Ensuring the carbon sustainability of biomass

Ensuring the carbon sustainability of bioenergy requires a new approach in EU policy. This IEEP report spells out a different pathway to the one proposed by the European Commission in the recently released “winter package”.

Limits to the circular economy?

The transition to a circular economy is a priority for Europe and an opportunity for many businesses. There is need for scrutiny amongst policy makers to ensure that ecological and socio-economic objectives are met.

Tackling marine litter with the circular economy and the EU Plastics Strategy

IEEP identifies how the EU Plastics Strategy and Circular Economy Action Plan provide a unique opportunity to address marine litter and its impacts.

Plastics, Marine Litter and the Circular Economy

Briefing and three product fiches explore circular economy solutions for reducing the flow of plastic waste into the oceans.

How can Planetary Boundaries guide environmental policy in Europe and globally?

Planetary Boundaries are a scientific approach to exploring critical thresholds to resource use. How can this concept become relevant for policymakers?

The cascading use of woody biomass in the EU – challenges, opportunities and policy solutions

Improving the resource efficient use of wood through cascading the resource from one use to another, requires action throughout the wood flow. Current efforts focus on recovering and re-using waste wood but more could be done with the production and utilisation of wood processing residues and improving the balancing between the material and energy use of wood.

IEEP sets out new sustainability criteria for biofuels post 2020

Defining effective and workable sustainability criteria for biofuels is one of the critical steps in decarbonising Europe’s energy sector. Such criteria must provide the necessary safeguards for the use of bioresources in Europe, as well as the policy and investment certainty required for sustainable deployment.

Sustainability criteria for biofuels post 2020

Defining effective and workable sustainability criteria is one of the critical steps in decarbonising Europe’s energy sector. They must provide the necessary safeguards for the use of bioresources in Europe, as well as the policy and investment certainty required for sustainable deployment.

Beyond GDP Newsletter – March 2016 edition out now

The March 2016 Beyond GDP newsletter sheds light on the creation of indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals and relates this process to the Europe 2020 and EU Sustainable Development Strategies.

Mapping study on the cascading use of wood products

Promoting the cascading use of wood through policy is one approach to improve resource efficiency and increase the overall availability of wood for use in a variety of sectors.

A circular bio-economy in the European agriculture and forestry sectors

IEEP experts call for bridging the circular and bio-economy concepts, to support the transition of Europe’s land using sectors to a more resource efficient and sustainable future.

Beyond GDP Newsletter – December 2015 edition out now

The latest edition of the Beyond GDP newsletter explores indicators for a greener economy and for green growth.

New open access book on marine litter

A new book, 'Marine Anthropogenic Litter', has been published comprising 16 chapters on various aspects of the complex issue of litter in the world’s oceans. Researchers from IEEP contributed a chapter on the economics of marine litter. The whole book is free to view online.

Beyond GDP Newsletter – March 2015 edition out now

Priorities and policy options to support the circular economy

New report by PSI, IEEP, BIO and Ecologic provides an initial scoping assessment of priorities and policy options to support the transition to a circular economy in the EU.

Policy mixes addressing natural resources: learning from real world experiences

This report synthesizes the assessment of policy-mixes in different sectors. It identifes the factors characterising effective policy-mixes and some of the most frequent shortcomings in policy-mix design.

Sustainable intensification of European agriculture

The concept of sustainable intensification has come into prominence in the context of global food security. This report defines what we mean by sustainable intensification, explains its global logic, discusses what it means for EU agriculture and exemplifies this in three case studies for soil performance, nutrient recycling and biodiversity.

On the path to a circular economy

Read the lastest edition of our newsletter for our views on the circular economy package and much more.

Options for sustainable food and agriculture in the EU

How should Europe respond to the increased demands on our food and agriculture systems arising from global population growth, changing diets, and competing demands on agricultural land? This report offers a view on how the EU could play a role in meeting these challenges in the coming decades and sets out some of the options which merit particular attention.