In an Environmental Policy Lecture on Sustainable Consumption and Production – Public Policies for Changing the "European Way of Life", R. Andreas Kraemer presented the international framework and current activities in Europe and Germany. Faculty and students attended this event at Duke University, Durham, NC, on 21 September 2004 and engaged in a lively debate.

The issue of "Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns" has gained a new impetus in international debates as a result of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 2002. The States now face the challenge of fleshing out the "10-year-framework for programmes" by integrating programme content at their respective national levels. Germany currently faces a multitude of approaches and initiatives to promote sustainable production and consumption patterns,  and the challenge now lies in how to consolidate these methods. Ecologic supports the German Federal Environmental Ministry and the Federal Environment Agency in this project.