34 running Projects // 369 Projects in total

• 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

• Accompanying Scientific Research for Energiewendebauen Research Initiative – Digitization module

  Digitization is leading to profound changes in many sectors and in modern societies as a whole. The transformation is in full swing and offers many open questions and design options that need to be researched [...] More

• Accompanying Scientific Research for Energiewendebauen Research Initiative – Districts module

  Neighborhood energy concepts can enable new paths for higher energy efficiency and renewable energies at the local level by taking an integrated view of energy generation, consumption and decentralized infrastructure. For [...] More

• Landgewinn – Energy system analysis of decarbonization strategies in the agricultural sector Economic-ecological assessment of biochar and an additional agricultural decarbonization technology

  Many farms and the German agricultural sector as a whole face the challenge of bringing their energy supply and emissions into line with energy and climate targets in the medium and long term. For years, however, emissions [...] More

• Economic analyses of the benefits of restoring degraded ecosystems

  Natural and near-natural ecosystems, such as intact forests and peatlands, provide a variety of ecosystem services and render high value to society. Determining the economic value of such services is an important prerequisite [...] More

• Handbook Heat Transition in Communities Municipalities set the pace for the heating transition

  The heat transition has been omnipresent in public discourse since the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine and is receiving a great deal of political attention. With the “Gebäudeenergiegesetz” and the “Wärmeplanungsgesetz”, [...] More

• Methodological Convention 4.0. Basis for updating and extending the Methodological Convention for the Assessment of Environmental Costs – Part 2

  The Methodological Convention of the Federal Environment Agency is an internationally very recognized and almost unique basis and guidance for the determination of environmental costs. It contains data sets and methodological [...] 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

• Green City of the Future II - Climate-Resilient Neighborhoods in a Growing City Implementation and stabilization phase

  

  A result of the ongoing global urbanization process, cities are playing an increasingly important role in climate protection and adaptation. Urban and open space planning are crucial disciplines for developing [...] More

• Efficiency and cycle potentials of battery systems in e-mobility Comparative analysis of fully integrated and swappable battery systems

  E-mobility is the megatrend in the mobility sector. Compared to the fossil combustion engine and other alternatives such as hydrogen or e-fuels, it offers significant ecological advantages and is besides a significant [...] More

• Further development of European sustainability reporting stand-ards for companies

  Corporate reporting on sustainability issues is in transition. The standards and frameworks for reporting, most of which have been voluntary to date, are being developed at EU level to become more binding and standardized. [...] More

• Negotiating change, shaping the just transition New structures for socio-ecological policy-making bridging state and civil society

  Implementing a “Just Transition” is a complex task for society. The challenges are great: It is not just a matter of providing answers to the climate crisis, but of dealing with a multitude of crises that overlap or even [...] More

• Sustainable food and citizen participation Deliberative assessment and complementation of environmental policy intervention options in the food system

  The food system plays a central role in meeting sustainability goals, especially in the areas of climate and biodiversity protection. In particular, the consumption of animal products, especially dairy and meat, is associated [...] More

• Digitisation and sustainability at EU level Opportunities and risks of digitisation for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at EU level

  Digitalisation is profoundly changing our society and economy, but its socio-ecological effects are double-edged. The Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) has clearly identified this ambivalence of digitalisation in its [...] More

• Priorities of a Bioeconomy Strategy for the Federal State of Brandenburg

  In the German National Bioeconomy Strategy from 2020, the federal government formulated guidelines for a sustainable and bio-based economy that relies on natural material flows. These guidelines offer the Federal State of [...] More

• Hydrogen as a panacea? Importance and construction of directional certainty for key decisions on alternative transformation paths – INSIGHTS for policy making

  The German government as well as a range of industry stakeholders are putting a major emphasis on the importance of green hydrogen as a pathway to decarbonization, as exemplified by the National Hydrogen Strategy of 2020. The [...] More

• Methodological Convention 4.0: Basis for updating and extending the Methodological Convention for the Assessment of Environmental Costs – Part 1

  The Methodological Convention of the Federal Environment Agency is a very internationally recognized and almost unique basis and guidance for the assessment of environmental costs. It provides cost rates and methodological [...] 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

• Integrative urban-regional adaptation strategies in a polycentric growth region: Model region Stuttgart ISAP

  The effects of climate change are already visible in the densely populated Stuttgart Region, mainly in form of increasing heat stress and frequent heavy rainfall events. Adaptation to the effects of climate change is a [...] More

• SustAIn – Sustainability Index for Artificial Intelligence

  The expectations for applications with artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision making are high in many societal end economic spheres. Whether it is speech or face recognition, recommendation systems, autonomous [...] More

• Meta study “Sustainability Effects from Digitalization” Overview on available studies and critical assessment of the state of research, structured by topics, sectors and fields of application

  The green and digital transformation of the economy, the so-called twin transition, has advanced in recent years to become a central political priority for the future. The digital transformation has the potential to save [...] 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

• Environmental economic report 2022 for the state North Rhine-Westphalia

  As basis for the Environmental Sector Report 2022 for the state of North-Rhine Westphalia this project is investigating the fundamentals and significance of the environmental sector in NRW. The IÖW is focusing on an [...] 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

• Determination of the potential of waste heat in Berlin

  In the Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Act, the state of Berlin has set itself the binding goal of becoming climate neutral by 2045 at the latest. Whether this goal is achieved depends largely on the development of the [...] More

• Strategies for climate-friendly roofs

  Green roofs or photovoltaics? There currently is a competition of goals for using roof surfaces sustainably: On the one hand, potentials for solar energy should be used as well as possible in order to achieve climate [...] More

• Nature conservation impacts of floating PV systems. Preparation of an investigation concept for the nature conservation impacts of floating PV systems in still waters

  Photovoltaic (PV) systems on artificial and heavily modified water bodies can also contribute to achieving the expansion targets for renewable energies. First plants are already in operation on artificial still waters, [...] More

• Teilgabe Civic, cooperative, and social entrepreneurial generation of common good oriented economic infrastructure

  

  The BMBF-funded project "Teilgabe: Civic, cooperative, and social entrepreneurial generation of common good oriented economic infrastructure" is a cooperation between Institute for Ecological Economy Research, the University [...] More

• Effects of digitalisation on society and the protection of biological diversity

  The preservation of our natural resources and biological diversity is one of the generational tasks of the coming decades. Considering increasing social tensions, socio-technical change processes, social pluralization and [...] More

• Costs of Climate Change Impacts in Germany

  Climate change has arrived in Germany – noticeably and evidently. The blooming period occurs two weeks earlier than several years ago, exceptional heat and drought events are becoming increasingly less exceptional. This [...] More

• Climate resilient city of Bremen Second phase implementation and continuation (BREsilient II)

  

  Bremen is affected by the consequences of climate change in many ways. Accelerated sea level rise and an increase in heavy rainfall and hot spells are some of the specific challenges for the northern German region. Bremen's [...] More

• Developing a climate adaptation scheme for the GLS bank

  Climate change is progressing untamed, urgently requiring us to think about adaptive measures in order to cope with its consequences. The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like heavy rainfall, [...] More

• Empirical investigation of the relationship between regional added value, participation models and acceptance in the energy transition

  

  The expansion of renewable energies (EE) is associated with far-reaching changes in the energy system and means a significant intervention in the accustomed living environment at local level. Local people can perceive the [...] 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

• Analysis of the EU policy mixes supporting transformation of European production-consumption systems

  The EU and other regions of the world face tremendous social, economic and environmental challenges. Current production and consumption systems are highly unsustainable, but are deeply embedded in current ways of life, [...] More

• Holistic Management of Energy and Resource Efficiency in Companies MERU

  We are nearing the planet’s ecological limits, in large part due to current consumption and production patterns of industrial countries. Although innovations have been able to considerably increase energy and resource [...] More

• Peer Innovation – Sustainable household sector innovations in collaborative networks New data sources and methods for collecting the contributions of online communities to innovation and sustainability

  

  In the PeerInnovation project, the Institute for Ecological Economy Research and the Technical University of Berlin investigated how people work together on innovative solutions to sustainability problems in their spare time [...] More

• DiTex – Digital Technologies as Enabler of a Resource-efficient Circular Economy: Pilot Test in the B2B Textile Industry

  

  Whether in health care, gastronomy or police: Workwear leads to enormous quantities of identical textiles – with serious consequences for the environment. One possible solution is a closed-loop textile industry with [...] More

• Climate Plan Brandenburg Development of a Climate Protection Strategy for the State of Brandenburg

  The Paris Agreement, which is binding under international law and was adopted at the 21st International Climate Change Conference (COP21) in 2015, has provided a new basis for climate protection policy in all countries. [...] More

• New societal alliances for just transition pathways in Germany

  The climate and biodiversity crises continue to come to a dramatic head, while the political responses to these challenges remain inadequate, even after the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court. Climate targets have [...] More

• ENGAGE – Participation for a Sustainable Common Good

  

  The project ENGAGE  explores the conditions under which civic participation contributes to a sustainable common good. The term refers to both - public common good of present and future generations and thus the protection of [...] More

• Value of Green Urban Spaces II Continuation and transfer at federal and neighbourhood level

  

  The project "Value of Green Urban Spaces" has developed a tool to map and evaluate the benefits of green spaces in four participating cities to illustrate the ecosystem services of urban green spaces. Compared to the status [...] More

• Bits & Bäume – Conference 2022 The conference for digitalisation and sustainability

  

  Bits & Bäume is the largest German civil society alliance at the nexus of sustainability and digitalisation. It tackles issues such as the raw material and electricity needs of digital devices, data sufficiency, cooperative [...] 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

• Digitalization for Sustainability: Science in Dialogue

  The dialogue project “Digitalization for Sustainability: Science in Dialogue” aims at systematically connecting expert researchers from European academia and think tanks in order to co-create interdisciplinary approaches [...] More

• Opportunities and Risks of Digitization in Agriculture from the Perspective of Natural and Environmental Protection

  Agriculture is facing immense ecological challenges such as the loss of biodiversity loss and climate change. Is the use of digital technologies in crop production a solution to these challenges? These have long been used in [...] More

• Indirect positive contributions from renewable energies to nature conservation InPositive

  Renewable energies contribute to climate protection and thus to the preservation of ecosystems by saving fossil fuels. In addition, their use has direct and indirect consequences on ecosystems and ecosystem services in the [...] More

• Right Seeds? Commons-based rights on seeds and seed varieties as a driver for socio-ecological transformations in plant cultivation

  

  Seeds, which were traditionally a public good, are increasingly commercialized by strengthened property rights and growing market powers of transnational agribusiness. This trend is accompanied by increases in productivity, [...] 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