http://ioew.de/ IÖW-News en http://ioew.de/ http://ioew.de/ IÖW-News TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tue, 08 May 2012 16:39:00 +0200 http://ioew.de/no_cache/en/newsliste/news/article/sustainable-consumption-research-and-action-initiative-scorai-transatlantic-workshop-call-for/ The Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI) is convening a one-day workshop in Bregenz, Austria on May 1, 2012. The event will take place just prior to the 2012 conference of the European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP). Participants are invited... First Trans-Atlantic SCORAI Workshop, May 1, 2012, Bregenz, Austria

Call for Research and Strategy Papers Sustainable Consumption During Times of Crisis

The Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI) is convening a one-day workshop in Bregenz, Austria on May 1, 2012. The event will take place just prior to the 2012 conference of the European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP). Participants are invited to submit research and strategy papers that contribute to the following theme and focus areas.

Theme
(The problem) Research over the past four decades has demonstrated the limits of economic growth and the social and environmental problems associated with contemporary consumption-oriented lifestyles. Efforts to reform unsustainable patterns through development of cleaner production technologies and facilitation of different household decision-making processes have not lead to significant reductions in aggregate material and energy throughputs. At the same time, public policies, commercial inducements, and global media images continue to vigorously promote resource-intensive consumption practices. Meaningful transitions toward sustainable consumption require confronting existing consumerist culture and consumer models and formulating long-term visions based on systemic transformation.

(The challenges and opportunities presented by crisis) Recurrent financial and ecological crises have triggered extraordinary responses from national and transnational governments, multilateral organizations, and central banks. However, it is questionable if and how much these events have instigated new public awareness about the systemic interconnections among growing resource scarcities, widening income disparities, increasing unemployment, pervasive institutional failure, and others. The current wave of instability prompts numerous questions about prevalent consumption patterns in affluent countries and holds challenges and opportunities for scholars and practitioners seeking to envisage more sustainable pathways.

Across much of Europe, austerity policies are prompting reductions in household consumption by, for example, cutting social welfare payments and increasing taxes. While this material downsizing has potential to lower certain sources of ecological stress, it is also emblematic of widening inequality, declining governmental capacity, and increasing political instability. In some especially hard-pressed countries we are already seeing adaptive responses such as the rediscovery of bartering and localized trading as ways to meet daily needs. Though public discontent is spreading, uncertainty remains about whether current forms of political expression will be sufficient to achieve systemic changes consistent with more sustainable consumption, and whether links will be made between activist movements and sustainable development communities. A striking prototype could be Japan, where economic growth has stagnated for more than twenty years and the recent tsunami-induced disasters have compounded the country’s despondent economic mood. Indeed, one result may very well be a repackaging and relaunching of the growth paradigm.

(The goal and main theme of the workshop) The ongoing financial crisis—and the flaws that it exposes in the current system of economic organization—signals a need to go beyond customary approaches for conceptualizing sustainable consumption and to envision how we might configure entirely new systems of consumption. This workshop will bring together an international group of researchers and practitioners for focused consideration of these challenges and opportunities.

Focus Areas
•    What needs to change? Macro-level perspective: institutions, rules, regulations, norms, values.
•    Who can lead change? The usual set of characters (public, private, civil society engagement) or other entities? What type of collective action?
•    What is already changing? What are the alternatives? Micro-level perspective: social and solidarity-based economies, local exchange systems, others.
•    What is the long-term vision? Is there one? What does a sustainable consumption system look like?

Format
This one-day workshop will engage 30-40 participants from academia, policy making, business, and civil society to discuss approximately one dozen research and strategy papers that will be circulated to all participants in advance. In keeping with prior SCORAI workshops, each presenter will briefly recap the key points of his or her paper at the workshop. A discussant will be assigned to each contribution and s/he will elaborate a substantive critique. This arrangement will allow us to devote significant time to an in-depth group discussion of each paper. The workshop aims to stimulate debate around the changing circumstances for sustainable consumption with an emphasis on macroeconomic and political economic perspectives. The workshop will conclude with a discussion about the emergent SCORAI network in Europe.

Timeline
January 16 - Submission of abstracts/expressions of interest (send to scoraieurope@gmail.com)
January 30 - Notification of accepted abstracts
April 2 - Submission of final papers
April 16 - Distribution of papers and final program
May 1 - Trans-Atlantic SCORAI workshop in Bregenz
May 2-4 - 15th European Round Table on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP)

We look forward to your participation in this timely and important event.

On behalf of the organizing team,

Sylvia Lorek, Sustainable Europe Research Institute
Maurie Cohen, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Gerd Scholl, Institute for Ecological Economy Research
Willi Sieber, The Austrian Institute of Ecology                       
Marlyne Sahakian, The Graduate Institute, Geneva


Supporting SCORAI Members:

SCORAI Europe
Doris Fuchs, University of Münster
Sylvia Lorek, Sustainable Europe Research Institute
André Martinuzzi, WU Vienna
Jaco N. Quist, TU Delft
Marlyne Sahakian, The Graduate Institute, Geneva
Willi Sieber, The Austrian Institute of Ecology
Gerd Scholl, Institute for Ecological Economy Research
Ulf Schrader, TU Berlin
Martin Schweighofer, The Austrian Institute of Ecology
John Thøgersen, Aarhus University
Arnold Tukker, TNO

SCORAI USA Executive Committee
Jeffrey Barber, Integrative Strategies Forum
Halina Brown, Clark University
Maurie Cohen, New Jersey Institute of Technology
John Stutz, Tellus Institute
Philip Vergragt, Tellus Institute & Clark University ]]> Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:32:00 +0100 http://ioew.de/no_cache/en/newsliste/news/article/nachhaltiges-bauen-und-wohnen-europaeische-experten-beginnen-kooperation/ European knowledge brokerage consortium launches a series of “Policy meets Research” workshops on sustainable housing, starting in Helsinki/Finland on 23-25 November 2011 www.scp-knowledge.eu/section/housing) to serve as a platform for knowledge exchange and professional networking. “Recent winters, where e.g. in some Eastern European countries a secure heating has been at risk due to shortages in gas supply, show some of the urging aspects of moving ahead in sustainable housing”, explains Gerd Scholl, scientist at the Berlin-based Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and coordinator of the European consortium. The upcoming expert workshop aims at exploring major sustainability challenges in the housing domain, and will discuss key issues such as barriers to energy savings in households, ecological architecture, energy saving refurbishment and socially sustainable housing. “Our central goal is to enable direct exchange between policy-makers and researchers from different European countries”, explains Scholl. “By a deeper understanding of how different factors shape sustainable housing, we want to promote new policy approaches addressing the future of housing.” Among the key note speakers in this workshop is Gerhard J. Meyer, Professor at Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Architecture. Two subsequent workshops will take place in March and June 2012. They will address policy strategies and instruments promoting sustainable housing and develop scenarios of a sustainable housing future. “We want to generate a solid picture of sustainable housing based on sound scientific evidence”, states Scholl. “Sustainable housing has to be less energy intensive, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and include social aspects at the same time. Ideally, the picture that we want to develop will reveal common as well as divergent views, and also help identify future challenges for knowledge brokerage in this field.” The European consortium “CORPUS – Enhancing the connectivity between research and policy-making in sustainable consumption” is funded within the EU Seventh Framework programme. It aims to experiment with, and develop, new integrative modalities of knowledge brokerage in sustainable consumption policies. In addition to sustainable housing, the consortium addresses the domains of sustainable food and sustainable mobility. Donwnload this press release.]]> Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:26:00 +0100 http://ioew.de/no_cache/en/newsliste/news/article/25-years-refreshing-research-ioew-jahresbericht-201011-jetzt-auch-auf-englisch/ The Annual Report for 2010/11 presents the Institute’s current projects and publications dealing with seven issues. Under the banner of “Research for a Sustainable Economy”, the IÖW develops scientifically sound studies and concepts that are intended for practical application, and supports their... The Annual Report for 2010/11 presents the Institute’s current projects and publications dealing with seven issues. Under the banner of “Research for a Sustainable Economy”, the IÖW develops scientifically sound studies and concepts that are intended for practical application, and supports their implementation at the corporate and political level as well as in NGOs. Research for a Sustainable Economy Selected projects, like “Naturally Sustainable? Changing Industry with Bionics” or “What to Buy? Assessing Potentials and Impacts of Product Labels”, publications and events provide an overview of the activities of the IÖW. The IÖW researches a wide array of issues ranging from “Sustainable Corporate Management” and “Water and Land Management” to “Climate and Energy” and “Products and Consumption”.
Download Annual Report 2010/11 en (pdf 4 MB)
]]> Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:03:00 +0200 http://ioew.de/no_cache/en/newsliste/news/article/europaeische-experten-fordern-neue-forschungspolitik-zu-nachhaltiger-ernaehrung/ European consumption experts today called for a new research policy on sustainable food consumption. Facing recent food crises around the globe, European food research should set new priorities, advocated researchers and policy makers from all over Europe. More than 100 experts have jointly... “Going forward towards more sustainable food consumption requires a sound prioritisation of the relevant topics involved”, states Gerd Scholl, scientist at the Berlin-based Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW). “The new research agenda is the result of collaboration between food and consumption specialists from all over Europe. It offers a strategic and comprehensive approach for designing an innovative research policy in this domain.” "Unique cooperation" The research agenda has been developed by the European consortium CORPUS, which connects researchers and policy makers from all over Europe, in order to work jointly on sustainable consumption policies. The agenda results from a series of three workshops addressing, amongst other topics, current food trends, policy instruments and future visions for sustainable food. “Such a close cooperation on this topic is unique”, says Gerd Scholl. “The expertise of the different professionals involved gives weight to the topics listed in the common research agenda. We call on European research policy to further endorse strategic research on sustainable food consumption.” The consortium “CORPUS – Enhancing the connectivity between research and policy-making in sustainable consumption” is funded within the EU Seventh Framework programme. It aims to experiment with, and develop, new integrative modalities of knowledge brokerage on sustainable consumption policies. In addition to sustainable food, the consortium addresses the domains of sustainable mobility and sustainable housing. The website www.scp-knowledge.eu has been established as a platform for knowledge exchange and professional networking. The documentation of the food workshop series is available at: http://www.scp-knowledge.eu/og/food-group. Further information on the CORPUS Food Group:
http://www.scp-knowledge.eu/og/food-group]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:51:00 +0200 http://ioew.de/no_cache/en/newsliste/news/article/top-runner-fuer-die-eu-uba-studie-zur-foerderung-der-umweltfreundlichsten-produkte-veroeffentlic/ A guiding principle of product-related environmental protection is to promote those products on the market which are the best in ecological terms and the most efficient with regard to the consumption of energy and resources. The so-called “Top Runner” approach, developed in Japan, promotes the...
The study contains starting points for implementing a Top Runner approach at EU level. It addresses the use of the existing mixture of product-policy instruments, strengthening the regulatory “push” of the Ecodesign Directive as well as the importance of mandatory and meaningful communication of energy efficiency. “Pull” instruments are also treated in the study. Efficient frontrunner products could play a greater role in public procurement and in this way a system of incentives could be created for product innovations.

The study also contains conceptual ideas for overall structural and institutional coordination of Top Runner promotion in order to reduce the hitherto fragmented competencies in the EU and thus enhance the dynamics of the regulatory framework. To analyse the starting situation, a benchmark of Top Runner approaches was set in an international context and existing models in e.g. Japan, South Korea, Australia and the USA evaluated.

The long version of the study (only in German language) as well as a short concept paper in English can be downloaded free of charge from the UBA website.

Dirk Jepsen, Norbert Reintjes, Frieder Rubik, Rebecca Stecker, Florian Engel, Patrik Eisenhauer, Thomas Schomerus, Laura Spengler (2011): Product-related top runner approach at EU level, Project No. (FKZ) 363 01 233

]]> Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:59:00 +0200 http://ioew.de/no_cache/en/newsliste/news/article/europaeische-workshopserie-zu-nachhaltiger-mobilitaet-experten-aus-politik-und-forschung-starten-au/ The future development of mobility faces fundamental environmental, social and economic challenges. To support the transition towards a more sustainable mobility system, the European consortium CORPUS has now launched a workshop series on mobility, which aims to enhance evidence-based policy-making... The future development of mobility faces fundamental environmental, social and economic challenges. To support the transition towards a more sustainable mobility system, the European consortium CORPUS has now launched a workshop series on mobility, which aims to enhance evidence-based policy-making in this domain. Latest research and current policy approaches shall be connected by novel tools of knowledge brokerage. The workshop series will bring together European experts from mobility research and policy-making in order to facilitate knowledge sharing and community building. The kick-off-workshop is held in Szentendre, Hungary, on 5-6 May 2011. In parallel, a website has been established (www.scp-knowledge.eu/section/mobility) which serves as a platform for knowledge exchange and professional networking. “The workshop aims at exploring major sustainability challenges of the mobility domain”, explains Frieder Rubik, scientist at the Berlin-based Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and organiser of the meeting. “We discuss key issues such as mobility-induced greenhouse-gas-emissions, current mobility trends and foreseeable future transport demand as well as mobility-related consumer behaviour. Our central goal is to enable direct exchange between policy-makers and researchers and, thus, allow them to deepen their understanding of how different factors shape sustainable mobility.” Among the key note speakers in this workshop are Dr. Udo Hartmann, Senior Manager “Group Environmental Protection” at Daimler AG and Prof. Sebastian Bamberg from the University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld. Interested participants may register online. Two subsequent workshops will take place in October 2011 and April 2012. They will address policy strategies and instruments promoting sustainable mobility and, finally, scenarios of sustainable mobility and their role in policy planning. “Based on sound scientific evidence, we want to generate a concrete picture of future sustainable mobility”, states Rubik. “A sustainable mobility system has to be environmentally sound, but at the same time it should offer adequate and fair transport supplies. Ideally, this picture shall reveal common as well as diverging views and also help identify future challenges for knowledge brokerage in this field.” The European consortium “CORPUS – Enhancing the connectivity between research and policy-making in sustainable consumption” is funded within the EU Seventh Framework programme. It aims to experiment with and develop new integrative modalities of knowledge brokerage on sustainable consumption policies. In addition to sustainable mobility the consortium addresses the domains of sustainable food and sustainable housing. More Information at www.scp-knowledge.eu]]> Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:56:00 +0200 http://ioew.de/no_cache/en/newsliste/news/article/call-for-papers-changing-the-energy-system-to-renewable-energy-self-sufficiency-ress-an-inter-1/ The International Conference taking place on September 15th-16th 2011 in Freiburg aims to attract scientists from a wide variety of disciplines who share an interest in studying the change of the energy system to a system based on renewable energies. The conference is hosted by the EE-Regionen... International Conference, September 15th-16th 2011, Freiburg

The transformation of the present energy system to a sustainable energy system is discussed worldwide. Self-sufficiency attained with the help of electricity, heat, and fuel from renewable energy in combination with energy saving behaviors is seen as the one way to establish a sustainable energy system. Therefore, in order for the implementation of renewable energy self-sufficiency (RESS) to be successful, numerous ecological, economic, technical, and social factors have to be taken into account, making an interdisciplinary analysis indispensable. Moreover the integration of local and practical knowledge is essential in many cases (transdisciplinary approaches). However, what is lacking the most is a coherent approach to the topics from different fields. On these grounds the conference aims to attract scientists (PhD students, post-docs, senior researchers) from a wide variety of disciplines who share an interest in studying the change of the energy system to a system based on renewable energies. We welcome papers and posters addressing the following five session topics: Session I - Actors, Networks and Institutions: The role of actors, networks and institutions in the process of change towards renewable energy self-sufficiency Session II - Economic Impacts of Renewable Energies: The economic impacts of renewable energies while taking social and ecological aspects into account Session III - Land Use Systems: Renewable energy self-sufficiency and integrated, sustainable land use systems Session IV - Protest, Support and Financial Participation: Protest, support and financial participation - the different roles of citizens in the change to RESS Session V - Reduction of Energy Demand: Social prerequisites for the promotion of energy savings in order to reach RESS The results and problem areas brought forth in the sessions will be further examined in additional Integrating Sessions with the objective to advance a coherent approach to the issues surrounding RESS. All participants who do not hand-in a paper are asked to prepare a poster (DIN A 0), which will be displayed in a gallery during the two conference days. Deadline for registration and submission of abstracts: 15th April 2011. The RESS-Conference is hosted by the EE-Regionen (Renewable Energy Regions) project in cooperation with the Centre for Renewable Energy (ZEE, University of Freiburg), the University of Hohenheim and the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW, Berlin). It is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany. For further information about the conference and abstract submission, please visit the conference homepage www.ress-conference.uni-freiburg.de ]]> Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:37:00 +0100