Seven pioneering institutes of sustainability research in Germany have linked up with one another and formed the "Ecological Research Network" (Ecornet), a network of leading non-university institutes in Germany focusing on sustainability research. The mission of Ecornet: to create the scientific basis for a societal transformation toward sustainability. The Ecornet institutes produce practice-relevant research across the borders of traditional scientific disciplines for the development of a post-fossil, post-nuclear society.
The network can be found online: www.ecornet.de
Opening science for future social-ecological questions
Climate change, environmental degradation, and food security are some of the themes with which Ecornet concerns itself. The member institutes approach these challenges with a broad spectrum of topical competencies, including practice-oriented sustainability research, international climate and environmental policy, resource efficiency, and environmental education and policy advising. The Ecornet institutes are pioneers in various research areas that have been become the central research themes of many organizations, for example, nuclear safety and phase-out, life-cycle-analysis, sustainable business management, climate mitigation, transport, and the development of transdisciplinary research methods.
Together for sustainable transformations
"I am very pleased with this new network that will bring unique competencies in sustainability research together," says R. Andreas Kraemer, Director of Ecologic Institute. "I hope that we can together not only advance a societal transformation toward sustainability in Germany by enriching it with scientific contributions but also sow the seeds of a similar debate in Europe."
"Creating Transformative Knowledge"—presentation series for the Year of Science dedicated to sustainability
Together with the NaWis-Verbund, Ecornet hosted the series "Creating Transformative Knowledge" as a contribution to the BMBF’s 2012 Year of Science, "Sustainability and the Future Earth Project". Presentations in various formats dealt with the challenges faced by the scientific system in paving the way toward a sustainable society. The memorandum "Science for Sustainability: The Breakthrough Must be Achieved" was presented at a discussion event of the German UNESCO Commission on Thursday, 14 June 2012, in Berlin. To the event calendar.
Ecornet—Center for transdisciplinary sustainability studies
In the German scientific system, the independent, not-for-profit environmental research institutes represent the most developed centers of transdisciplinary sustainability research in terms of themes and methods today. Ecornet includes:
- Ecologic Institute
- ifeu - Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg
- Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW)
- ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research
- Öko-Institute – Institute for Applied Ecology
- Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU)
- Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy
Spokesmen for Ecornet are Thomas Korbun (IÖW) and R. Andreas Kraemer (Ecologic Institute).
Email: thomas.korbun[at]ioew.de / kraemer[at]ecologic.eu