More Quality of Life, Less Environmental Usage – Development of user-oriented sufficiency policy project drafts in the Environment Department

The conviction of an everlasting economic growth is increasingly pushing our planet to its ecological limits. Life within these limits would be possible if sustainable consumption patterns were to become firmly established in our society. The policy of sufficiency can make a beneficial contribution to this. It aims to reshape the political, economic and social framework conditions in such a way that consumers are induced to demand sustainable products and services and voluntarily resign from excessive consumption. Against this background, the Institut für zukunftsfähige Ökonomien (ZOE), the Institut für Partizipatives Gestalten (IPG), Ecologic Institute, and R. Andreas Kraemer develop sufficiency policy project drafts that are closely aligned with the needs and requirements of the respective specialist units at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

The project consists of three work packages:

1. Project drafts: The project team develops seven feasible project drafts with measures that will help UBA and BMU to strengthen the issue of sufficiency policy within their sphere of action.
2. Analysis: In a report, the team compiles a list of the inhibiting and promoting factors that it has identified in the development of the project drafts for sufficiency policy.
3. Recommendations: Based on the findings, recommendations for the application of further user-oriented development processes are compiled.

Ecologic Institute is involved in the implementation of the project drafts and supports the consortium in developing the analysis and recommendations.