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
BIOBRIDGES's overall aim is to ensure the marketability of sustainable bio-based products by establishing primary partnerships between bio-based industries, brand owners and consumer representatives in cooperation with other stakeholders like local communities, local authorities and industrial actors. The ambition is to create at least two new cross-sector interconnections in bio-based economy clusters.Read more
Ergebnispapier von BMBF-Forschungsprojekten zum Thema Ernährung
This paper formulates recommendations for action for policy makers to promote sustainable food systems in Germany and identifies open research needs. Stephanie Wunder and Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers of Ecologic Institute contributed to this. The results paper is available for download.Read more
An Exploratory View of Societal Acceptance of Subsoil Management in Germany
Hidden beneath the humus-rich topsoil, the subsoil usually receives little attention in agricultural practice. Yet, plants cover between 10 and 80% of their nutrient and water needs from subsoils. Measures to improve the subsoil could help in bridging droughts and stabilising yields. But how do farmers and other societal actors perceive different methods for subsoil management? Ecologic Institutes's Ana Frelih-Larsen, Mandy Hinzmann and Sophie Ittner published the first exploratory research results on the societal acceptance of subsoil management in the open access journal Sustainability. Read more
With its comprehensive research programme, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding 18 research projects which have the overall aim to noticeably decrease the amount of plastics in the environment. This conference reader, published by Ecologic Institute, presents the aims of the overall research programme as well as the 18 research projects spanning a wide range of research areas such as Green Economy, Consumption, Recycling, Freshwater Systems as well as Seas and Oceans, and the accompanying research of PlastikNet. The PlastikNet conference reader is available for download.Read more
This case-study paper focuses on concrete recycling in France as a means of understanding circular-economy transitions in the building-materials sector. The EU, including France, produces large volumes of construction and demolition waste (CDW) per year and aims to increase the re-use of these materials, reducing landfilling and negative environmental impacts. Recycling concrete is seen as a way to contribute to these objectives by ensuring that a portion of this waste is turned into a product with value. Currently, France does not recycle CDW as much as some other Member States. This case study paper carries out a scenario analysis comparing two future scenarios for 2030, providing insights into important environmental and economic impacts of an increased concrete recycling rate in France.Read more
The Lisbon Workshop on Blue Natural Capital (BNC) took place on 3 and 4 October 2018 at the Lisbon Ocean Aquarium (Oceanário de Lisboa) in Portugal. It was hosted by the Oceano Azul Foundation (Fundação Oceano Azul) and prepared and chaired by R. Andreas Kraemer, Founder of Ecologic Institute and Director of the Foundation. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) published a summary.Read more
In July 2018, Sandra Naumann from the Ecologic Institute joined the 2nd International Seminar on nature-based solutions in Brasilia (Brazil) to discuss the state of knowledge, experiences and challenges to implement nature-based solutions (NBS). She presented an overview of the almost 1000 NBS contained within the Urban Nature Atlas as well as results from the EU and national policy review conducted as part of the EU-funded NATURVATION project. Attendees included over 100 representatives of Brazilian and European cities, national and local authorities and decision makers, research, business and international organisations. The presentation slides are available online.Read more
One of the key elements of the Research Network in Climate, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials (RECREATE) project has been the development of the RECREATE Green Horizons Scoreboard. In order to show the potential user the possibilities provided by the Scoreboard, RECREATE and Ecologic Institute produced an instructional video that takes the user through a number of exemplary analyses.Read more