In an effort to increase education on the environmental, health and socioeconomic impacts of unconventional drilling such as fracking, Ecologic Institute and FracTracker Alliance are collaborating through an initiative to share the American fracking experience. As part of this initiative, a compelling series of 14 US-based and international workshops in affected communities has been created. One such workshop was hosted by the South Florida Wildlands Association in partnership with Ecologic Institute and FracTracker to share the latest insights on oil development activities (including seismic testing) in Florida and ways that the public can get involved.

The COBALT project closing conference, "Sustainable raw materials management in Europe – Fostering stakeholder dialogue to deliver on the future" took place from 23 to 24 March 2015 in Brussels at Les Ateliers des Tanneurs. The closing conference brought together experts and perspectives from industry and business, policy making, civil society, academia, and the geological services to describe the thematic challenges, facing industry and society and to discuss how stakeholder engagement should best be shaped to effectively determine an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable management of raw materials in the EU.

Where do Canada and Germany stand in the field of renewable energies and energy efficiency? Which initiatives and projects are leading the way? Who is driving development – and how can Canada profit from Germany’s experiences? These and other questions framed the Canadian-German Study Tour that took place from 22 to 28 March 2015 in Berlin and Hamburg, focusing on the theme "Energy Transition in Germany". The study tour had space for 11 high-level participants with professional backgrounds in policy, science, business and NGO works.

What progress have EU Member States made in implementing the Water Framework Directive between the first (2009) to the second cycle (2015) of river basin management planning? A consultant's report co-authored by Ecologic Institute is provides initial insights on the basis of a screening assessment of the second River Basin Management Plans draft, prepared for the fourth European Water Conference. The report is available for download.

One facet of the "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) project, coordinated by Ecologic Institute, is research on the instruments, actors, and institutions involved in the fight against environmental crime. The overall work consists of a main report and a variety of studies, focusing on specific legal provisions, institutions, and actors at the national, EU, and international levels. The reports by Ecologic Institute and other institutions are available for download.

The infographic visualizes the four spatial areas of investigation of the manual in an examplary fashion. The spatial levels are: site, corridor group, corridor and corridor component.

The infographic presents the process and criteria to be considered for the design development for an investigation of fish downstream migration.

The infographic gives an overview of which characteristic causes of injury of fish is caused by which typical corridor components (e.g. barriers, turbines).

The infographic presents the optimisation process during site-specific evaluations. Deficiencies can be identified at an early stage, during technical and hydraulic characterisation and during study of fish migration. Optimisation proposals can then be developed. Thus the efficacy of optimisation measures implemented can be tested during the course of the evaluation process.

The infographic presents the five-step process for deriving the final statement on function for the investigation of biological downstream migration by fish.

Since 2007, the European Council has played an increasingly active role in shaping the details of future EU climate policies. This involvement raises important questions about potential interference by the European Council regarding the decision-making process for and content of the implementation of the 2030 climate framework. In a broader perspective, concerns have been raised about the establishment of a constitutional practice, which could in fact circumvent the possibility of adopting implementing acts by qualified majority vote. This would alter the balance of power between the EU institutions. Ecologic Institute's Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf discusses the role and mandate of the European Council. The paper is available for download.

Invited by BfN (Federal Agency for Nature Conservation) and ENCA (European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies), Sandra Naumann, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, gave a presentation titled "Nature-Based Solutions – The Case of Sustainable Urbanization". Drawing on the outcomes from the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on Nature-Based Solutions and Re-Naturing Cities commissioned by DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission and in which Sandra Naumann took part, the talk outlined the EU Research and Innovation Agenda on nature-based solutions (NBS) with a particular focus on sustainable urbanization.

The Ecologic Institute analysed stakeholder submissions to the European Commission's public consultation on fishing opportunities for 2015. The consultation generated widespread interest from a range of stakeholders: the fishing sector, public authorities, scientists, fisheries advisory councils, citizens and NGOs. The evaluation demonstrates that stakeholders are concerned by overfishing and that most of them have a good understanding of the issues at stake, including of the objective to recover fish stocks to levels above those capable of producing the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). The report is available for download.

Invited by the IASS (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies) and in cooperation with Ecologic Institute, Michael K. Orbach (Duke University Professor of the Practice Emeritus of Marine Policy) gave a presentation entitled, "Social Sciences in Ocean Policy and Resilience of Coastal Communities – What in the world is going on in America?" Drawing on studies undertaken by Ecologic Institute and Duke University investigating both Germany and the U.S., the talk described the cultural phenomena that underlie public policy regarding climate change in these two countries, with a focus on the U.S.

On 27 February 2015, experts from Germany and the United States joined in Washington, D.C. at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to discuss their work as it related to the conference theme, The Geopolitics of Energy. This conference was sponsored by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University with participation by Ecologic Institute Berlin.