Publications

In 2020, the EU Commission is evaluating and subsequently revising the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive 2000/53/EC. When it comes to ELV recycling, the issue of unknown whereabouts of vehicles is the most crucial aspect to be solved.

The report describes activities within the project “Advanced materials - Thematic conferences: Assessment of needs to act on chemical safety” to provide discussion input on approaches to describe, cluster and prioritize advanced materials.

The report is part of the research project "Blue Angel - national ecolabel with international impact". The main objective of this project was to strengthen the use and cooperation of type-I eco-labels within the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN). Specifically, the project addressed two central methodological challenges faced by ecolabels worldwide.

The guideline supports the committees for the European standardization of construction products (Product TCs, Technical Committees) in establishing rules for Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) according to EN 15804. The guideline helps developing uniform specifications for the end of the life cycle of construction products (modules C and D according to the above-mentioned standard).&

In addition to CO2, aviation affects the climate through other emissions and atmospheric processes, such as the formation of ozone and contrail cirrus (non-CO2 effects). Although non-CO2 effects are responsible for about 2/3 of the climate impact of aviation, they are not yet considered in the EU ETS and under CORSIA.

Antifouling products need to be authorised in the EU according to the Biocidal Product Regulation (BPR) before they are allowed to be placed on the market. An essential component here is the environmental risk assessment (ERA). In the ERA it is checked whether the use of an antifouling product causes acceptable risks to the environment.

To protect boat hulls from fouling with algae, mussels or barnacles, biocidal antifouling products are mostly used. In the EU, these products are subject to authorisation according to the Biocidal Product Regulation (BPR). Among other things, it is checked here whether the use of the product causes acceptable risks to the environment. There are around 206 000 pleasure crafts in Germany.

The report provides information on the occurrence of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFASs) and alkylphenols (APs) in various product groups. For PFASs, the report analyses construction materials and industrial textiles as well as the content of short-chain APs (4tPP, 4tBP) in paints, coatings and adhesives.

The aim of the project “Impacts of climate change on the environmental criticality of Germany’s raw material demand” (KlimRess), was to assess how climate change potentially affects the environmental risks of mining and raw material supply chains. This final report summarizes the results of the project.

The RESCUE project describes in six scenarios possible development paths towards a resource-efficient and greenhouse-gas (GHG) neutral Germany. For this, assumptions related to the roll-out of renewable energy technologies, the level of ambition for reaching GHG-neutrality, the magnitude of materials- and energy-efficiency, and the implementation of sustainable life-styles are varied.

The RESCUE study describes in six scenarios possible development paths towards a resource-efficient and greenhouse-gas (GHG) neutral Germany until 2050. The GreenSupreme scenario achieves the reduction of emissions along a global 1.5 °C path towards GHG-neutrality by 2050, while at the same time substantially lowering Germany’s material footprint.

Excessive reactive nitrogen affects the air and groundwater quality, the good condition of land and marine ecosystems, as well as the climate and biodiversity. Different economic and consumer sectors release different nitrogen compounds, which are connected to one another via the nitrogen cycle.