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Banken, Versicherungen, Asset Manager und weitere Finanzdienstleister spielen bei der Unterstützung der Transformation zu einer nachhaltigen Wirtschaft eine substantielle Rolle. Dabei werden sie von ökologischen, sozialen und politischen... more
Banken, Versicherungen, Asset Manager und weitere Finanzdienstleister spielen bei der Unterstützung der Transformation zu einer nachhaltigen Wirtschaft eine substantielle Rolle. Dabei werden sie von ökologischen, sozialen und politischen Risikofeldern herausgefordert. Wie Sie Ihr Risikomanagement unter diesen ESG-Kriterien (Environmental, Social, Governance) optimal ausrichten können, beleuchtet das innovative Praxisbuch systematisch – mit Beiträgen führender Finanzdienstleister, Aufsichtsbehörden, Hochschulen, Think Tanks und Beratungsgesellschaften: ein wichtiges, hochaktuelles Schlüsselthema für die gesamte Branche.
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The food system plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change. Even if fossil fuel emissions are halted immediately, current trends in global food systems may prevent the achieving of the Paris Agreement’s climate targets. The high... more
The food system plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change. Even if fossil fuel emissions are halted immediately, current trends in global food systems may prevent the achieving of the Paris Agreement’s climate targets. The high degree of variability and uncertainty involved in calculating diet-related greenhouse gas emissions limits the ability to evaluate reduction potentials to remain below a global warming of 1.5 or 2 degrees. This study assessed Western European dietary patterns while accounting for uncertainty and variability. An extensive literature review provided value ranges for climate impacts of animal-based foods to conduct an uncertainty analysis via Monte Carlo simulation. The resulting carbon footprints were assessed against food system-specific greenhouse gas emission thresholds. The range and absolute value of a diet carbon footprint become larger the higher the amount of products with highly varying emission values in the diet. All dietary pattern carbon fo...
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Research Interests: Political Science and DDC
Die Modellierungs-Studie "Reparaturkosten-Empfehlung" wurde vom Wuppertal Institut im Auftrag der Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen erstellt. Die Studie zielt auf die Berechnung von maximalen Reparaturkosten, die für eine... more
Die Modellierungs-Studie "Reparaturkosten-Empfehlung" wurde vom Wuppertal Institut im Auftrag der Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen erstellt. Die Studie zielt auf die Berechnung von maximalen Reparaturkosten, die für eine Reparatur aus finanzieller Sicht sinnvoll für Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher sind. Zusätzlich wird die ökologische Vorteilhaftigkeit von Reparaturen beispielhaft diskutiert
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Renewable energies, for example wind energy, are regarded as sustainable energies. A conference at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute for Advanced Study, HWK) in June, 2012, raised the question wether this is really the case. The... more
Renewable energies, for example wind energy, are regarded as sustainable energies. A conference at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute for Advanced Study, HWK) in June, 2012, raised the question wether this is really the case. The conference addressed all materials involved throughout a full life cycle of a wind turbine. Sessions on the most relevant issues structured the event: material flows and sustainability, international developments, life cycle approach, logistics and rotor blades. Stimulating presentations and lively discussions characterized all sessions. With wind energy being a very young field, a lot of research still needs to be done, especially on all aspects of sustainability. Two areas were identified as especially relevant: offshore wind park maintenance and material efficiency.
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Research Interests: Political Science and DDC
Es wurde ein systematisches Aktivitäten-Monitoring zur nationalen und internationalen Umsetzung von SDG 12 "Nachhaltige Konsum- und Produktionsmuster sicherstellen" durch Deutschland aufgebaut. Damit soll der Umsetzungsstand... more
Es wurde ein systematisches Aktivitäten-Monitoring zur nationalen und internationalen Umsetzung von SDG 12 "Nachhaltige Konsum- und Produktionsmuster sicherstellen" durch Deutschland aufgebaut. Damit soll der Umsetzungsstand zum SDG 12 erfasst und Handlungsoptionen abgeleitet werden. Der Umsetzungsstand ist in einer nutzerfreundlichen Datenbank aufbereitet. Die Inhalte der Datenbank fließen in internationale Reporting-Prozesse ein. Darüber hinaus wurden vom Projektteam Indikatoren zum nachhaltigen Konsum und zu nachhaltiger Produktion auf ihre Eignung als Indikatoren für die Unterziele von SDG 12 geprüft und auf dieser Basis Impulse zur Weiterentwicklung des bestehenden nationalen Indikatoren-Systems generiert
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The Wuppertal Institute conducted an impact analysis of the NRW Sustainability Bond #4 of 2018 on behalf of the State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The most recent bond has a volume of EUR 2.025bn, a term of 10 years and... more
The Wuppertal Institute conducted an impact analysis of the NRW Sustainability Bond #4 of 2018 on behalf of the State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The most recent bond has a volume of EUR 2.025bn, a term of 10 years and consists of 52 eligible projects from the State's 2017 general budget (sustainable value-added was confirmed in a second party opinion by oekom research1). This report analyses the contribution of the bond to climate mitigation, sustainable land use and social impacts. It also includes information on the impacts of the previous three bonds (NRW Sustainability Bond #1 to #3)
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The Wuppertal Institute conducted an impact analysis of the NRW sustainability bond #5 of 2019 on behalf of the State government of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The most recent bond has a volume of EUR 2.25 bn, a term of 15 years and... more
The Wuppertal Institute conducted an impact analysis of the NRW sustainability bond #5 of 2019 on behalf of the State government of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The most recent bond has a volume of EUR 2.25 bn, a term of 15 years and consists of 52 eligible projects from the State's 2018 general budget (sustainable value-added was confirmed in a second party opinion by ISS-oekom). This report analyses the contribution of the bond to climate mitigation, sustainable land use and social impacts. It also includes information on the impacts of the previous four bonds (NRW sustainability bond #1 to #4)
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Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist es, positive Nachhaltigkeitseffekte für die in 2017 emittierte Nachhaltigskeitsanleihe NRW zu bewerten. Die Studie baut dabei auf der Wirkungsanalyse der zweiten Nachhaltigskeitsanleihe NRW auf. Diese... more
Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist es, positive Nachhaltigkeitseffekte für die in 2017 emittierte Nachhaltigskeitsanleihe NRW zu bewerten. Die Studie baut dabei auf der Wirkungsanalyse der zweiten Nachhaltigskeitsanleihe NRW auf. Diese Studie war auf die Abschätzung von Treibhausgas-Minderungspotenzialen (THG-Minderungen) fokussiert. Der Fokus der vorliegenden Studie liegt ebenfalls auf der Evaluation der potenziellen THG-Minderung, da deren Bewertung sich derzeit als Standard für eine Wirkungsanalyse solcher Anleihen abzeichnet
Die GLS Bank finanziert gezielt nachhaltige Projekte und Unternehmen in den Bereichen erneuerbare Energien, nachhaltige Wirtschaft, Ernährung, Wohnen, Bildung & Kultur, Soziales & Gesundheit. Eine zentrale Herausforderung ist es, die... more
Die GLS Bank finanziert gezielt nachhaltige Projekte und Unternehmen in den Bereichen erneuerbare Energien, nachhaltige Wirtschaft, Ernährung, Wohnen, Bildung & Kultur, Soziales & Gesundheit. Eine zentrale Herausforderung ist es, die Nachhaltigkeitswirkung der Finanz- und Anlagestrategie robust zu quantifizieren und transparent darzustellen. Die GLS Bank hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, die hierfür notwendigen Methoden und Daten zur Bewertung der Nachhaltigkeitswirkungen ihres Finanz- und Anlagenportfolios schrittweise weiterzuentwickeln, um eine richtungssichere Portfoliosteuerung und Kundenbetreuung zu unterstützen. Ziel des Projektes ist zunächst, das Emissionsgeschehen der finanzierten Wertschöpfungskette abzubilden (Scope 3), aber auch die eingesparten Emissionen als einen Beitrag zum Klimaschutz zu bewerten (Scope 4). Es werden die Scope 3 Emissionen der GLS Bank in den folgenden Finanz- und Anlagebereichen für das Berichtsjahr 2019 bilanziert: 1. Aktien- und Klimafonds; 2. Kredite;...
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Mit der Nachhaltigkeitsanleihe NRW erschließt das Land das international wachsende Segment des nachhaltigen Investments für die Kreditfinanzierung des Landeshaushalts. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist es, die Bewertung positiver... more
Mit der Nachhaltigkeitsanleihe NRW erschließt das Land das international wachsende Segment des nachhaltigen Investments für die Kreditfinanzierung des Landeshaushalts. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist es, die Bewertung positiver Nachhaltigkeitseffekte für die in 2016 emittierte Nachhaltigkeitsanleihe NRW zu erproben und Handlungsempfehlungen zur Bewertung zukünftiger Nachhaltigkeitsanleihen zu entwickeln. Für eine umfassende Nachhaltigkeitsanalyse ist aufgrund der Vielschichtigkeit der finanzierten Projekte und fehlender Standards zur Bewertung sozialer Kriterien eine umfangreiche Untersuchung erforderlich, wodurch sie für eine regelmäßige und standardisierte Wirkungsanalyse zukünftiger Anleihen nicht in Frage kommt. Stattdessen verfolgt die vorliegende Studie einen pragmatischen Ansatz zur Bewertung. Der Fokus liegt auf der Evaluation der potenziellen Treibhausgas-Minderung (THG-Minderung), da deren Bewertung sich derzeit als Standard für eine Wirkungsanalyse solcher Anleihen abze...
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Immer mehr Unternehmen verkünden, klimaneutral sein zu wollen und zahlreiche Firmen bieten bereits klimaneutrale Produkte oder Dienstleistungen an: Von der klimaneutralen Paketzustellung bis zur Flugreise. Doch was bedeuten die... more
Immer mehr Unternehmen verkünden, klimaneutral sein zu wollen und zahlreiche Firmen bieten bereits klimaneutrale Produkte oder Dienstleistungen an: Von der klimaneutralen Paketzustellung bis zur Flugreise. Doch was bedeuten die Neutralitätsziele der Unternehmen genau? Ist das gesetzte Ziel ambitioniert? Und welche Rolle spielt Offsetting, also der Ankauf von Klimaschutzzertifikaten und deren Anrechnung auf das eigene Klimaschutzziel? Die hinter den verkündeten Zielen stehenden Ansätze sind häufig nur schwer nachvollziehbar. Vor diesem Hintergrund gibt der vorliegende Zukunftsimpuls zehn Empfehlungen für die Festlegung und Umsetzung von Neutralitätszielen. Die Autorinnen und Autoren sprechen sich dabei unter anderem für die Nutzung einer robusten Datenbasis als Grundlage für Neutralitätsziele aus, betonen die Bedeutung einer transparenten Kommunikation und zeigen auf, welche Rolle Offsetting spielen sollte. So sollten angekaufte Klimaschutz-Zertifikate einen möglichst begrenzten Beit...
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The increasing prevalence and implementation of climate neutrality or net zero targets by companies is in essence a welcome development. It is an expression of greater awareness that the climate crisis requires responsible and... more
The increasing prevalence and implementation of climate neutrality or net zero targets by companies is in essence a welcome development. It is an expression of greater awareness that the climate crisis requires responsible and forward-looking action by companies, and that they are willing to take on this responsibility. However, neutrality targets can hide the fact that society in general and many companies in particular still face enormous challenges in overcoming the climate crisis. In most cases, there is a long and arduous path between formulating targets and achieving them, with the latter requiring the realisation of a wide range of measures. The Wuppertal Institute therefore proposes the recommendations for setting and implementing net zero targets.
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The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is supporting the government of Nigeria to implement a project for developing the circular economy of the electronics sector in Nigeria, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The key... more
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is supporting the government of Nigeria to implement a project for developing the circular economy of the electronics sector in Nigeria, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The key activities include providing policy and technical support, defining the roadmap for the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation, and setting up a suitable framework for the electronics producers to establish a management system, to take care of the collection and recycling of end-of-life electrical and electronic appliances. At the same time, UNEP is leading a component to develop circular economy approaches and best cases for the electronics sector in Nigeria and Africa. This workshop brings together stakeholders from electronics sector, governments, international manufacturers. It collects insights and share best practices/examples on circular economy for electronics. This work supports the implementation of GEF project “Circu...
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Im Forschungsprojekt "Landscaping" untersuchte das Wuppertal Institut die fur Nordrhein-Westfalen aus heutiger Sicht denkbaren Technologieansatze, die dafur notigen politischen Rahmenbedingungen sowie mogliche Innovationen... more
Im Forschungsprojekt "Landscaping" untersuchte das Wuppertal Institut die fur Nordrhein-Westfalen aus heutiger Sicht denkbaren Technologieansatze, die dafur notigen politischen Rahmenbedingungen sowie mogliche Innovationen entlang der Wertschopfungsketten. Bestandteil des Berichts sind Steckbriefe, in denen die moglichen Technologien fur treibhausgasneutrale Industrieprozesse samt offener Forschungsfragen und Infrastrukturbedarfe dargestellt sind. Das Projekt entstand im Auftrag des Ministeriums fur Wirtschaft, Innovation, Digitalisierung und Energie des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen.
Research Interests: Political Science and DDC
Improvements in energy efficiency have numerous impacts additional to energy and greenhouse gas savings. This paper presents key findings and policy recommendations of the COMBI project (“Calculating and Operationalising the Multiple... more
Improvements in energy efficiency have numerous impacts additional to energy and greenhouse gas savings. This paper presents key findings and policy recommendations of the COMBI project (“Calculating and Operationalising the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency in Europe”). This project aimed at quantifying the energy and non-energy impacts that a realisation of the EU energy efficiency potential would have in 2030. It covered the most relevant technical energy efficiency improvement actions in buildings, transport and industry. Quantified impacts include reduced air pollution (and its effects on human health, eco-systems), improved social welfare (health, productivity), saved biotic and abiotic resources, effects on the energy system and energy security, and the economy (employment, GDP, public budgets and energy/ EU-ETS prices). The paper shows that a more ambitious energy efficiency policy in Europe would lead to substantial impacts: overall, in 2030 alone, monetized multiple i...
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Energy efficiency improvements have numerous benefits/impacts additional to energy and greenhouse gas savings, as has been shown and analysed e.g. in the 2014 IEA Report on "Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency". This paper... more
Energy efficiency improvements have numerous benefits/impacts additional to energy and greenhouse gas savings, as has been shown and analysed e.g. in the 2014 IEA Report on "Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency". This paper presents the Horizon 2020-project COMBI ("Calculating and Operationalising the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency in Europe"), aiming at calculating the energy and non-energy impacts that a realisation of the EU energy efficiency potential would have in 2030. The project covers the most relevant technical energy efficiency improvement actions and estimates impacts of reduced air pollution (and its effects on human health, eco-systems/crops, buildings), improved social welfare (incl. disposable income, comfort, health, productivity), saved biotic and abiotic resources, and energy system, energy security, and the macroeconomy (employment, economic growth and public budget). This paper explains how the COMBI energy savings potential in the ...
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Im Rahmen des Forschungsprojektes wurde auf der Ebene von privaten Haushalten untersucht, in welchem Ausmas eine Bedurfnisbefriedigung mit materiellen Gutern innerhalb der Randbedingungen von globaler Gerechtigkeit, einer nachhaltigen... more
Im Rahmen des Forschungsprojektes wurde auf der Ebene von privaten Haushalten untersucht, in welchem Ausmas eine Bedurfnisbefriedigung mit materiellen Gutern innerhalb der Randbedingungen von globaler Gerechtigkeit, einer nachhaltigen Rohstoffnutzung und einer umweltvertraglichen Gesellschaft moglich ist. Zur Bestimmung des Rohstoffbedarfs langlebiger Haushaltsguter wurden das methodische Konzept der Verfugungskorridore entwickelt und empirisch fundiert sowie global tragfahige Ausstattungen fur verschiedene Haushalte prototypisch dargestellt. Das im Rahmen des Projekts entwickelte Webtool veranschaulicht wesentliche Ergebnisse des Forschungsvorhabens. Vor dem Hintergrund ihrer eigenen Haushaltsausstattungen wird den Nutzer/-innen des Webtools das Forschungsthema "Rohstoffverbrauch und Nachhaltigkeit" exemplarisch veranschaulicht, wodurch eine konkrete Reflexion des eigenen Konsumverhaltens ermoglicht wird.
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The implementation of energy efficiency improvement actions not only yields energy and greenhouse gas emission savings, but also leads to other multiple impacts such as air pollution reductions and subsequent health and eco-system... more
The implementation of energy efficiency improvement actions not only yields energy and greenhouse gas emission savings, but also leads to other multiple impacts such as air pollution reductions and subsequent health and eco-system effects, resource impacts, economic effects on labour markets, aggregate demand and energy prices or on energy security. While many of these impacts have been studied in previous research, this work quantifies them in one consistent framework based on a common underlying bottom-up funded energy efficiency scenario across the EU. These scenario data are used to quantify multiple impacts by energy efficiency improvement action and for all EU28 member states using existing approaches and partially further developing methodologies. Where possible, impacts are integrated into cost-benefit analyses. We find that with a conservative estimate, multiple impacts sum up to a size of at least 50% of energy cost savings, with substantial impacts coming from e.g., air p...
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Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) requires sustainable production and consumption. One indicator named in the SDG for resource use is the (national) material footprint. A method and disaggregated data basis that differentiates the... more
Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) requires sustainable production and consumption. One indicator named in the SDG for resource use is the (national) material footprint. A method and disaggregated data basis that differentiates the material footprint for production and consumption according to, e.g., sectors, fields of consumption as well as socioeconomic criteria does not yet exist. We present two methods and its results for analyzing resource the consumption of private households based on microdata: (1) an indicator based on representative expenditure data in Germany and (2) an indicator based on survey data from a web tool. By these means, we aim to contribute to monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. Indicators based on microdata ensure that indicators can be disaggregated by socioeconomic characteristics like age, sex, income, or geographic location. Results from both methods show a right...
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The long-term transition towards a low-carbon transport sector is a key strategy in Europe. This includes the replacement of fossil fuels, modal shifts towards public transport as well as higher energy efficiency in the transport sector... more
The long-term transition towards a low-carbon transport sector is a key strategy in Europe. This includes the replacement of fossil fuels, modal shifts towards public transport as well as higher energy efficiency in the transport sector overall. While these energy savings are likely to reduce the direct greenhouse gas emissions of transport, they also require the production of new and different vehicles. This study analyses in detail whether final energy savings in the transport sector also induce savings for material resources from nature if the production of future vehicles is considered. The results for 28 member states in 2030 indicate that energy efficiency in the transport sector leads to lower carbon emissions as well as resource use savings. However, energy-efficient transport sectors can have a significant impact on the demand for metals in Europe. An additional annual demand for 28.4 Mt of metal ores was calculated from the personal transport sector in 2030 alone. The addi...
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Research Interests: Political Science and DDC
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The study investigates if causal claims based on a theory-of-change approach for impact reporting are credible. The authors use their most recent impact report for a Social Bond to show how theory-based logic models can be used to map the... more
The study investigates if causal claims based on a theory-of-change approach for impact reporting are credible. The authors use their most recent impact report for a Social Bond to show how theory-based logic models can be used to map the sustainability claims of issuers to quantifiable indicators. A single project family (homeownership loans) is then used as a case study to test the underlying hypotheses of the sustainability claims. By applying Bayes Theorem, evidence for and against the claims is weighted to calculate the degree to which the belief in the claims is warranted. The authors found that only one out of three claims describe a probable cause–effect chain for social benefits from the loans. The other two claims either require more primary data to be corroborated or should be re-defined to link the intervention more closely and robustly with the overarching societal goals. However, all previous reported indicators are below the thresholds of the most conservative estimat...
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Including co-benefits into the cost-benefit analysis of energy options is pivotal. This is not done mainly due to lack of adequate methods, this paper fills this gap. We identify the key challenges to integrating co-impacts into... more
Including co-benefits into the cost-benefit analysis of energy options is pivotal. This is not done mainly due to lack of adequate methods, this paper fills this gap. We identify the key challenges to integrating co-impacts into cost-benefit analysis. We propose a menu of solutions to each challenge. An analytical framework systematically addressing interactions among co-impacts. a b s t r a c t The economic assessment of low-carbon energy options is the primary step towards the design of policy portfolios to foster the green energy economy. However, today these assessments often fall short of including important determinants of the overall cost-benefit balance of such options by not including indirect costs and benefits, even though these can be game-changing. This is often due to the lack of adequate methodologies. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive account of the key methodological challenges to the assessment of the multiple impacts of energy options, and an initial menu of potential solutions to address these challenges. The paper first provides evidence for the importance of the multiple impacts of energy actions in the assessment of low-carbon options. The paper identifies a few key challenges to the evaluation of the co-impacts of low-carbon options and demonstrates that these are more complex for co-impacts than for the direct ones. Such challenges include several layers of additionality, high context dependency, and accounting for distributional effects. The paper continues by identifying the key challenges to the aggregation of multiple impacts including the risks of overcounting while taking into account the multitude of interactions among the various co-impacts. The paper proposes an analytical framework that can help address these and frame a systematic assessment of the multiple impacts.