Community-supported agriculture and social enterprises are alternatives to traditional economic structures – they value solidarity, cooperation, democracy, and community. The focus of the new issue “Ökologisches Wirtschaften” shows where impulses for a sustainable transformation of the economy can be found. “Instead of certification systems that are made available to companies and instead of new legal forms for companies, we focus on the less noticed and in some cases even less widespread concepts that socio-ecologically motivated actors from civil society are trying out to shape alternative forms of organization,” says Christian Lautermann, head of research field at IÖW, in the introduction to the focus topic. more

Swappable battery systems are hardly widespread in Germany. Could they push electromobility in this country? Researchers from the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and RWTH Aachen University have carried out a well-founded comparative analysis for the first time. The conclusion: swappable batteries can be more resource-efficient than fully integrated batteries and increase user acceptance of e-mobility, but their establishment requires high initial investment and the standardization of various components. The study, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), systematically compared economic and ecological factors. more

To accelerate the expansion of wind turbines, several European countries have tried to streamline their planning and implementation processes in recent years. However, progress is frequently hindered by conflicts of interest and competing objectives between wind energy stakeholders, highlighting underlying issues of justice. In a paper, the JustWind4All project team developed a nuanced understanding of the notions of acceleration and justice in energy transitions. The researchers from the IÖW and the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions BV (DRIFT) developed a heuristic that can be used by research and energy policy to make temporal and spatial justice issues visible and understandable to enable an energy transition that is both just and accelerated. more

In October 2024, the international community will come together at the Convention on Biodiversity (COP 16) in Colombia to agree on further measures to protect global biodiversity. A healthy, plant-based diet is key to halting the loss of biodiversity. Measures for a biodiversity-friendly food system are therefore recommended by the Institute for Ecological Economy Research together with authors from other sustainability organizations in a recent policy brief. more

Thousands of citizens are committed to the energy transition locally. They are part of energy communities and invest in locally generated renewable energy. In a recent policy paper, researchers from the Institute for Ecological Economy Research, Leuphana University Lüneburg and the Ecolog Institute demonstrate the high relevance of the energy transition from the bottom up and point out that the potential is much greater than has been exploited to date. more

The steering group and board of the Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN) has elected Dr. Florian Kern as the network’s new chair. Dr. Kern will take over from Dr. Jochen Markard as of 20th of June. Today, the change was announced to the STRN community at the 15th International Sustainability Transitions Conference. Dr. Florian Kern has been a member of the STRN steering group since 2016. He is head of the research field “Ecological Economics and Environmental Policy” at the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) in Berlin. more

Increasing weather extremes are putting cities and countries under pressure worldwide. Adaptation is a comparatively new and complex field of activity that benefits from exchange and mutual learning. The Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut have invited leading experts from fifteen countries on a trip to provide insights into climate change impacts and adaptation measures in Germany. On May 13, 2024, the delegation visited the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW). Professor Jesko Hirschfeld and Johannes Rupp discussed climate adaptation strategies and the costs of the climate crisis with the visitors. more

Since January 2024, the political scientist Jonas Pentzien is head of the research field “Business, value chains and consumption” at the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) in Berlin. He heads the field together with the sustainable business researcher Dr. Christian Lautermann. more

Since December 2023, the agricultural scientist and environmental economist Dr. Alexandra Dehnhardt is head of the research field ‘Ecological Economics and Environmental Policy’ at the Institute for Ecological Economic Research (IÖW) in Berlin. She jointly leads the research field together with the sustainability and transformation scientist Dr. Florian Kern. more

Who can take responsibility for steering problematic developments in AI back in the right direction? This is the question addressed in the third and final issue of the SustAIn magazine. Before the EU starts the final negotiations on the AI regulation on 6 December 2023, AlgorithmWatch, the IÖW and the DAI Lab at TU Berlin provide an up-to-date overview of the sustainability impacts of AI – from AI resource consumption through online marketing to the water footprint of AI systems. The project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. more