IES Research Projects
| Instruments for Sustainable Consumption and Greening of the Market |
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The IES was a partner in the Specific Support Action under the 6th EU Framework Programme for Research “Assessing the potential of various instruments for sustainable consumption practices and greening of the market” (ASCEE). The project was a joint effort with Institute for Ecological Economy Research IÖW (Germany, in the lead) and National Institute for Consumer Research SIFO (Norway). The ASCEE research project focused on innovative policy instruments promoting sustainable consumption. The Project identified and analyzed a broad range of policy instruments. For selected, particularly innovative approaches, the Project outlined best practices and policy transfer strategies. It started in February 2007. The final research paper was published in February 2009, and the project concluded with a final dissemination event at the IES in May 2009.
Full scientific report (download)
Policy paper (download)
Management Summary (download)
The ASCEE approach
- identified and assessed especially innovative instruments, approaches and best practices
- developed a workable guideline/policy paper for (European) policy makers on public and private policy measures
- a greening of the market by accelerating the supply of and/or demand for more sustainable products or services, and/or
- sustainable consumption, e.g. by changing environmentally relevant behavior of consumers and/or fostering the purchase of greener products or services.
The research was divided into two phases.
In the first phase, a basic instrumental overview on policy instruments, measures and actions and the gained experiences was constructed. This overview was intended to be of a broader nature. It gave insights into existing, discussed, proposed and also rejected tools that have lead or could lead to a greening of the markets by addressing supply and/or demand. The most promising innovative tools and actions along various criteria were then assessed. The main objective was to look for patterns behind successful greening strategies.
The second phase was dedicated to the dissemination of the results. The results included the analysis and previous studies. Within the ASCEE Project, strategies for the transfer of promising approaches were prepared. The results and proposals were discussed in a one-day workshop at the IES in Brussels in 2008. The Workshop was a platform for collecting further insights, opinions and experiences from a broader auditorium.
The context
ASCEE is a research specific support action for policy in the programme “Scientific Support to Policies” (Call identifier “FP6-2005-SSP-5-A”) of the 6th Framework Programme. It addresses research task No. 3.4 “Forecasting and developing innovative policies for sustainability in the medium and long term”.
The background consists mainly of the European strategy for sustainable development, the 6th Environmental Action Programme and the related Thematic Strategies (especially the prevention and recycling of waste strategy and the sustainable use of resource strategy).
The scope of the inventory is broad: regulatory approaches, economic instruments, information and communication tools, voluntary instruments and actions are among the instruments that were considered, focusing on the most promising and/or innovative instruments and actions.
The ASCEE Research Team at the IES consisted of Prof. Dr. Harri Kalimo, Katja Biedenkopf, Bruno Turnheim and Ólöf Söebech.
IES is a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the 