Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Insights from the CIRCULAR IMPACTS Case Studies

This report summarizes the results of the case studies in the CIRCULAR IMPACTS project and derives some main lessons from these case studies. The case studies are on concrete recycling, phosphorus recycling, car sharing, and recycling of batteries from electric vehicles.Read more

Presentation

Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers

"Dangerous" Research that Supports Societal Change – Ecologic Institute participates in agenda-setting for social-ecological research

TimeLoc

19 September 2018 to 20 September 2018

Kassel

Germany

Dr. Camilla Bausch

Dr. Grit Martinez

Mandy Hinzmann

Ecologic Institute contributed to the Agenda Conference for Social-Ecological Research (SÖF) by leading on and supporting research theme clusters. The event took place in Kassel on 19 and 20 September. It ended with an outlook by Florian Frank from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), who called for "dangerous" research to solve pressing socio-ecological problems. Read more

Event

Workshop

Education

Health

Plastics

Plastic Pirates – The Sea Begins Here!

TimeLoc

1 May 2018 to 30 June 2018

15 September 2018 to 15 November 2018

Germany

Initially developed for the Science Year 2016/*17 – Seas and Oceans of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the funding for the youth campaign "Plastic Pirates" has been extended as part of the BMBF's research focus "Plastic in the Environment". The campaign takes place from 1 May until 30 June 2018 and allows young people between 10 and 16 years old to become scientists and contribute to a large citizen science project. A second period for sampling is envisaged for 15 September until 15 November 2018. We invite all young people to join! For "Plastic Pirates", the PlastikNet team at Ecologic Institute is collaborating with the Kieler Forschungswerkstatt.Read more

Event

Plastics

Sustainable Environmental Education in Schools: Plastic waste in German rivers – the "Plastic Pirates" campaign

TimeLoc

13 September 2018

Berlin and Kiel

Germany

Speaker

Dr. Katrin Knickmeier, Katrin Kruse & Tim Kießling

Doris Knoblauch

How does plastic litter end up in the sea? How much microplastic does our shower scrub contain? Where exactly is the plastic waste in the ocean? What do our rivers have to do with it? And how can I, as an individual living far away from the coast, participate in real research on seas and oceans? These and other questions will be answered in a webinar for teachers and youth group leaders under the title ‘Sustainable environmental education in schools: Plastic waste in German rivers – the "Plastic Pirates" campaign’ on 13 September 2018 at 5 pm. Registrations are welcome.Read more

Project

Governance

Environmental Law

Coastal + Marine

Plastics

"No more Plastics in the Oceans": Designing a legally binding global plastic convention

September 2018 to December 2018

Plastic pollution of the world's oceans is a quickly growing environmental problem. A number of international instruments and treaties are trying to address the problem, but the growing amount of plastic waste that is polluting our seas shows these are insufficient. On behalf of WWF, the project team from adelphi and Ecologic Institute thus compiled a report on gaps in global plastic governance and developed options for the design of a legally binding agreement to eliminate further marine plastic pollution.Read more

Publication

Infographic

Step-by-step Methodology for Case Studies on the Circular Economy

This infographic provides guidelines to policy-makers, interest groups and researchers who want to explore the potential of circular-economy transitions by conducting case studies. It visualizes the step-by-by step methodology developed within the CIRCULAR IMPACTS project in an intuitive way. It also highlights the most important aspects to consider when preparing such case studies.Read more

Publication

Infographic

Integrating the Circular Economy into the European Semester

This infographic focuses on how the circular economy can be integrated into the European Semester. It illustrates the European Commission's role within the process and identifies obstacles to integration, along with possible suggestions to address these obstacles. Additionally, it provides a checklist for successful integration.Read more

Publication

Infographic

Methods for Measuring Impacts of Circular-economy Transitions

This infographic illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of various methods for measuring the impacts of circular-economy transitions.Read more

Event

Conference

Impacts of the Circular Economy Transition in Europe – CIRCULAR IMPACTS Final Conference

TimeLoc

5 September 2018

Brussels

Belgium

The conference "Impacts of the circular economy transition in Europe" took place in Brussels on 5 September 2018, organised as part of the CIRCULAR IMPACTS project. Around 150 people attended the event, including officials from the European Commission, national ministries, the public sector, industry, and NGOs. Ecologic Institute, as project lead, and the CIRCULAR IMPACTS project partners presented their findings on the impacts of moving towards a more circular economy in Europe, one that uses resources efficiently and maintains the economic value of materials. In addition to discussing their insights regarding the policy frameworks necessary for fostering a resource-efficient economy, team members presented evidence on the impacts and potential benefits of moving towards circular-economy approaches in three sectors: electric-vehicle batteries, car sharing, and building materials.Read more

Project