Due to climate change, the Emscher region is expected to face increased challenges from low flows and drought in the coming decades. For affected water bodies, cooperation between different actors is crucial. The workshop discussed problems and solutions for their cooperation.

On 26 June 2019, the NaWiKo workshop "Sustainable management in companies through employee integration in corporate sustainability innovations" took place in the facilities of the KUKA Gmbh in Siegen. The aim of the workshop was to discuss findings from research projects dealing with the relevance of the involvement of employees and users in corporate sustainability innovations with company representatives from the manufacturing industry. The goal of the exchange was to discuss the role and the challenges regarding Open Innovation (meaning the involvement of employees and users) for corporate sustainability innovations in terms of whether and under what conditions research findings can be relevant for and applicable to everyday business life.

In June 2019, the stakeholder workshop "Optimal soil management to ensure yield capacity & acceptance analysis of measures to upgrade the subsoil" of the BMBF-funded BonaRes project "Soil³ – Sustainable Subsoil Management" took place in Moltzow (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). This workshop is part of a series of workshops with the aim to discuss and gather the prevailing opinions on subsoil management measures with the help of an acceptance analysis. Ecologic Institute researchers discussed with farmers and other ecological actors under which conditions they would implement or support these measures.

On 17 June 2019, the NaWiKo workshop "Sustainable management in companies based on the example of bioplastics" took place at the facilities of Bio-Molkerei Söbbeke GmbH, a sustainable creamery, in Gronau near Münster. The aim of the workshop was for company representatives from the packaging and food industry to discuss findings from research projects that dealt with sustainability effects of bioplastics and bio-based materials.

On 17 June 2019 the workshop "Federal and regional governments in dialogue on sustainable food systems. From individual projects to a holistic strategy?" took place at the EUREF Campus in Berlin with 30 participants. The aim of the event was to discuss how strategies could be developed that not only address the topic of sustainable nutrition in a politically comprehensive way, but which are also based on the numerous good individual initiatives and projects at the federal and regional level.

The Ecologic Institute organised in June 2019 the two-day Future Workshop of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) on Floodplains and River Development as Future Tasks for Departmental Research. The BfN introduced the instrument of future workshops in 2015 in order to determine and discuss medium- and long-term research needs in selected topic areas on an annual basis. The main target is the exchange between research institutions, operators and users of research results with the specialist departments of the BfN.

On 4 June 2019 was a workshop at the Federal Ministery for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) to discuss a proposal for a new guidance standard (ISO 14002-2) for managing water with ISO 14001. The workshop served as a platform for information and discussion on the planned standard, bringing together interested experts from water management, water stewardship and environmental management, in and outside of the ISO community. The aim of the workshop was to refine the draft of the proposal for a new guidance standard concerning the scope, structure, conceptual approach and outline of ISO 14002-2. The results of the workshop will be used to update the draft of the proposal before it will be submitted to ISO for an international approval process.

What kind of solutions are required to increase the market share of sustainable bio-based and circular products in Germany and Europe? Which products and product properties do consumers demand? What are the innovations that can be developed and what are suitable research and communication strategies? What role do local value chains and markets play? And how does a supportive regulatory environment look like?

On the 13 May 2019, Ecologic Institute organised the workshop "Beyond sectors – chances and challenges of multi-stakeholder collaboration in the bioeconomy" in the context of the 8th International Bioeconomy Conference in Halle (Saale). The aim of the workshop was to discuss the challenges of cross-sectoral, multi-stakeholder cooperation in the bioeconomy as well as potential instruments for their facilitation and to present good practice examples. The workshop was held in German.

Due to the success of the citizen science campaign "Plastic Pirates" in the years 2016, 2017 and 2018, the youth campaign has been extended again as part of the research focus "Plastics in the Environment", which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research. This year, the campaign takes place from 1 May until 30 June 2019 and allows young people between 10 and 16 years old to become scientists and contribute to a large citizen science project. We invite all young people to join!

On 7 March 2019, experts working on nature-based solutions (NBS) met in Berlin for an exchange of experiences. The discussions focused on the challenges of planning and implementing NBS and the opportunities and creative solutions to overcome them. The results of this meeting will be integrated into including the development of a catalogue of NBS and an overview of policy instruments to the "Climate NBS Polska" project.

The third set of dialogue workshops for government officials and experts from the "Climate Recon 2050" project were held in Copenhagen at the end of February 2019. The project team have been organizing two main fora for that workshop: a Technical Dialogue, for modellers and other experts designing 2050 climate policy scenarios – and a Policy-Maker Platform, to create a space for experience sharing among representatives from different EU countries.

In January 2019, the stakeholder workshop "Using the Subsoil to Better Prepare for Droughts – An Acceptance Analysis of Measures to Enhance the Subsoil" of the BMBF-funded BonaRes project "Soil³ – Sustainable Subsoil Management" took place in Bonn. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the prevailing opinions on subsoil management measures. Ecologic Institute researchers discussed with farmers and other ecological actors under which conditions they would implement or support these measures. The protocol is available for download.

The European CIRCASA stakeholder workshop took place in Brussels on 5 December 2018. This workshop was part of a series of workshops that took place in eight regions across the world. The workshop gathered 30 participants from across Europe, including representatives from the agricultural and food industry, farmers, regional and national policy-makers, non-governmental organisations and the European Commission. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the most promising management options for maintaining and enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) in Europe; barriers to and solutions for their implementation; as well as to identify the key knowledge and research needs for farmers and other stakeholders for bringing forward SOC management in Europe. On 16 January 2019, these results were reflected on with the CIRCASA Stakeholder Advisory Board. The outcomes of the stakeholder consultation will feed directly into the development of an international strategic research agenda on soil organic carbon.

Marine science is often still understood narrowly as a specialization of the natural sciences, to the exclusion of social sciences and humanities. Yet contributions from social sciences and humanities in marine research are necessary to explain what happens in the ocean and on the coasts. In order to help broaden perspectives on marine research, Ecologic Institute hosted a Strategy Group meeting to take stock of social sciences and humanities in marine research, and explore research needs, theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches.