About the Blog

This blog is created by student reporters upon request of the German Federal Environment Agency during the European Resources Forum 2012 in Berlin. Opinions presented here do not necessarily align with the views and opinions of the ERF or other organizations involved. 

Our 13 key results and recommendations

1. We are well aware that we are locked-in in unsustainable patterns of consumption - now is the time to figure out how to unlock ourselves and abandon them.


2. We need decoupling of economic growth from both resource use and environmental impacts. 


3. We have increased labor productivity but have not sufficiently responded to the scarcity of raw materials and overuse of natural sinks: Resource productivity also demands proper taxation and incentive-structures. 


4. Education and qualification to act: We need programs addressing politicians, consumers, market actors, students and children on a global scale.


5. There is urgent need for an international land-use policy and strategy.


6. Radical change of status quo is a socio-economic mega-task related to the resources and capacities of the natural environment: Therefore the involvement and cooperation of experts from different sectors and disciplines is required.


7. Infrastructures need to be transformed and within that process especially non-technical barriers such as social dynamics and regulatory barriers must be addressed.


8. Europe has to present a new economic model, as we did 200 years ago in the industrial revolution. We must use the momentum which was built up during the past 20 years and the window of opportunity given by the financial crisis.


9. The European Union needs to build a strategic alliance with partners beyond the usual suspects: Countries with the willingness to turn and transform. 


10. In light of the global and interrelated challenges, we need a systemic set of policies - not isolated instruments.


11. In Europe, we need to make greater use of the dynamics and drive of smaller scale actors such as cities and municipalities to overcome governability problems.


12. Cost reductions through resource efficiency gains are already a central driver for business and consumers, but we need to further engage them and create strategies and visions of the future resource-base of our society.


13. Strategies must address the rebound effect by targeting the triangle of sufficiency (absolute reduction), efficiency (relative reduction) and consistency (substitution of critical materials and products, circular material flows).

Student team, Leuphana University Lueneburg
Adeline Wagner, Sebastian Koch, Florian Reinert, Svenja Stropahl

Education for Sustainable Development

Eduaction is one of the main leverage points we have. The newly created Worldforum of Universities of Resources on Sustainability (WFURS) is dedicated to furthering education and research in the field of raw materials. It is a necessary response to inaction lack of attention the topic of raw materials as Prof. Bernd Meyer, 1st president of WFURS and TU Bergakademie Freiberg pointed out.

With a broader approach but similar intention, the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative for Rio+20 addresses university worldwide and declares:

· Teach sustainable development concepts 

· Encourage research on sustainable development issues 

· Green our campuses 

· Support sustainability efforts 

· Engage with and share results through international frameworks 

This action and urge is clearly needed since little has been done by the majority of programs as Thomas Korbun, Scientific Director, Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) says:

"Only 2 % of the German university teaching programmes include even any sustainability content, not even just resource efficiency issues. We should be very aware of this tremendous challenge because in conferences like this we might tend to think that everybody knows about sustainable resource use - but this is unfortunately not the case." 

Links and Resources: 

IÖW website: http://www.ioew.de/en/

Higher Education Sustainability Initiative for Rio+20: http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.php?page=view&nr=341&type=12&menu=35

Worldforum of Universities of Resources on Sustainability (WFURS): http://www.worldforum-sustainability.org/

Short film "Beyond Climate Change – Flow"

Everyone who participated at either the European or German National Resources Forum will have by now watched the  short film "Beyond Climate Change – Flow". For everyone else: http://www.resourcesforum.eu/video.html

The 10-minute film explores the issue of wastage of our natural resources, reflects our consumption-oriented lifestyle through impressive imagery and illustrates how global material flows are linked. Facts and figures caution viewers to take responsibility without discouraging them. The film ends with the camera moving through the town of tomorrow with many examples of sustainable approaches.

The film produced by sustainable design center on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency. 

Do We Need Another Environmental Conference?

The question "Do We Need Another Environmental Conference?" was raised by Nora Locskai, a member of the student reporter team who have followed a range of international conferences on the issue: 

When we think about international environmental conferences, similar pictures come to our minds: experts flying in to chic venues, abundance of good food and long discussions of impacts that are hard to gauge. Which brings us to the question: do we really need to launch the tradition of another yearly environmental conference in Europe?

Read the whole article and watch their video interview with conference host Dr. Harry Lehmann (The Federal Environment Agency (UBA)) on: http://www.studentreporter.org/2012/11/do-we-need-another-environmental-conference/

You find out who they are, more articles and insights on the student reporters website: http://www.studentreporter.org/

Marylin Mehlmann

"Resource efficiency is a boring message and it is simply not enough.
We should talk about quality of life and for most people quality of life is about more time. So work less, reduce stress! Come on, let's have a vision of good life!"

Marylin Mehlmann

Marilyn Mehlmann is General Secretary of Global Action Plan (GAP) International, a network of NGOs that teach individuals, businesses and organizations a sustainable lifestyle and sustainable manners of operating. Global Action Plan International aims at empowering people to live and work increasingly sustainably. Marilyn is awarded the Rachel Carson Prize 2011–2012 for her longterm efforts to involve individuals, companies and NGOs in acting sustainably.

Her personal website is a rich source of articles and interviews on her engagement: http://marilynmehlmann.com/

Website of Global Action Plan (GAP) International: http://www.globalactionplan.com/

Buildings & Construction

"How do we want to live in the future?" This is one of the few key questions raised during the European Resources Forum (ERF).

Within the construction industry, front-runners are responding to the our visions around sustainable living and even provide us with solutions we weren't able to imagine. Hubert Rhomberg, CEO of Rhomberg Holding GmbH and speaker at the ERF, is THE example of an entrepreneuer with such a creativity and power to change the world around him. His firm created its business case on maximum resource and energy efficiency: CREE - Creative Resource & Energy Efficiency.

The LifeCycle Tower is one of of CREE' projects: A unique wood-hybrid construction system which enables buildings to be erected using the principles of maximum resource and energy efficiency. Durable, natural, sustainable, safe and, with 30 stories, up to 100 metres high. The LCT ONE, with its eight stories and prime location at the Rhomberg factory in Dornbirn, is a showpiece of sustainable building.

What the video of the construction and numbers on the LifeCycle Tower:

CREE Website: http://www.creebyrhomberg.com/en/

Rhomberg Holding GmbH: http://www.rhombergbau.at/en/start_page.html




SUSTAINIA SECTOR GUIDE

Secondly, the solution alliance Sustainia is active in developing sector guides with the first one just released. Watch the video on their initiative: http://www.sustainia.me/coming-soon-sustainia-sector-guide-buildings/ 
Find here the link to the Sustainia Sector Guide - Buildings (PDF)


   

The Blue Economy

Watch the 3 minutes simple show explaining how Prof. Gunter Pauli envisions the Blue Economy:  

Website: http://www.blueeconomy.eu/

Like their Facebook-Site for updates: https://www.facebook.com/blueeconomy?fref=ts

Sustainia

Morten Jastrup from Denmark gave an inspiring presentation on Sustainia and its community:

"Sustainia is an alliance of international organizations and companies working to create sustainable growth. Our work is driven by a shared goal to identify and elevate existing sustainable solutions and mature markets for sustainable products and services. By promoting sustainable solutions already available across sectors and markets, Sustainia makes sustainability more tangible and easier to grasp for decision makers, executives and citizens."

You will find 100 solutions, their first sectoral guide on construction or tip them on solutions for the award SUSTAINIA100 

Community-Website: http://www.sustainia.me/

"Green Growth Unravelled" - New Study on the Rebound Effect

The paper "Green Growth Unravelled" challenges everyone who got too comfortable in believing a green growth myth which is simply based on eco-efficiency and technological innovations. It explores the inherent contradictions of the concept by addressing the question how increases in productivity may be defeated or even outwighed by higher total consumption rates - known as the "rebound effect".

Although the causal link between increased energy productivity and increased demand was identified back in 1865 and has been discussed in the economic sciences since 1980, rebound effects are still ignored in the majority of energy and climate studies and policies (IPCC, IEA).

During the German National Resources Forum, Dr. Hermann E. Ott (German MP, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and member of the Study Commission on Growth, Wellbeing and Quality of Life) highlighted that he had for a long time not realized the implications of the rebound effect. Its significance has been the main finding of his work in the Study Commission. He recommends reading "Green Growth Unravelled" and finds its clarity striking and of high significance for all further discussions.

Green Growth Unravelled
Editor: Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy
Author: Timan Santarius
Date of publication: October 2012
Pages: 22
Free of charge
Download here: http://www.boell.de/ecology/resources/resource-governance-ecology-green-growth-rebound-effect-15794.html

Christoph Görg

I appreciate that the question of resource dependency and resource scarcity is becoming a major issue in the political debate. However I am slightly concerned that environmental issues like biodiversity and ecosystem services are narrowed down to purely economic issues and that thereby the ecological dimensions and the social implications may be weakened. For example the focus of the European research program HORIZON 2020 which acknowledges biodiversity only as a subtopic of resource efficiency, not as a topic in itself. Social and ecological issues are thus under threat of being reframed and addressed in a narrow sense.

I am working particularly on land use, biodiversity and ecosystem services. In this area a lot of tradeoffs and conflicts will emerge due to the scarcity of natural resources. My major concern is about the interests of weaker actors, mostly what we call local and indigenouos people, and their opportunitiesto beacknowledged and involved as important stakeholders in this debate. The question is how to improve the participation and the relevance of their perspectives. This is closely related to question of ecosystems services and the resilience ofecosystems.

Professor University Kassel
Head of Dep. Environmental Politics

Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research 

 My contact: christoph.goerg@ufz.de 

Website: http://www.ufz.de/index.php?de=4986

"The financial sector is not the driver of eco-efficiency, 

I would rather say they are not even sitting in the car...
This is a severe thing and we should think about why...
We would really need a rethinking in the banking system."

Markus Will,
senior lecturer at Univ. St. Gallen and author of the thriller "Bad Banker".

Website: http://markuswill.com

Steffen van der Velde

One of the most important issues is the local creation of value in the resource-rich developing states. For me personally the crucial question is whether European Union should pursue these raw materials as the Chinese are doing it with less attention to human rights, environment and social issues and more focused on safeguarding its own supply. There is a dilemma situation between creating access to these raw materials and adhering to the EU’s own standards. Natural resources should be valued according to their scarcity.

In my PhD thesis, I work on the following topic: As laid down in the Lisbon Treaties, the EU has a legal obligation to promote the sustainable development of the Earth and the sustainable management of natural resources. Whereas the EU is relatively' resource-poor', it is to a large extend dependent on the import of certain mineral raw material, and especially' rare earths', from developing States. The European Commission is thus on the one hand prone to create access to such material in Developing States, but on the other hand bound by Treaty law to sustainable development objectives. Considering the current realities of a shifting geopolitical climate, economic constraints and pressures from the private sector, can the EU live up to the obligations with regard to sustainable management of natural resources in third States as laid down in the Treaties?

T.M.C. ASSER INSTITUUT

Institute for Private and Public International Law

International Commercial Arbitration and European Law

My contact: s.van.der.velde@asser.nl

Website: http://www.asser.nl/

Helmut Körber

1. Raise awareness of resource squandering 
2. Technology and innovation 

Consulting industry on efficiency potentials

Executive Director
Company APC (Angewandte Physik Consulting GmbH) Stuttgart

Philip Heldt

1. Longlivity of products 
2. New economic model 
3. External costs 

Consumer information campagne on resource efficiency

Consumer advice center (Verbraucherzentrale) NRW
Website: http://www.vz-nrw.de/home



Ailar Saneifar

1. Longlivity of products (materials recyclable) 
2. Easy to repair 
3. Transparency for consumer and producer about materials and life-cycle cost 

University of Arts Berlin
Thesis about „global resources“

Winston Beck

The first one is getting all stakeholders at one table. We always hear that various groups are talking about resource efficiency but it is a global topic that interferes with all different sectors. In order to have a successful strategy in place we need to have this horizontal approach. We also need to get the incentive structure in place. Legislation is one side of it but if you want to be successful, incentives are needed which also includes financial ones for SMEs. The biggest challenge is the behavioral change from the single customer as well as the industry in general.

We are trying to improve the communication between the industry, academia and politics to get a common understanding. We work for instance together with institutes to coordinate research projects with the European Commission. We work together with industry to improve the understanding with European and national regulators on what is possible from a technology and an engineering point of view. We are a facilitator of ideas and innovation.

Stanislaw Sitinicki

1. Public participation 
2. Indicators and targets 
3. Priority resources 

Our contribution is environmental and biodiversity protection.

EKOFUND FOUNDATION, Poland
Website: http://www.ekofundusz.org.pl/us/index.htm 

Martin Distelkamp

1. Radically behaviour modification in consumption and production 
2. Long-term thinking in politic, technology, economy 
3. Comprehensive sustainability view 

Applied research on resource efficiency

GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research, Osnabrück

Website: http://www.gws-os.com/de/ 

Christine Priessner

One major issue is to rethink the product design in terms of resource productivity. That is not to think about adaption but about radical innovations. Focus on a better exchange of the market actors and in this term also rethink the prices of products. Not only reduce new technology but make a real comparison between the conventional technology and the resource-efficient product (conventional car vs. electro-car).

I do research in a consultant agency regarding human capital as a resource and how human capital is used in companies. In my Master thesis I analyse the social-natural relations within the crisis of soil. In my personal life I always try to reduce garbage rather than recycling garbage. Within my organization I enforce printing on recycling paper.

Research Assistant

Wilke, Maack und Partner (wmp consult) 

Website: http://www.wilke-maack.de/

Student
Master program Sustainability Sciences (M.Sc.)
Leuphana University Lüneburg
My contact: Christine.priessner@leuphana.de

Birgit Schwenk, Germany

Main challenges are rising resource consumption worldwide, security of supply as well as the risk of rising prices for the german economy, and the question on how efficient solutions spread quickly throughout the market.

In sight of these challenges we established the national program for resource efficiency which sets incentives for all companies along the value chain to engage in efficient use of resources. In addition we coordinate activities nationally and founded a competence center specifically for small- and medium enterprises together with the association of german engineers (VDI). Furthermore we collaborate with the european commission on the issue of resource efficiency.

www.bmu.de

Kai Rasenack, Germany

Main challenges are the physical collection of end-of-life products, lacking awareness of the population about problems of resource supply in Europe and the provision of technologies which enable efficient recycling of specific metals.

In sight of these challenges we develop processes to recycle metals of various kinds and partner with businesses in resources extraction, industry and on occasion municipalities.

TU Clausthal (IFAD)
Department of Mineral and Waste Processing

Christian Loewe


Core themes of the debate overs resources are the built environment, habitation and food. Both efficiency and sufficiency have to be pursued in these key areas. Important sustainability goals will not be reached unless those areas are perceived from the perspective of sustainability.

As a response to these challenges we research social innovations for resource efficiency. We explore the meaning of resource-efficient lifestyles as daily practice of resource efficiency and then also the policy-implications of such lifestyles.

German Federal Environment Agency

Camelia Median, Norway

A central issue in the debate over resource consumption is the consumer attitude. Many people are interested in environmental issues but they do not behave accordingly.

As a consequence to that we are actively raising awareness for recycling and created an infrastructure for separating disposed food and plastics in order to enable resource-efficient behavior in Oslo. We operate the largest plant for optical sorting of garbage which distinguishes between the colors of garbage bags. Through separation of food and waste consumers become aware of how much food they throw away. We hope this contributes to establishing new consumption patterns.

Oslo kommune Renovasjonsetaten 

www.oslo.kommune.no

Ingrid De Paoli, Norway

That would be to get the private and the public sector working together in finding good solutions. To obtain recovery of resources as high up in the hierarchy as possible. To create public awareness.

We separate waste at the source and we create public awareness about the benefits of resource recovery. We work in the municipality Oslo. In my opinion we should work more pro-active towards our government to enhance our goals, that is waste reduction.

Spesialkonsulent

Oslo kommune

Renovasjonsetaten
My contact: Ingrid.de.paoli@ren.oslo.kommune.no
Webiste: www.kommune.no

Sonja Weyland

Resource scarcity, resource allocation and resource distribution.

As a student of the Leuphana University Lüneburg, I see my role as change agent in creating a knowledge pool and establishing a solid network. This conference facilitates the exchange between different disciplines and enables an insight into the perspectives of the various participants.

Student
Master program Sustainability Sciences (M.Sc.)
Leuphana University Lüneburg
Contact: sonjaweyland@gmail.com

Program website: http://www.leuphana.de/en/graduate-school/masterprograms/arts-sciences/sustainability-sciences.html

Dr. Detlef Schreiber

The most important challenge is that the prizes don't tell the truth. I agree with Ernst-Ulrich von Weizsäcker that we need to tax resources in a way that we stimulate their efficient use. Resource consumption is still increasing at a high pace, it is completely unsustainable.

The organization I work with is the GIZ. We are doing a number of international cooperation projects on environmental management, policies and supporting developing countries and emerging economies, supporting partners with capacity development on a broad variety of issues environmental and resource issues. For instance environmental fiscal reform and resource efficiency in companies.

Head of Competence Center
Environment, Resource Efficiency, Waste Management
Environment and Climate Change
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
www.giz.de

Today's Schedule

Please find the official schedule and list of speakers for today at the website of the European Resources Forum 2012.