The Greening of Online Commerce: New Challenges for the Environmental Promotion of Sustainable Consumption

Zeitraum September 2019 – August 2022

Auftraggeber Federal Environment Agency, BMU

Kooperationspartner Ökopol GmbH, GVM, Corsus, Prof. Dr. Ralf Isenmann, Prof. Dr. Thomas Schomerus, Prof. Dr. Jan Ninnemann

Distance selling has been growing steadily in Germany and Europe for years.

Online retailing is particularly relevant in this context, as it is expected to grow by around 20 percent by 2020 and thus continue to consume a considerable amount of resources. The project analyzes the ecological implications of online commerce and identifies possible control options for environmental policy. Among other things, this will be used to form scenarios for the future design of online retailing, as well as to derive recommendations for action and develop consulting services for the Competence Center for Sustainable Consumption.

The first partial report from the project has been published: Click here to access it.
The second partial report from the project has been published: Click here to access it.
Guideline for an ecological online store on the UBA website
The Federal Environment Agency has published tips for environmentally conscious shopping on the Internet on its website.

Weitere Projekte

December 2022 – January 2025

Integrated sustainability assessment of alternative protein sources and analogs and transformation pathways of two selected alternatives.

Against the background of a growing global demand for proteins and at the same time significant negative impacts of the production of animal products, the focus of the project is on the exploration of alternative protein sources and analogues. The aim is to obtain an overview of current processes, raw materials and products for the provision of alternative proteins and analogues and to investigate, on the basis of a selection, how likely and desirable the diffusion of these alternatives is.

March 2024 – June 2027

The importance of civic engagement in strengthening local communities for sustainable urban development: a real-world laboratory in Dessau-Roßlau

Civic engagement is becoming increasingly important for sustainable urban development geared towards the common good. With their interest in liveable, everyday urban spaces, active citizens are driving forward sustainable, cooperative forms of building, living, consuming and working. In doing so, they contribute (at least implicitly) to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, environmentally friendly production processes and the protection of biodiversity. Although civic engagement is recognized as having great potential, it often remains disconnected from administrative processes: Both sides do not come together sufficiently in municipal governance, which reduces the impact of engagement.

November 2021 – September 2024

Process evaluation of the National Food Waste Reduction Strategy

In February 2019, the German Federal Cabinet approved the National Strategy for Reducing Food Waste presented by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).