eligible for urban development funding which are effective in conserving or promoting biodiversity.

Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) described the European Green Deal as "Europe's man-on-the-moon moment". With this plan, the European Union aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, protect and enhance nature, and sustainably transform the European economy and society. But what exactly is the European Green Deal? Which role does it play in our everyday life? And what challenges does it pose? In our podcast and webinar series "Green deal – Big Deal?" we take a critical look at these questions and discuss various aspects of the European Green Deal with experts from policy, business and science.

The project "Information and teaching materials for an environmentally conscious use of pharmaceuticals", led by Ecologic Institute, aims to promote an environmentally responsible use of human pharmaceuticals and to anchor the topic of pharmaceuticals and the environment in pharmaceutical and medical teaching. The overriding goal is to reduce the entry of pharmaceuticals into the environment and their effects on animals and plants. To this end, freely available teaching materials are developed for university teaching, for professional trainings and for vocational schools. In addition, customer information materials on the proper disposal of end-of-life medicines are created and disseminated. Finally, all information and materials will be made available on an online information platform at www.umweltbundesamt.de.

Reaching climate neutrality by 2050 in the EU requires strong policy making and monitoring to ensure all areas of the European economy get and remain on track. Over two years (2021-2022) Ecologic Institute completed several related research projects and policy assessments on the functioning and fitness of EU climate policy for a net-zero future. These included a first-of-its-kind assessment of the substance of national long-term strategies (LTS), a scoping paper for an EU Carbon Dioxide Removal strategy, the creation of a Climate Framework Laws Info-Matrix as a new resource to document the substance and status of these legislative instruments across Europe, and a net-zero scorecard as proof of concept for a net-zero monitoring framework developed under a previous project.

Ramboll and Ecologic Institute joined forces to develop and implement a 2-year outreach and engagement campaign, intended to draw new visitors and users to the Climate-ADAPT platform in five selected Eastern and Central European countries (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia). The objective of the outreach and user engagement activities was to make new users aware of the huge potential of the Climate-ADAPT and encourage them to share relevant data and information, turning more users from passive consumers of information into proactive providers of information and contributors to the platform.