Ecologic Institute

The financial and economic crisis that Germany has been going through since 2008 has shed a new light on the pros and cons of economic growth and the methods of measuring welfare. Whereas some indicators indicate that the worst effects of the crisis are behind us, others reveal that we may not have seen the end of the crisis just yet. In the 2/2010 edition of “Berliner Republik”, Benjamin Görlach, Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute, discussed how the crisis has played out in different economic indicators, why politics still resort to GDP as the main indicator for economic welfare and what the perspectives are for establishing alternative indicators. Read more ...

How does real-world consumer behaviour deviate from that predicted by rational choice theory? This project compiled insights emerging from the parallel disciplines of behavioural economics as well as commercial and social marketing with respect to sustainable consumption in Europe. The project analysed the applicability of these disciplines to European environmental consumer policy. As a result, the project formulated real-world recommendations for environmental consumer policy in five specific areas: food and drink, consumer electronics, vehicles, white goods and energy. Read more ...

The German national Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) has the potential to set the pace for Germany’s development towards a more sustainable society. Unfortunately, the strategy fails to define overarching strategic objectives. Isolated measures, indicators and time plans need to be bundled in an integrated strategy for the future. The authors of the policy brief “Sustainability needs Strategy” recommend that the German Government includes four new areas of action in its current SDS: sustainable wealth; sustainable labour policy; sustainable engagement policy and culture of sustainability. These areas are decisive to successfully embed sustainability in Germany’s government, economy and society and will determine whether Germany remains a leader in sustainability. Anneke von Raggamby, Senior Fellow and Head of European Integration at Ecologic Institute is Associate 2009/2010 at the stiftung neue verantwortung (snv) and was one of the authors of this policy brief. The policy brief “Sustainability needs Strategy” can be downloaded. Read more ...

As part of the „Transatlantic Climate Bridge“, the Ecologic Institute organized a visitors programme on Green Buildings and Architecture, addressing 20 expert journalists from the USA and Canada. The informational tour took place from April 11 thru April 17, 2010 in Frankfurt, Darmstadt and Berlin. Read more ...