Looking to the Future: Trend Report for a Forward-Looking Resource Policy

Susanne Langsdorf; Doris Bergmann; Jonathan Buhl

Looking to the Future: Trend Report for a Forward-Looking Resource Policy

Publication: Report
Citation: Susanne Langsdorf and Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers 2014: Looking to the Future: Trend Report for a Forward-Looking Resource Policy. Umweltbundesamt, Dessau, commissioned.

In this "Trend Report for a Forward-Looking Resource Policy" Ecologic Institute's Susanne Langsdorf and Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers analyze more than 300 individual trends, allocated to 12 trend themes. They discuss the potential developments and relevance for German resource policy. The report was released during the European Resources Forum on 10 November 2014 and is available for download.

In the future, will we live in the city or the countryside? Will we rely on traditional models of growth and consumption or will we develop alternative, more sustainable lifestyles? Will we work longer, more and increasingly faster, or will we strive for more free time and quality of life? Does digitization rob us of our privacy or does it allow consumers more transparency and influence? How can German resource policy respond to these possible developments?

These trends will determine how we live and work in the future. Their further development, however, is uncertain. This analysis can help outline possible future paths of various sectors of society and, thus, better shape a forward-looking resource policy.

Contact

Susanne Langsdorf

Coordinator Resource Conservation & Circular Economy

Senior Fellow

Potentiale und Kernergebnisse der Simulationen von Ressourcenschonung(spolitik)

Endbericht des Projekts Sim-Ress

Year 2018

Publication:Report

Systems analysis could be an essential approach to shape resource efficiency policy in a sustainable long term perspective. In the SimRess project, we tested systems thinking to develop a system dynamic resource use simulation model and ii) to investigate policy mixes for resource conservation. The report, which is available for download, documents and summarizes the various results of the workshops and the systems analysis. The study was carried out by the SimRess project partners, with Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers from Ecologic Institute as lead-author.

System Analysis for Environmental Policy

System thinking through system dynamic modelling and policy mixing as used in the SimRess project

Year 2018

Publication:Brochure

The national and international political agenda shows that resource conservation is a central task for environmental policy: In Germany, Europe and globally, there are political programmes and strategies aimed at fostering sustainable resource use. In five theses, this brochure from the SimRess project shows that an integrative and systemically designed resource policy contributes to achieving the goals of resource protection and climate protection. The study was carried out by Ecologic Institute with Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers and Susanne Langsdorf as co-authors. The brochure is available for download.

Ressourcenschonung als Zukunftsaufgabe

Ansatzpunkte für eine systemische Ressourcenpolitik

Year 2018

Publication:Article

Addressing climate change and natural resource depletion has been key to the international and national sustainability agenda for almost 30 years. Despite existing efforts, global CO2 emissions and raw material use levels continue to grow. This seems to suggest the need for more systemic approaches in environmental policy. The authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers, call upon policy makers to integrate rebound mitigation strategies and move beyond exclusively improving efficiency to tackling structural and behavioural changes. The article is available for download.

Contemporary Resource Policy and Decoupling Trends

Lessons Learnt from Integrated Model-Based Assessments

Year 2018

Presentation:Speech

The World Resources Forum 2017 entitled "Accelerating the Resource Revolution" was held in Geneva from 24 to 25 October 2017. Ecologic Institute's Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers reflected on the conception and evaluation of policy mixes for resource conservation based on the experiences of the SimRess project. The presentation slides are available for download.

Policy Mixing for Sustainable Resource Use

24 October 2017
Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers

Publication:Conference Paper

Simulation models play an important role for assessing the potential effects of policy instrument. This publication documents the presentations and discussions held during the two-day expert workshop "Simulation of resource use and resource policy", which discussed the reasons and conditions under which different simulation models yield similar or different results. The reader is available for download.

Sicherung der Konsistenz und Harmonisierung von Annahmen bei der kombinierten Modellierung von Ressourceninanspruchnahme und Treibhausgasemissionen

Year 2017

Event:Conference

Ecologic Institute supported the German Environment Agency in hosting the Conference "Decarbonization and Resource Efficiency – 100% Renewable Energy and more," which took place on 8 November 2016 at the "Ludwig Erhard Haus" in Berlin. The conference highlighted synergies and ways to minimize trade-offs between decarbonization and dematerialization policies.

Decarbonisation and Resource Efficiency – 100% Renewable Energy and more

8 November 2016
Berlin, Germany

Publication:Flyer

Ecologic Institute coordinated the organisation of the Decarbonisation conference 2016 "Decarbonisation and Resource Efficiency – 100% Renewable Energy and more". A programme flyer were developed and designed to provide relevant content on conference context, agenda, and the venue in a concerted way to participants. The design of the brochures and the color scheme were based on the visual style of UBA. Print-outs of the flyer will be done on recycled paper.

Decarbonisation and Resource Efficiency – 100% Renewable Energy and more

Conference Flyer

Year 2016

Publication:Flyer

As part of the project "Models, Potentials and Long-Term Scenarios for Resource Efficiency" (SimRess), Ecologic Institute developed a promotional flyer based on visual style and template of the Federal Environment Agency. Flyer contains relevant general information about the project – its theme, focus, aims, activities, list of partners and contact information, as well as a simple graph built also by Ecologic Institute.

Models, Potential and Long-term Scenarios for Resource Efficiency – Flyer

SimRess Project Flyer

Year 2014

Languages: German

English
Authorship: Susanne Langsdorf

Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers

Robert Ostwald

Sabrina Heinecke

Doris Bergmann (European School of Governance)

Jonathan Buhl (European School of Governance)
Credits: Media format: A4 brochure, 64 pages
Concept: Beáta Vargová, Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers, Susanne Langsdorf
Grafic design: Beáta Vargová (Ecologic Institute)
Funding: German Environment Agency (UBA), Germany
Published by: German Environment Agency (UBA), Germany
Year: 2014
Dimension: 62 pp.
Project: Models, Potentials and Long-Term Scenarios for Resource Efficiency (SimRess)
Project ID: 2518
Table of contents: Click to show full table of contents

Foreword
1. Why should you read this trend analysis?
How was it created?
2. Who is this trend analysis for and how is it best read?
Terms
3. Summary of trend themes
Trend theme 1 ⋅ Urbanisation
Trend theme 2 ⋅ Socio-economic acceleration
Trend theme 3 ⋅ Working world
Trend theme 4 ⋅ Resource governance
Trend theme 5 ⋅ Diet
Trend theme 6 ⋅ New modes of thought and world views
Trend theme 7 ⋅ (New) business models
Trend theme 8 ⋅ Financial world
Trend theme 9 ⋅ Mobility/infrastructure
Trend theme 10 ⋅ Digitisation and networking
Trend theme 11 ⋅ Marketing and consumption
Trend theme 12 ⋅ Education
4. Cooperation and interaction of trends
5. Annex
Keywords: Digitalization

Governance

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

resource governance, urbanization, infrastructure, education

Europe

Report: Looking to the future: Trend report for a forward-looking resource policy [pdf, 2.7 MB, English]

Attachments

trend-report-en-final.pdf (2.69 MB)

Further Links

EventConferenceNational Resources Forum 2014

250 participants took part in the 2nd National Resources Forum, which was hosted by the German Federal Environmental Agency in cooperation with VDI and with the support of Ecologic Institute in Berlin on 12 November 2014. The presentations and photos from the forum are... Read more

Conference:National Resources Forum 2014

Date: 12 November 2014
Location: Berlin, Germany

ProjectModels, Potentials and Long-Term Scenarios for Resource Efficiency (SimRess)

The SimRess project analyzes the potential effectiveness of policy measures and mixes in the field of resource policy. Considering a time horizon through 2050, the project interprets model simulation results from both a system dynamics model and an econometric model.... Read more

Models, Potentials and Long-Term Scenarios for Resource Efficiency (SimRess)

Duration: Sep 2013 - Jun 2018
Funding: German Environment Agency (UBA), Germany

Adaptation
Agriculture
Arctic
Biodiversity
Bioeconomy
Cities
Climate
Climate Foreign Policy
Coastal + Marine
Communication
Consumer Policy
Culture + Ecology
Digitalization
EU
Economics
Education
Energy
Environmental Law – Ecologic Legal
Evaluation
Events
Finance
Food
Foreign Policy
Governance
Health
Indicators
Industry
International Development
Land Use
Mobility
Nature-based Solutions and Green Infrastructure
Plastics
Public Diplomacy
Resource Conservation + Circular Economy
Trade
Water