Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Water

Regulation: Solutions at the Wrong End.

Plastic Atlas 2019: Facts and figures about the world of synthetic polymers

There are numerous regulatory approaches at the international, regional and national level regarding the handling of plastic products and plastic waste. What they all have in common is their limited effectiveness. Linda Mederake, Stephan Gürtler and Doris Knoblauch argue that this is partly due to the fact that at the international level a large number of binding agreements and voluntary initiatives have developed independently of one another and are therefore not coordinated in terms of content. The Plastics Atlas 2019 is available online.Read more

Publication

Infographic

Website

Nachhaltige Ideen für den Alltag

What can consumers, citizens, companies and local decision-makers do to make our economies more sustainable? 30 research projects were funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) to research this and other aspects of a transition to a more sustainable economy. Practical ideas from these projects on how to act more sustainably are now available through an interactive website, produced by Ecologic Institute.Read more

Publication

Document

Coastal + Marine

Kurzkonzept für den Relaunch der Internetplattform Meeresmüll

Kemper, Melanie, Christian Bruhn 2019: Kurzkonzept für den Relaunch der Internetplattform Meeresmüll – www.muell-im-meer.de. Berlin, unpublished.Read more

Event

Workshop

Cities

Consumer Policy

Re-Use Berlin – New Perspectives for Used Goods

TimeLoc

21 October 2019

Berlin

Germany

On 21 October 2019, the event "Re-Use Berlin – neue Perspektiven für Gebrauchtwaren" (new perspectives for used goods) took place from 6 to 9 PM in Berlin's Urania. Ambassadors of reusing from Berlin presented their "stories" and visions, while business, administration and civil society representatives discussed existing approaches and sustainable ideas. 100 people participated in the event.Read more

Publication

Shaping EU Plastic Policies

The Role of Public Health vs. Environmental Arguments

This article by Ecologic Institute's Linda Mederake and Doris Knoblauch uses a structuring qualitative content analysis to investigate the parliamentary debates of two recently adopted plastic policies in the EU – namely the EU Plastics Strategy and the Single-Use Plastics Directive – and assess the relevance of public health and environmental arguments for the EU debate.Read more

Presentation

Speech

Health

Water

Micropollutants and Plastic in the Environment

TimeLoc

10 October 2019

Berlin

Germany

Dr. Ulf Stein

On 10 and 11 October 2019, experts from the Korean Environmental Ministry, Korean Environmental Industry & Technology Institute, Korean Institute of Analytical Science and Technology and the University of Seoul visited the Umweltbundesamt (UBA) and the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung (BAM) in Berlin. Together with colleagues from BAM, UBA and Ecologic Institute they presented and discussed current developments in research in Germany and Korea on micropollutants and plastic in the environment, especially in water and food. Ulf Stein from Ecologic Institute and deputy coordinator of the four-year project PlastikNet, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) presented on research activities of the research focus 'Plastics in the environment' in Germany.Read more

Project

Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructures (TRAFIS II)

October 2019 to November 2022

Infrastructure systems are undergoing a process of profound transformation. They are under great pressure to change in order to contribute to changing social objectives. Expectations and challenges with regard to climate adaptation and climate protection, the circular economy, energy system transformation including the phasing out of nuclear power, coal, mobility, decarbonisation, as well as the long-term processes of urbanisation and demographic change are setting new goals, which also affect the development of infrastructures. The new technical possibilities of information and communication technologies in the wake of the digital transformation, including the increasing familiarity of the users in their application, together with the new objectives lead to a great dynamic of change towards more efficiency, comfort and partly completely new services.Read more

Presentation

Panel discussion

Bioeconomy

Governance

Bio-based Economy – Innovations in practice

TimeLoc

26 September 2019

Brussels

Belgium

Holger Gerdes

In September 2019, the European Commission organized the 'European Research & Innovation Days' to shape the EU's future research and innovation policy. Holger Gerdes, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, had been invited to take part in a panel discussion, which focused on the challenges and potentials of bio-based products and innovations. The video recordings from the session can be watched online.Read more

Event

Discussion

Cities

Consumer Policy

Expert Dialogue on the planned Foundation of the Umbrella Brand and Outlook for the Re-Use Berlin e.V.

TimeLoc

25 September 2019

Berlin

Germany

Waste is harmful to the environment, it wastes precious resources and it damages the cityscape. In order to drastically reduce the amount of waste that ends up in i.e. the gray residual waste bins, Berlin has committed itself to the principle of 'zero waste'. The aim is, among other things, to increase the reuse of used goods (such as used...Read more

Publication