Description: Two thirds of today's world trade is based on global value chains and supply networks. Purely regional supply chains have become less important in recent decades. The effects of these globalised structures are manifold. On the one hand, they promote employment and generate prosperity. On the other hand, they are beset by extreme social, ecological and economic imbalances. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of existing supply chain systems. The lockdown continues to disrupt complex supply chains and many problems of existing production and consumption continue to worsen. COVID-19 is one example of the crises that can shake globally networked supply chains in the short term. Other crises, such as climate change, develop more insidiously and are less immediately recognisable. Different as they are, such crises have one thing in common: they highlight the vulnerability of global social and economic structures and illustrate the impact of global trade on the regions and people of the world. This is precisely where global sustainability strategy comes in - it aims to fundamentally reduce differences and inequalities in opportunities and quality of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the entire world into upheaval, creating an opportunity to make sustainability a central political resilience strategy. In the wake of the Corona pandemic, the discussion about resilient communities has flared up. In order to guarantee supply in the face of such crises, these should be more strongly regional and circular in their economic approach and global and sustainable in their perspective. The aim should be sustainable, transparent, non-exploitative supply chains that guarantee the security of supply to cover basic needs and public services despite sudden changes and crises. This discussion paper draws a future scenario of globally cooperative, circular regional economies that fundamentally reduce global inequalities in opportunities and quality of life, while at the same time permanently preserving the natural foundations of life.

Description: Transnational corporations' (TNCs) economic operations cover numerous countries and can be diverted between several continents. These units have reached a level of significance, having not only economic, but also social and environmental implications. This justifies that they shall be treated separately as a social phenomenon, when considering strategies for the development towards sustainability. This paper presents the concept of Responsible Corporate Governance (RCG), as a strategy to "govern" TNCs. RCG is suggested as a stakeholder based policy instrument, which aims at allocating responsibilities to societal actors aiming at corporate accountability. RCG recognises that the process of societal change is strongly based on what can be called as bottom up-processes. Learning processes take place through the interaction of the different societal members, which eventually leads to macro changes. Therefore, governing TNCs towards sustainability improvements is considered to be a collective process including all stakeholders. Firstly, the paper places the concept of RCG in the ongoing debate of political modernization based on the fact that society develops overtime and the political system must correspondingly modernize. In this context, political overload developed as a consequence of increased resource interdependencies is explained and as a resolution, network approach is discussed. Secondly, demands on the orientation of the TNCs in terms of accountability and innovative action are brought forward. Here, the paper also lists down corporate elements (stakeholder empowered corporate governance, management and performance evaluation systems, transparency enhancement and accountability verification), which need to be in place to attain an accountable orientation in the society. Following, using an analytical framework, the orientation and capabilities of each societal actor (environmental non-governmental organisations, financial institutions, intergovernmental organisations) to affect improvements in the corporate responsibility elements are investigated and recommendations for their effective orientation are listed.

Description: The paper sketches out a theoretical framework for analysing the interplay between eco-efficiency, cognition and institutions. It derives from analytical shortfalls of the prevailing literature, which features strongly engineering and business economics, by using insights from New Institutional Economics, from Cognitive Science and, partly, from Evolutionary Economics. It emphasises the role cognition and institutions play in the adoption of "green" technologies by firms. A cognitive perspective derives from recent research on simple heuristics and context-based rationality; it is proposed that those findings can serve to analyse decision-making of individual actors respectively firms and, thus, should complement economic analysis. A second proposition is that eco-efficiency and normative rules such as a Factor Four strongly rely upon institutions, i.e. the ability of institutions to evolve over time and the development of those institutions that are most appropriate to enhance technological change. In this regard, business institutions and competition are crucial, but regulatory needs remain in order to safeguard continuity of knowledge creation. The framework allows for an analysis why overall adoption of eco-efficiency still can be considered relatively slow and why some markets and firms are far ahead. As a brief case study the article reflects upon German waste law's ability to enhance eco-efficiency.

Description: The paper sketches out a theoretical framework for analysing the interplay between eco-efficiency, cognition and institutions. It derives from analytical shortfalls of the prevailing literature, which features strongly engineering and business economics, by using insights from New Institutional Economics, from Cognitive Sciences and, partly, from Evolutionary Economics. It emphasises the role cognition and institutions play in the adoption of "green" technologies by firms. A cognitive perspective derives from recent research on simple heuristics and context-based rationality; it is proposed that those recent findings can serve to analyse decision-making of individual actors or firms and, thus, should complement economic analysis. A second proposition is that eco-efficiency and normative rules such as a Factor Four strongly rely upon institutions, i.e. the ability of institutions to evolve over time and the development of those institutions that are most appropriate to enhance technological change. In this regard, business institutions and competition are crucial, but regulatory needs remain in order to safeguard continuity of knowledge creation. The framework allows for an analysis why overall adoption of eco-efficiency still can be considered relatively slow and why some markets and firms are far ahead. As a brief case study the article reflects upon German waste law’s ability to enhance eco-efficiency.

Description: An increasing number of publications about theoretical approaches and new findings illustrate the relevance of the topic environmental risk assessment. The actual discussion about high oil prices is not incorporated under this headline; but it should be, as natural resource scarcity is a crucial economic factor. In practical experience, more and more banks, insurance companies as well as investors realize that there are certain areas with a high correlation between sustainable development and corporate success, corporate risk exposure and corporate performance. In this discussion one of the most obvious topics are risks related to climate change. According to the findings of surveys evaluated in this paper climate change starts to affect economic development and companies' performance in various ways. Over the next decade, economic losses due to climate change are estimated by US$ 150 billion per year. As result world's business leaders have described climate change as the biggest challenge of the 21st century. Hence, the incorporation of climate change as a risk factor is essential, but risks related to climate change feature a severe issue of complex structure and uncertainty; traditional risk assessment tools appear in the light of not being able to either reflect the multifaceted system nor provide sufficient outcomes. Environmental risk assessments in general so far have mainly emphasized - if at all - on actual and possible impacts of the release of materials or emissions (external effects). But an overall sustainable risk assessment has also to take into account the risks related to the inflow of materials. The main reason for neglecting the inflow risks from an environmental perspective can be seen in the fact that these risks seem to be less tangible and more uncertain. Nevertheless, in a world where economic development and the use of natural resources is not uncoupled yet, a steadily increasing economic power will result in a continually rising extraction of resources. As all resources are limited, the risk of scarcity will rise; and the example of water illustrates that it already exists. Indeed, scarcity is not tangible for all kind of resources from a present point of view. Hence, a specified analysis is needed considering different market and supply conditions. A comprehensive analysis of environmental risks needs to encompass risks affecting the output as well as the input side of a value chain. This paper enlarges the discussion on environmental risk assessments upon the input dimension using the example of carbon risks. Firstly, carbon risks are defined as risks related to climate change at the corporate level with a focus on the input as well as the output dimension. Secondly, an analysis of the current discussion on the topic of carbon risk evaluates the status quo of scientific work in this field. Thirdly, in terms of developing a practically oriented tool, the Value-at-Risk approach and it's application to measure input oriented carbon risks are scrutinized. The results discuss how future volatility and market prices can be utilized to describe the uncertainty resulting from markets acknowledging and pricing oil scarcity as a risk factor. Finally recommendations with a focus on strategic management decisions and financial performance analysis are given and further research opportunities are drawn. The conclusion is; once markets have acknowledged the depletion mid-point as a measure of oil scarcity, natural scarcity will result in a significant higher Value-at-Risk. The Value-at-Risk of one barrel of crude oil could then be as high as US$ 15.5 in the short term and even US$ 17.2 in the long term. The scope of this paper is neither intended to predict one likely development nor to demonstrate how this tool can actually work in terms of forecasting single companies' performance. But in order to point the way ahead, this paper provides scenarios for potential future developments and sets a frame for risk assessments due to oil scarcity.

Description: The introduction of a Digital Product Passport (DPP) is an opportunity to create a system that can store and share all relevant information throughout a product's life cycle. This would provide industry stakeholders, businesses, public authorities and consumers with a better understanding of the materials used in the product as well as their embodied environmental impact. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, now is a critical moment to transform our economic and business models, while also addressing the huge scale of material emissions. DPPs can be a pivotal policy instrument in this goal. Furthermore, DPPs can accelerate the twin green and digital transitions as part of EU efforts to deliver positive climate action and sustainable economies. In 2020, the European Commission (EC) adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP), which emphasised the need for circular economy initiatives to consider the entire life cycle of products, from the production of basic materials to end-of-life disposal. The Circular Economy Package published in March 2022 includes a proposal for an Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which builds upon the Ecodesign Directive that covers energy-related products. A DPP will form a key regulatory element of the ESPR by enhancing the traceability of products and their components. This will provide consumers and manufacturers with the information needed to make better informed choices by taking their environmental impact into consideration. As discussed in the report, there is widespread agreement amongst business leaders that a well-designed DPP could have both short- and longer-term benefits, improving access to reliable and comparable product sustainability information for businesses, consumers and policymakers. A well-designed DPP can unify information, making it more readily accessible to all actors in the supply chain. This will support businesses to ensure an effective transformation towards a decarbonised industry. It could also create incentives for companies to make their products more sustainable, as improving access to reliable and consistent information across supply chains will make it easier for customers to make comparisons.

Description: Within the Shaping Digitalisation project, we aim to highlight and discuss the opportunities that digitalisation can bring to Germany. In particular, we are discussing three stand-out areas where action is most needed to achieve ecological transformation: mobility, the circular economy, and agriculture and food. This report addresses the second area in need of action. Up until now, discussions on the circular economy have been limited to recycling and the re-use of materials. We must expand the scope of these discussions to include new, resource-efficient business models and the comprehensive transformation of value chains and industrial structures. Our analysis has found that digitalisation is indispensable for this transformation if used properly. We hope this report will provide the impetus needed to kick-start a climate- and resource-friendly industrial transformation in Germany. Here, we have incorporated the findings of our interdisciplinary workshop on "Shaping the Digital-Ecological Industrial Transformation - Business Models and Political Framework Conditions for Climate and Resource Protection" that was attended by experts from international research institutes, civil organizations, public authorities, and private companies.

Description: Circular economy seems a vital enabler for sustainable use of natural resources which is also important for achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals. Therefore, a special session addressing issues of "sustainable solutions and remarkable practices in circular economy focusing materials downstream" was held at the 16th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology, where researchers and attendees worldwide were convened to share their experiences and visions. Presentations focusing on many key points such as new strategies, innovative technologies, management methods, and practical cases were discussed during the session. Accordingly, this article compiled all these distinctive presentations and gave insights into the pathway of circular economy towards the sustainable development goals. We summarized that the transition to circular economy can keep the value of resources and products at a high level and minimize waste production; the focus of governmental policies and plans with the involvement of public-private-partnership on 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) helps to improve the use of natural resources and take a step ahead to approach or achieve the sustainability.

Description: Mehr als sechs Millionen Tonnen Kunststoffabfälle fallen in Deutschland jährlich an, nur etwas weniger als die Hälfte kann werk- und rohstofflich genutzt werden, der Rest wird verbrannt. Gerade gemischte Kunststoffarten erschweren das Recycling. Hier bietet sich das chemische Recycling (Pyrolyse) an. Bei diesem Verfahren werden die Stoffe durch hohe Temperaturen zersetzt und in kleinere Moleküle aufgespalten. Diese lassen sich im Sinne der Kreislaufwirtschaft in neue Kunststoffe oder chemische Grundstoffe überführen. Die Schätzungen gehen von bis zu zwei Millionen Tonnen Kunststoffabfall jährlich aus, der auf diese Weise wiederverwendet werden könnte. Das vorliegende Diskussionspapier zeigt, dass Pyrolyse von gemischten Kunststoffabfällen die chemische Industrie sowie die Abfallwirtschaft klimafreundlicher gestalten kann. Im Papier geht das Autorenteam auf die Potenziale und Entwicklungsperspektiven für Nordrhein-Westfalen ein mit dem Ziel, wissenschaftliche Grundlagen für Investitionsentscheidungen und Projektentwicklung im Sinne der Kreislaufwirtschaft zu schaffen.