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Consumption

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  Striking a Balance – The Role of Sufficiency in the Energy Transition

  Blog 09/19/2023

  Sufficiency has been an important topic at the Oeko-Institut for over a decade. In this context, the Oeko-Institut, together with Vito / EnergyVille and for the EEA, has written a study on the term „sufficiency“. The key findings are presented in this article.

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  Study reveals major climate change mitigation potential in film production

  Blog 02/15/2023

  The greenhouse gas emissions of film productions and TV series have been systematically analysed in a comprehensive study for the first time. The dataset is based on 78 productions (see list at the end of this article). The idea for a sustainability initiative came from the film industry itself and aimed to ensure that in future, climate impacts are taken into account and mitigated from the start of production onwards.

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  Waste management in practice in Ghana and Nigeria

  Blog 01/05/2023

  Tobias Schleicher, scientist at the Oeko-Institut, was on the road in West Africa, where two of his waste management projects are on the home straight. In this blog post, Tobias Schleicher describes his impressions.

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  Linking a global plastic pollution agreement with local realities

  Blog 12/02/2022

  However, in the often abstract negotiations, it is important not to overlook realities at the local level, where action will be needed to implement the agreement.

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  Waste Management in India: A Woman Fights for the Circular Economy

  10/04/2022

  Wilma Rodrigues founded the Sahaas Zero Waste company, which now offers comprehensive services that help to retain resources within the cycle.

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  Innovation diffusion process of the German’s green technology for preventing plastic waste – and its applicability to Thailand

  Blog 05/25/2022

  Our visiting researcher Napaporn Yuberk is the National Coordinator for the CAP SEA project based in GIZ Office Bangkok, Thailand. She writes about her thoughts on Germany’s innovation diffusion process.

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  10 steps towards sustainable consumption

  Blog 05/10/2022

  Sustainable consumption – how does it work? Our research assistant Felix Behrens has often been asked that question by his friends since joining the Oeko-Institut. Together with his colleagues, he has defined 10 key principles that support sustainable consumer choices.

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  How the fashion industry and climate crisis are intertwined

  Blog 08/10/2021

  Tthe next time you are out shopping for new clothes think of what cause you might be supporting. And how your decision might affect our world.

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  #CircularEconomy_5: Waste compensation as a circular business model in the e-waste sector

  Blog 07/20/2021

  As we mentioned in one of our previous blogs, everyone seems to be talking about circular business models as a contribution to a circular economy. But not all of these models lead to real progress in addressing social and environmental problems. So what makes a difference? Senior Researcher Tobias Schleicher shares his thoughts on e-waste and waste compensation.

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  #CircularEconomy_4: Dealing with complex supply chains and products

  Blog 06/17/2021

  Circular Business Models are effective, when they operate in short and well-known supply chains.

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  #CircularEconomy_3: Only with the right prescription can the circular economy be a remedy

  Blog 06/02/2021

  Not all Circular Business Models are designed to relieve the environment to the extent that would be necessary.

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  #CircularEconomy_1: Will Circular Business Models save the world? [deu/eng]

  Blog 04/29/2021

  In the #CircularEconomy blog series, some scientists of the Oeko-Institut raise few questions on the current state and potential of Circular Business Models and present their proposals on how the circular economy can really contribute to climate protection.

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  No sustainability debate without chemicals

  Blog 11/19/2020

  Invisible but present everywhere: everyday products such as electronic goods, sofas and clothes release chemicals into the air, yet this is an entirely overlooked aspect of the sustainability debate. The chemist Clara Löw of the Oeko-Institut explains in her blog post why this needs to change.

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  How environmentally friendly are books?

  Blog 10/13/2020

  The search engine of a large online bookseller finds 695 books matching the search term “Greta Thunberg”. Reading about her climate activism is wonderful, but does she approve, we wonder? After all, the printing of all those pages is itself a source of CO2 emissions. We mark the Leipzig Book Fair by asking which factors influence the ecological footprint of books and e-book readers. The answer will help readers to decide how climate-friendly they can make their reading. Carl-Otto Gensch of the Oeko-Institut has done a few calculations.

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  "Two weeks for future": Me, my son and our tandem

  Blog 09/23/2020

  Because her son Felix needs the same level of care as a toddler, Dr Teufel has no time to demonstrate regularly. Nevertheless, she wanted to make a stand and show her solidarity. That is how she hit on the idea of taking her son and the recumbent tandem on a “Two Weeks for Future” cycling tour. Here she reports on the trip.

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  The carbon footprint of our digital lifestyles

  Blog 04/24/2020

  Oeko-Institut is reputed for knowing the answers to many relevant environmental questions concerning the future. Senior researcher Jens Gröger is currently working on the topic of "sustainable digitization" and has done the maths.

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  Changes in course needed for UN scheme to address aviation emissions

  Blog 04/07/2020

  Commentary on the UN agreement CORSIA

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  Using incentives to put out fires [de/eng]

  Blog 02/11/2020

  The area of Agbogbloshie in Accra, Ghana’s capital city, has come to the world’s attention on account of its role in the recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) and the problems that this gives rise to. Andreas Manhart of the Oeko-Institut took part in a project that looked for – and found – new ways of solving the e-waste problem in Ghana.

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  #plasticfree: Car tyres are the main microplastic pollutant [deu/eng]

  Blog 12/18/2019

  Part 4: Tyre abrasion is in Germany responsible for one third of the total microplastic input into the environment.

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  #plasticfree: Microplastics are in style

  Blog 12/13/2019

  Part 3: Instead of clothes, we should change our attitude towards fashion.

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  #plasticfree: A bowl of soup instead of packet soup

  Blog 12/09/2019

  Part 2: Consumers should ask themselves with every piece of plastic they hold in their hands: How could I avoid this waste next time?

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  Sustainable clothing? It suits me! [eng]

  Blog 04/17/2019

  Neither eco nor fair: Matching the Fashion Week in Berlin, Alexa Hännicke and Dr Jenny Teufel reveal the consequences of "fast fashion".

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  Repair or replace?

  Blog 04/04/2019

  [Translate to English:] How can appliances be kept in service for as long as possible? When are they worth repairing – and when does it makes sense to buy a new and efficient appliance? The Oeko-Institut provides answers to these questions in a new background paper.