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Now what? Pause and look back ...

1985 to 2025: The IÖW has  achieved a lot in 40 years. We take a look back at some of the highlights... 

40 years of IÖW A review of groundbreaking events and moments in the history of the Institute for Ecological Economy Research 1985: Reinhard Pfriem founds the IÖW with twelve shareholders.
1986: The first volume of “Ökologisches Wirtschaften” (Ecological Economy), the joint journal of IÖW & VÖW, is published – at that time still called “Informationsdienst” (Service of information). 1988: The IÖW publishes a report on the “Reorientation of German monetary and fiscal policy in an international framework”. Furthermore: First award for the IÖW: The European Economic Community honors the project “Sandoz and the consequences” for its analysis of the catastrophic chemical accident in Basel.
1990: The first report on the Elbe River is published: “Economic-ecological assessment of the Elbe-canalization”. Numerous other studies follow. Furthermore: The IÖW establishes the research field “Ecological Product Policy” and opens an office in Heidelberg. In addition, the new research field “Ecological Consumption” begins work. 1992: The IÖW publishes an environmental report on the GDR, which takes stock of environmental damage and the costs of remediation and identifies strategies for ecological restructuring.
1993: In his book “Verkehrswende”, IÖW researcher Markus Hesse presents a pioneering, consistent model for the ecological development of transport, including an economic framework. 1994: IÖW and future e.V. conduct the first ranking of environmental reports to promote the quality of sustainability reporting. Until 2025, 11 rankings have been carried out. 1995: The Federal Association of German Management Consultants honors the IÖW's “Environ-mental Controlling Handbook” as the best reference book of the year in the field of environmental management.
1996: The company Wilkhahn receives the Environmental Award of the German Federal Environmental Foundation's (DBU) for the eco-controlling system developed by the IÖW. 1999: Use products longer and more intensively! This is the conclusion of an IÖW project on eco-efficient services. 2000: The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) initiates the funding program “Socio-ecological research” (SÖF) with significant participation of the IÖW.
2002: On behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economics, the IÖW analyzes the market and cost development of renewable energies after the introduction of the EEG. 2004: Our “Schnitzel Study”, on behalf of Foodwatch, shows: Meat prices lie because the conditions of competition between organic and conventional products are distorted. 2006: Together with the UfU, the IÖW is conducting the first German consumer conference on nanotechnology in Berlin.
2007: At its first Sustainability Lounge, the IÖW discusses global markets between climate policy and innovation with Achim Steiner and Sigmar Gabriel. 2008: The IÖW study “Climate Impacts of Agriculture” commissioned by Foodwatch triggers a huge media response. Conventional or organic – which is less harmful to the climate? 2009: The IÖW receives the Red Dot Design Award for its new corporate design: Clear typography and cropped photos set new highlights.
2010: In “Potentials and Trends in Biomimetics”, the IÖW examines bionics and its contribution to sustainable design approaches. It becomes a bestseller among specialist books. 2011: The IÖW becomes a founding member of the Ecological Research Network (Ecornet), a net-work of independent non-profit environmental and sustainability research institutes in Germany. 2012: At the “Creating Transformative Knowledge” series initiated by the Ecornet, over 1,500 participants discuss how science can better face the challenge of sustainability.
2013: How can companies deal with growth restrictions? The IÖW publication “Growth-neutral companies” illustrates different approaches. 2014: The IÖW and partners conduct a feasibility study on Berlin's climate neutrality. It makes a significant contribution to the development of an energy and climate protection program for the German capital. 2015: In the environmental awareness study commissioned by the BMU and UBA, the IÖW shows: More and more people see environmental protection not as a problem, but as part of the solution.
2016: In the educational program “Alles im Fluss” (Everything in flow), the IÖW provides ideas on how the topic of water can be dealt with in schools in an experience and action-oriented way. 2017: The IÖW launches the BMBF project “Urban Heat Transition” with living-lab research in Berlin, working on recommendations for municipal strategic heat planning. 2018: The book “Smarte Grüne Welt” by the BMBF junior research group “Digitalization and Socio-Ecological Transformation” shows connections between topics such as surveillance, consumption, and sustainability.
2018: Together with the RWI and the Wuppertal Insti-tute, the IÖW presents a new consensus proposal for the growth debate: The precautionary post-growth position. 2019: Strategic cooperation with the Hochschule für Gesellschafts-gestaltung (former “Cusanus Hochschule”) to strengthen economic research and education. Furthermore: On September 20, we join the global climate strike of FridaysForFuture
2020: Our Institute Report is being published as a magazine for the first time. With the new format, we are highlighting our results even more clearly. Furthermore: The Ecornet Berlin research network is founded by five Berlin-based Ecornet-institutes. It provides impulses for Berlin's trans-formation into a social and ecological metropolis. 2021: Launch of the “IÖW-Impulse” series. In a compact eight-page format, it provides useful information and recommendations for stakeholders in politics, business and civil society.
2022: The website www.stadtgruen-wertschaetzen.de provides cities with a tool for evaluating ecosystem services provided by urban greenery such as street trees or green spaces. 2023: The BMWK study “Costs of Climate Change Impacts in Germany” by IÖW, Prognos and GWS shows: Consistent climate protection and precautionary climate adaptation prevent damage running into billions. 2024: For the first time, the German Federal Cabinet decides on measurable targets for the climate change adaptation strategy. The IÖW accompanied the participation process.
2025: The IÖW turns 40. Now what?


Moving forward

We continue our research on socio-ecological change: Current projects and publications

More about the anniversary