Ecologic Institute

The goal of the study “Expanding the evidence base for consumer policies” is to contribute to the understanding of consumer behaviour and to how policies might best be designed to influence choice regarding environmental products and services. The study draws on knowledge from the field of behavioural economics and develops a series of hypotheses relating to consumer choice in regard to environmental goods and services. In addition, a blueprint to assess consumer policies is established. Read more ...

Road transport is the most important driver for increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union and is therefore critical to achieving the EU’s 20% greenhouse gas reduction target in 2020. The objective is to decouple economic growth and the demand for transport with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This video (8:36 Min.) visualizes European data on economic growth, transport and greenhouse gas emissions. Read more ...

Ecologic held the second Johns Hopkins Summer School on European environmental politics from the 17th to the 28th of May 2010. Experts from Ecologic Institute and other guest speakers held seminars on subjects ranging from European integration to European water policies. Johns Hopkins students also met with a variety of stakeholders in Berlin and Brussels to discuss European environmental policy. Read more ...

At the EU level, there is great need for legal reforms concerning the liability of enterprises for violations of human rights and environmental norms abroad. This is the result of a study co-authored by Christiane Gerstetter, Fellow Ecologic Legal and pro-bono lawyer for the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. Read more ...

This article, which is co-authored by Senior Fellow Ingmar von Homeyer of the Ecologic Institute, introduces a special issue of the journal International Environmental Agreements on environmental policy integration (EPI) at the international level. Referring to the integration of environmental concerns into other, non-environmental policies, the concept of EPI has been applied at national and EU-level but has rarely been analysed in relation to the global arena. Read more ...

The environmental impacts of Europe’s economy are not comprehensively assessed and often diminished. The One Planet Economy Network: Europe (OPEN: EU) project stresses the importance of using a new set of sustainable development indicators which allows approaching not only the ecological footprint of Europe’s economy, but also the induced flows of water and carbon. The new set of sustainable development indicators is needed in order to assess more comprehensively the environmental impacts of Europe’s economy. Read more ...

In his 2010 State of the Union address, President Obama declared the need for “serious investments in clean energy” because “the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy”. In a new paper funded by the German Marshall Fund of the United States under the Transatlantic Climate Bridge initiative, authors from the Ecologic Institute in Washington DC and Berlin identify investment needs and policy incentives required to achieve this transition to a clean energy economy. Read more ...

What is the state of sustainable development in the European Union? The 2009 Eurostat monitoring report reviews the progress and implementation of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy.

The 2009 monitoring report was published on the Eurostat website. As partner in a consortium with the Vienna University of Economic and Business (RIMAS), INFRAS, and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the Ecologic Institute played a substantial role in drafting the monitoring report on behalf of Eurostat. Read more ...

18 June 2009, Prague - R. Andreas Kraemer
"Options and Opportunities for the future EU Sustainable Development Strategy" was the theme of the ESDN Conference 2009 in Prague on 17-19 June 2009, hosted by the Czech EU Presidency in cooperation with the Swedish EU Presidency.  Ecologic Institute contributed a background paper, and R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute was invited to speak on "Economic Stimulus Packages in Europe", and comment on the coherence of policy strategies in Europe and the challenges of policy integration. Read more ...

23 February 2009, Brussels - R. Andreas Kraemer
The need to better understand and monitor the linkages between social exclusion and unsustainable development, and the quest for a toolkit to assess the social impacts of environment policy measures, the European Commission (DG Employment) convened a workshop for scientific support for promoting social fairness in sustainable development in Brussels on 23 February 2009.  R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute was invited to speak on social exclusion and a poor environment. Read more ...

R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic Institute was invited to join the "VROM International Affairs Think Tank" advising the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM). The group of high-level experts meets twice a year to discuss issues of strategic importance on the international agenda and to formulate advice to the Ministry. Read more ...

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) can be an important source of income for rural inhabitants of Laos. One such NTFP, which has been promoted by the government of Laos, is the paper mulberry tree (Broussonetia papyrifera (L) Vent). This study was performed to understand the factors influencing the commercialisation of paper mulberry bark in Oudomxay province (Northern Laos) and to investigate the potential of the paper mulberry tree as a source of steady income. Read more ...

Biomass use and the production of biofuels face several international challenges. The main tasks of the project are to describe and compare national and international support programmes and framework conditions for the production of biofuels as well as to accompany discussions on EU Directives in the field of bioenergies and the sustainability of biofuels. Read more ...

16 October 2009, Budapest - Doris Knoblauch
At the sixth and final EPOS Network Meeting that took place on the 15th and-16th October 2009 in Budapest, Doris Knoblauch presented the analysis of the stakeholder participation processes that took place within the federal or national sustainable development strategies in five European countries. The project revealed that a major challenge was how to deal with all the input generated through the participation processes. Read more ...

In this book chapter, the authors discuss linkages between the environmental crisis, in particular climate change, and the financial and economic crisis. They argue that both crises have at least one cause in common: patterns of production and consumption that are unsustainable from both an ecological and social point of view. Read more ...

In the current political debate, justice seems equivalent with even income distribution. Other justice aspects appear absent: studies show that low-income groups suffer more from pollution than high-income groups. This includes noise, air pollution and lack of accessible green spaces. At the same time, higher-income groups consume more resources than the poor. Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf discusses in brief these issues in the MigrantInnenUmweltZeitschrift (MUZ), Issue 2. Read more ...

On June 12 2009, Zoë Robaey, Transatlantic Fellow with Ecologic, was invited to the General Meeting of the Dutch Environmental Professionals Association in Den Haag. She was among the three finalists from Dutch higher education institutions whose Master’s theses were nominated for the Rachel Carson Award. Her thesis “Differing Views of Uncertainty in Environmental Controversies: the Kearl Oil Sands Case, 2003-2008 in Canada“ was awarded second place. Read more ...

Efficient economic and political decisions are dependent on the regular supply of reliable data. Indicators are a major source of such information and provide basic quantitative support for the elaboration and implementation of policies. In June 2008, Ecologic was commissioned to analyse the environmental situation of Austria in the context of the EU-27 Member States using selected environmental indictors and to identify sectors where additional effort is necessary to take a leading position among European countries. Read more ...

The expanding use of biomass as an energy source has been accompanied by a growing range of certification and standard-setting schemes in an attempt to ensure the sustainability of biofuel production. The result has added to the confusion in an already crowded certification market, but an opportunity to develop a streamlined global standard-setting system arises from this complexity. In this article, Timo Kaphengst, Mandy Ma and Stephanie Schlegel of Ecologic Institute outline how some of the innovative ideas coming from the biofuel certification and standardisation discussions can be applied to create a global generic standard-setting scheme for natural resources. Read more ...

11 May 2006, UN Headquarters, New York, NY - R. Andreas Kraemer
"Ambitious Environmental Policy – The Basis for Sustainable Industrial Development" was the theme of a Side Event at the 14th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in New York. It addressed the relations between business and policy-making, and the role of regulation and dynamics of change in China and Germany.  German minister for the environment Sigmar Gabriel opened the event chaired by R. Andreas Kraemer. Read more ...

The Multi-State Working Group on Environmental Performance (MSWG) in the United States held its annual workshop 2007 as "An International Dialogue on Ecological Policy" on 18-20 June 2007 in Madison, Wisconsin, and invited Ecologic Institute to contribute European perspectives. Peter Kessler spoke on environmental innovation in practice, Ingmar von Homeyer on innovative environmental governance and regulation in the EU, and R. Andreas Kraemer on sustainable water management infrastructure, and the infrastructure needed for transatlantic cooperation. Read more ...

In the light of increasing prices for energy and raw materials, ecological soundness, technological advance and resource-efficiency are major factors for competitiveness. The Ecologic Institute has carried out a study on Environmental Innovation in Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa in the context of globalisation. This project contributes to and is part of the OECD project on Environmental Innovation and Globalisation. Read more ...

Mainstream economic indicators such as GDP are useful measures with great influence on public and private decisions, but they are flawed as measures of human welfare and give little feedback on progress on environmental goals and sustainable development. Read more ...

On behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency, Ecologic Institute completed a study on the interactions between environmental policies and social justice. Using selected programmes and measures, this study analysed to what extent environmental and social policy objectives have been adjusted in response to each other and how the interaction between the two can be improved. The Final Report contains an English summary and is available for download. Read more ...

14 January 2008, Amsterdam - Anneke von Raggamby
Integrated sustainability assessment is a key element for advancing sustainable development by assessing the economic, environmental and social impacts of policy proposals. While the EU Commission has committed to producing high quality impact assessment, Anneke von Raggamby evaluates the availability and actual use in EU Commission Impact Assessment practice at the OECD workshop on Sustainable Assessment Methodologies. Read more ...

The world‘s natural resources face increasing pressure due to rapid population and economic growth. Ensuring sustainable use of natural resources will require on the one hand a reduction in resource use, as well as strong, efficient and internationally valid standards. The current discussion on certification schemes for biofuels serves as a starting-point for the discussion regarding the possibilities and ways to extend a global sustainability standard with a broad coverage of natural resources. This article by Stephanie Schlegel and Timo Kaphengst outlines how a global sustainability standard for natural resources (NRS) can be designed. Read more ...

This project supports the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) with the continuation of its activities in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility. Activities are centred around a stakeholder workshop, which will offer a forum for the discussion of current approaches as well as future steps. The interactive concepts brings together representatives from the business community as well as civil society in Berlin in September 2007. The project consortium not only provides conceptual advice to the Council but is also responsible for innovative facilitation methods at the event as well as all organisational matters. Read more ...

9 May 2007, Leipzig - Rainer Müssner
The question of "Governance" of natural resources, in other words how societies deal with the use of natural ressources, is central to each discussion about sustainability. Only "good governance" can guarantee the sustainable use of natural resources, protection of biodiversity, and indirectly help to implement the EU sustainability strategy. However it is quite difficult to measure and evaluate the level of good (bad) governance and to make the somewhat abstract concept more tangible. Rainer Müssner presented two EU funded projects dealing with the issue of "Governance of natural resources", in which Ecologic is involved as co-ordinator or partner. Read more ...

The Ecological Footprint is one of the most successful indicators worldwide for conveying the concept of the ecological sustainability and the biophysical limits of the Earth. This project for the German Federal Environmental Agency consisted of a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the "Ecological Footprint" indicator regarding its possible application as an indicator of sustainability for Germany. Read more ...

The Washington Post called Lester Brown "one of the world's most influential thinkers." The Telegraph of Calcutta refers to him as "the guru of the environmental movement." While visiting Germany in order to launch the German edition of his book "Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble", he gave a talk in Berlin on 22 January 2007. Read more ...

The ESDN is an informal network of public administrators and other experts dealing with sustainable development (SD) strategies in Europe. The activities of the ESDN are guided by a Steering Group with representatives from seven European countries. Since early 2006, the networking activities have been supported by the ESDN Office. Ecologic joined ESDN in November 2006. Read more ...

The capacity of planet Earth has reached its limits. Our environmental impact increases due to the depletion of resources, population growth, emissions of pollutants and soil erosion. Only if governments, leaders in industry and finance, and civil society pull together, can a global disaster be prevented. On 22 November 2006 the Club of Rome and the SPD-Denkfabrik will present this discussion at the German Bundestag. Host-speaker will be Prof. Dr. Dennis Meadows, co-author of “Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update”. Read more ...

This project covers new environmental policy initiatives in 2006 in the EU Member States and Acceding Countries. Relevant information is collected and analysed against the background of the renewed Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) and the Lisbon Strategy. Read more ...

What does Germany’s frequently mentioned population decrease actually mean for sustainable development? How can social security systems, but also the provision of wastewater services and a functioning transport infrastructure be maintained within this context? Ecologic, in partnership with the Berlin Institute, has developed the report “Contributions to Generational Accounting to Assess Sustainability”, which examined these and other questions concerning demographic evolution within the context of sustainability. Read more ...

oekom research AG is one of the world's leading providers of information on the social and environmental performance of companies, sectors and countries. The scientifically based rating system for the assessment of countries and their public policies is being constantly updated with the support of an independent advisory board, co-chaired by R. Andreas Kraemer of Ecologic. Read more ...

The European Commission developed a comprehensive approach to impact assessment, requiring that all likely economic, social and environmental impacts of major Commission proposals are given due consideration. However, not every impact assessment accorded equal treatment to all dimensions of sustainable development. The primary objective of the project is to assess the extent to which environmental impacts are taken into consideration when impact assessments are performed, and to suggest ways in which to improve consideration of environmental impacts within the assessment process. Read more ...

24 June 2005, Berlin - Markus Knigge
In environmental matters, modern society is living at the cost to future generations. This was the main issue discussed at the Young Leaders Congress 2005 „Ecological Generational Justice into the Constitution”, which brought together more than 50 participants from all over Europe and beyond. At the event, Ecologic Fellow Markus Knigge chaired a panel discussion with Karsten Sach, Head of the Division for International Affairs in the German Ministry for the Environment, and Manfred Bergman, Head of the Unit for Evaluation of Transport, Environment and Energy in the European Commission, on where we are in achieving ecological generational justice in Europe. Read more ...

The EU and Member States' sustainable development strategies were largely developed in isolation and at different times. They consequently vary considerably in terms of their content and their approach. The objective of this project is to develop a handbook of guidance for conducting reviews and peer reviews of national sustainable development strategies in the EU. This involves designing a template, method and core specifications for reviews, so that a similar approach can be taken towards different national sustainable development strategies. The handbook has been published and can be downloaded. Read more ...

Intellectual property right (IPR) rules have strong impacts on economic growth, environmental protection and social objectives. Within the IPDEV project Ecologic identifies IPR-related policies which are supportive to sustainable development goals. Based on quantitative and qualitative analysis it is investigated how especially EU-candidate countries and developing countries can take maximum advantage of IPRs rules to support sustainable development. Read more ...

The role of business in society as well as educating future leaders aware of the new responsibility of the private sector were the overarching topics of the Ecologic Dinner Dialogue convened on 15 September 2004 in honour of Dr. Francisco Szekely, adjunct professor at the European School for Management and Technology (ESMT) located in Berlin and Munich. Read more ...

OekoTrend Bonds is a mutual investment fund investing exclusively in interest-bearing government bonds with recognised first-class ratings. States with particular achievements in relation to social, environmental and ethical challenges are given priority.  Using the REX 10P Index® as a benchmark, the fund is insured at time of rising interest rates and falling markets.

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As part of the Sustainable Development Strategy process, a conference entitled "Dialogue for the National Sustainable Development Strategy: How could its environmental profile be strengthened?" will be held on 18-19 March 2004. By means of this conference, the German Federal Environment Ministry is seeking to engage all stakeholders in a dialogue, to reflect on achievements and to come up with proposals for the further development of the strategy. Read more ...

Sustainable Consumption is one of the key factors on the way to Sustainable Develoment. So far, the implementation of suatinable consumption lacks legally binding international obligations. This study therefore identifies whether and to what extend existing international agreements or organisations could serve as a tool to implement aspects of sustainable development. In addition, the study offers recommendations how further policy integration in the field of sustainable consumption can be achieved. Particular emphasis is placed on international trade law. Read more ...

In cooperation with the European SUSTRA-Network Ecologic analyses the relationship between trade, environment and sustainable development. As a part of the project, Ecologic convened an international workshop on the architecture of global governance of trade and sustainable development which focussed on the global institutional set-up, the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and WTO rules as well as the role of non-State actors in the international fora. The results of the workshop were summarised and published in a policy brief. Read more ...

What has be done to promote a sustainable development within the European Union? What kind of policy approaches or initiatives have been developed at the European level in order to implement in a comprehensive way the objectives of Agenda 21? On behalf of the European Commission- DG Environment, IEEP - in association with Ecologic - has been commissioned to carry out the EU's implementation report. The draft report responds to all 40 chapters of Agenda 21 outlining a general assessment of the state of EU implementation as regards the objectives of the Agenda 21 as well as constraints, major challenges and recommendations for additional measures that could be taken at EC and international level to support further progress. Read more ...