IÖW: Projects

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Nationwide community for citizen-based energy supply in regional innovation ecosystems CommunitE-Innovation

In Germany, over 2,000 citizens' energy communities with more than 500,000 members are an important driver of the decentralized energy transition. Citizens join forces and jointly operate renewable energy plants. Through [...] More

Active mobility for maintained benefits of health and environment AMBER

On foot, by bike, bus, or train: active mobility is the key to a climate-friendly and healthy mobility transition. But how can we make the switch? And what will active mobility look like as cities adapt to heat, droughts, and [...] More

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The Role of Emotions in Social Innovations for Sustainable Consumption REsI

Many people participate in energy cooperatives or community-supported agriculture, repair everyday items in repair cafés, or live in communal housing arrangements. What all these social innovations for sustainable consumption [...] More

Reduction of energy consumption of prosumers (ProSuffizienz) Data collection, analysis and visualisation to support sufficiency in prosumer households taking into account sector coupling

Allotment gardeners show how it's done: they harvest part of what they need every day to live. The situation is similar with energy production. More and more households not only consume energy, but also produce it themselves [...] More

Environmental Awareness in Germany 2024 Representative survey on environmental awareness and environmental behavior in 2024 including scientific analyses

The Environmental Awareness Study by the German Environmental Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) has been surveying environmental [...] More

Shaping Nature-Friendly Consumption Recommendations for selected Products to Protect Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Worldwide

From coffee to soy and timber, consumers in the Global North use resources grown or extracted in parts of the world where biodiversity is in drastic decline. The Global South, where the most biodiverse ecosystems are located [...] More

Development of methodological foundations and working aids for climate protection and circular economy aspects in the public procurement practice

A shift towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns is essential for a sustainable development. Due to its market power, the public sector can develop a high potential for reducing the burden on the [...] More

Home-Office and energy transition: Implications of mobile working and opportunities for the transition of the energy system Electricity consumption, mobility behavior and rebound effects

Due to the Corona pandemic, there has been movement in the perception and use of home office and teleremote working. In this joint project, the energetic and non-energetic implications of this change that are relevant for the [...] More

Environmental Awareness in Germany 2022 Study for the German Environmental Agency and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection

The Environmental Awareness Study by the German Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) has been surveying environmental [...] More

REPAID - Reusable Solutions for Gastronomy Promotion of reusable solutions to reduce single-use plastic service packaging through automation of take-back, interventions at the point of sale and possibilities of digitalisation to support user behaviour

Since January 2023, many to-go providers must offer reusable packaging: The Packaging Act requires restaurants, caterers and delivery services to provide a reusable option for plates, bowls and cups, for example. How can [...] More

GartenLeistungen II Urban Gardens and Parcs: Implementation, stabilization and transfer of approaches for socially, ecologically and economically sustainable management of urban areas and flows of materials

Urban gardens and public parks compete with other uses for scarce space. However, they play a central role in sustainable urban development. They increase the resource efficiency of urban districts and fulfill a variety of [...] More

Bringing sustainable consumption into the mass market: Identifying and promoting green key products with high diffusion potential

Sustainable consumption is an important task within the transformation to an economy and society following the sustainable development goals. In Germany, sustainable consumption has been systematically promoted through the [...] More

Mental Impacts of Climate Change Mental Impacts of Climate Change and motivation for climate change adaptation

A growing number of international research results show not only that extreme weather events in particular lead to an increase in depression and post-traumatic stress disorders, but also that gradual changes in climatic [...] More

Impact assessment and diffusion potentials of social innovations for sustainable consumption

Capitalist production and consumption patterns are largely responsible for exceeding the planetary boundaries. In Germany, too, the negative consequences of this overstepping are becoming visible through increasing levels of [...] More

Energy cooperatives as multipliers for energy sufficiency EMUSE

For a successful energy transition, not only the transformation towards renewable energy use, but also an absolute reduction of primary energy consumption is essential. This absolute reduction requires not only technical [...] More

Affordable housing and climate protection against the background of the housing situation and housing costs of low- and middle-income households

In the Federal Climate Protection Act, Germany has committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2045. The resulting increase in climate protection efforts increases potential conflicts of interest: although climate protection [...] More

Civil society feedback loops as impulses for sustainable product development A project on consumer protection in the service of the UN Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGpro)

The project refers to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations, specifically to Sustainable Development Goal 12, and considers consumption and production as central elements of a circular economy, in [...] More

DETECTIVE – Energy saving through digitalisation Systematic recording and evaluation of the energy saving potential of digital applications in the electricity and heat sector

The smart meter roll-out – at least for the electricity sector - is ready to start. In the next few years, this market launch will create the technical infrastructure for the digitalization of the energy transition, which, in [...] More

Business models for reducing plastic waste along the value chain: Towards innovative trends in retailing Innoredux

The idea and aim of the Innoredux project is to avoid or reduce plastic waste along the value chain in both distance selling and stationary trade. As part of this, the project partners cooperate with a number of industrial [...] More

Strategic Dialogue on Growth Independence

The Growth Independence Strategy Dialogue builds on the results and experiences of the UBA project “Approaches to Resource Conservation in the Context of Post-Growth Concepts”. This project analyzed in particular the question [...] More

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