News on SCP and Growth

The transition to a sustainable economy cannot be delivered without transforming the finance system away from one which is dominated by short term speculation and asset bubbles into one that lends far more to the real economy, properly integrates ecological risks into long term investment and helps savers understand how their money is allocated by banks and pension funds. This was the view of a gathering of EU sustainable finance experts at the RESPONDER workshop on "Changing the Finance System to enable the Transition to a Sustainable Economy" held in Brussels on 14-15 May 2013.

This volume of “Environmental Values” introduces some of the latest thinking and key areas of debate that now define the field of degrowth. Collectively, this special issue develops a range of new and innovative perspectives on questions of degrowth. Crucially, these perspectives are offered both by those who are closely associated with the degrowth movement and by those who are not. Ultimately, these papers help to realise the complex issues and questions that are likely to confront a world that no longer wishes to pursue growth at all costs.

Experts promote transition towards a sustainable food system // Current food consumption and production patterns cause severe impacts on health and environment // Opposing Food Waste: Industrialized countries’ food waste would be sufficient to feed the world’s malnourished people // Knowledge brokerage consortium RESPONDER stresses the need of strong governance structures and actions

On 18-19 April, more than 50 specialists from 15 countries met in Lisbon (Portugal) to discuss current food consumption trends and necessary reforms in order to achieve a sustainable food system. Identified hotspots that call for interventions are the damages to environment that are caused within the food chain and health issues.

The UN Division for Sustainable Development (DSD) has reported on the launch of the Sustainable Transport Action Network, noting that sustainable transport provides access to goods and services in support of economic and social development while minimizing negative environmental, social and economic impacts of the transport sector. The April issue of the DSD newsletter “Sustainable Development in Action” highlights the importance of sustainable transport as an enabler of development, and underlines that transport is one of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's six building blocks for sustainable development in his five-year action agenda. The UN Conference on Sustainable Development also cited the centrality of transport and mobility to sustainable development. The Action Network integrates various initiatives including the Voluntary Commitments on sustainable transport made at Rio+20. Other initiatives may register support for the Network on DESA's Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (SDKP).

The scientific non-profit organization Business Systems Laboratory is glad to announce the Call for Papers of the Business Systems Laboratory 2^nd International Symposium: Systems Thinking for a Sustainable Economy. Advancements in Economic and Managerial Theory and Practice that will be held in Rome at the Universitas Mercatorum on January 23 and 24, 2014. The Partners of the event are The World Organisation for Systems and Cybernetics (WOSC), the Research Institute for Managing Sustainability (Vienna University of Economics and Business), the Systems Design and Complexity Management Alliance (SDCM) and the European Evaluation Society (TWG – Evaluating Sustainable Development). Among the publishing opportunities for the best selected papers presented at the event will be three special issues of the following scientific journals:  Business Systems Review, Sinergie and the Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change. 

The UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) requested the High Level Panel of Experts for Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE), to undertake a study on ‘Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems’ to be presented to the Plenary in 2014. As part of its report elaboration process, the HLPE is now launching an e-consultation to seek views, public feedback and comments, on the pertinence and interconnections of some key questions that the report proposes to address. The issue of food losses and waste has recently been given high visibility. According to FAO (2011), almost one-third of food produced for human consumption – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes per year is either lost or wasted. Their global reduction is now presented as essential to improve food security and to reduce the environmental footprint of food systems.

The United Nations Environment Programme has pre-launched the online Global SCP Clearinghouse. The Global SCP Clearinghouse is meant to offer a unique one-stop hub dedicated to advancing the implementation of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) worldwide. Through knowledge sharing, cooperation and participation tools, all stakeholders – governments, UN agencies and other international organizations, the business sector and civil society – will be offered the opportunity to: Participate and contribute to regional and thematic "communities of practice", share and find information on SCP, build networks and identify partners, and strengthen their capacities. The objective of the pre-launch is to engage the global SCP community and populate the database of the Global SCP Clearinghouse before it goes live in May.

This report examines the inter-linkages between our material use and related land requirements and, through demonstrating this link, highlights the very urgent need to scale down our excessive consumption of resources in the interests of maintaining the regenerative capacity of the biosphere, as well as conserving resources for future generations. To reduce Europe’s land footprint, it is essential that we drastically decrease our overall consumption, including changes in our consumption of items such as meat, as well as rethink policies that drive resource depletion in other parts of the world.

Urban mobility is crucial for making Europe’s cities more sustainable. The key for improvement is concerted and goal-directed planning, say Europe’s leading mobility experts. It is important that the cities develop long-term goals for their respective mobility future.

Last week, more than 66 professionals from 16 European countries discussed in Bratislava the trends, barriers and approaches for sustainable mobility in European cities. The experts agreed that it is necessary to focus on clever combinations of technological and infrastructural solutions with measures to stimulate changes on the demand side. In a nutshell, sustainable urban mobility in the future has to opt for clean technologies, smart infrastructures and to favour the change of modal split towards more walking, cycling and public transport.

For the first time, a worldwide report on sustainable investments has been published with investments reaching USD 13.6 trillion in 2011. Europe is by far leading in terms of sustainable investments as 49 per cent of all investments apply at least one ESG-criterion. ESG stands for ‘Environment Social Governance’ and considers ecological and social criteria as well as sustainable management practices. The data has been collected by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance which intends to strengthen sustainable investments on a global scale and disseminate sustainable investments as solid business opportunities.  

A new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) describes methods for quantifying environmental pressures caused by European consumption patterns and economic production sectors. The report aims to: present the tool of environmentally extended input-output analysis of EE-IOT and assess its potential for answering key SCP policy questions; make use of the tool and the latest data available in Europe to identify the environmental 'hotspots' and leverage points in European consumption and production; and identify weaknesses and potential for improvement in the current application of the tool.

This e-discussion is the fourth in a series organized as part of the Global Thematic Consultation on Growth and Employment, providing inputs into the post-2015 development agenda. In contemporary times, economic growth is considered an essential means to support improvements in people’s wellbeing, from poverty reduction, employment and health, to education and quality of life. Yet, human activities leading to environmental degradation and unsustainable use of natural resources increasingly stir the attention to the quality of economic growth. One response to these challenges has been to propose a new growth model that would put economies on a path to sustainable development, namely “inclusive green growth”. Contextually, this e-discussion seeks input to elaborate on this new growth model and therefore encourages a lively debate.  

We are happy to cordially invite you to participate at the 2nd RESPONDER Multinational Knowledge Brokerage Event on sustainable food:

Shaping the future of sustainable food consumption:
Challenges and opportunities for policy and science integration

Taking place in Lisbon, Portugal on April 18-19, 2013

with high-level keynote speakers from policy, science and society:

Sirpa Kurppa, Professor at MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Biotechnology and Food Research, Jokioinen/Finland
Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, Centre for Food Policy, City University London, London/United Kingdom
Alexandre Meybeck, Senior Policy Officer, FAO - Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome/Italy
Trudy Rood, Senior Policy Researcher, PBL - Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Bilthoven/The Netherlands
Representative of the European Commission/DG Environment, Brussels (tbc)

Organised by CENSE - Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, New University of Lisbon, and with support by the Portuguese Ministry for Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Spatial Planning, the event will draw together a selected group of researchers, policy-makers, activists and business representatives from the EU.

Questions we plan to explore include:

• What will sustainable food consumption look like in the future, and which are the trends, policies and values shaping tomorrow’s food chain system?
• How to promote sustainability in the food chain and foster transitions towards sustainable food consumption lifestyles?
• Which are the key drivers and bottlenecks for sustainable development of land and aquatic food production systems?
• How to limit food losses and food waste and tackle its root causes? Which food waste policies are needed to pave the way towards sustainable food consumption?
• How to move towards effective sustainable food policies in the real world?

This workshop will be a moderated, open discussion among about 35-40 experts stimulated by several keynotes (please see the event flyer and the preliminary programme). Your participation would add vital perspective to this timely debate.

In order to register for the event, please go to http://www.scp-responder.eu/community/my_registrations or send us the completed registration form (which you can download here in Word or PDF format) to food@scp-responder.eu.

The registration is open until 18 March 2013. Registration is free of charge but the number of participants is limited, thus the form should be submitted as early as possible. You will receive a confirmation within a few days of your registration. We will strive to achieve a geographically and professionally stimulating and balanced mix of participants.

We have also created a space for a number of participants to profile their projects and share best practices during the final session on day 1. We will be using an engaging format whereby you may deliver a short-presentation followed by informal discussions with participants next to a poster of your project. In case you would like to be considered for this session please send us your proposal in your reply to food@scp-responder.eu.

If you cannot attend yourself, we would also be more than happy if you could forward this invitation to any of your colleagues who might be interested.

Please do not hesitate to contact us any time if you may have any further questions. We look forward to hearing from you.

With kind regards, on behalf of the RESPONDER consortium,

Nuno Videira

CENSE – Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Campus de Caparica, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal
Phone +351 212948300 | email: nmvc@fct.unl.pt

The study shows sustainability is fast becoming a key factor when it comes to consumers’ purchasing decisions, yet there are still barriers that need to be addressed in the future. Developed by BBMG, GlobeScan and SustainAbility, The Regeneration Consumer Study is an in-depth online survey of consumer attitudes, motivations and behaviours relating to sustainable consumption among 6,224 respondents across six major international markets (Brazil, China, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States) conducted in September and October 2012. The study intended to bring the consumer voice into the sustainability conversation and help articulate specific decisions and actions that companies can take to accelerate and grow a more sustainable economy.

The Joint Congress of the Association of European Schools of Planning and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning invites you to hear and debate the latest in planning and policy research and practice. On top of that, it provides the opportunity to visit sites of planning action and inaction - including new town development, urban cultural and waterfront regeneration, edge city development, post recession urbanscapes, social housing renewal, heritage preservation, transport planning and the city bike scheme, all in all capital projects. Enjoy the Irish hospitality, beautiful landscapes and culture by joining the congress in Dublin in 2013.

Modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can have a great influence on shaping a more sustainable world. The mega-trends Cloud Computing and Smart Systems in the areas of energy, transport and housing, have the potential to substantially reduce environmental impacts and, thus, green Europe’s future. The time to adjust the future development of these technologies is now, say Europe’s leading ICT-specialists.

Last week, more than 50 professionals from 20 countries across Europe, the US and Australia discussed in Vienna how ICT can increase energy and resource efficiency and make consumption more sustainable. In an ever faster digitizing world, the positive potentials of ICTs are great, say the experts. Yet, using the chances involves substantial challenges for policy makers and Europe’s regulatory institutions. The event “Green ICT for Sustainable Consumption?” was organized by the Institute of the Environment and Regional Development of the Vienna University of Economics and Business. It is one of several events taking place in the course of the European Knowledge Brokerage project RESPONDER.

The conference ESA (European Sociological Association) 2013 – Crisis, Critique and Change calls for research, explanations and reflections on the causes of the crisis and its effects, both on the political agenda, and on individuals’ and family lives. We look for sociological contributions to foster an understanding of the crisis and the dual role of critique in interpreting and affecting changes. The Papers should either cover issues with regard to ‘Crisis & Critique of Growth’ or ‘Critique of Growth & Change’. Abstracts should be submitted until 1 February 2013. The conference is organized jointly by ESA and the Department of Culture, Politics and Society at the University of Torino.

We are happy to cordially invite you to participate at the 2nd RESPONDER Multinational Knowledge Brokerage Event on sustainable mobility:

Towards Sustainable Mobility in European Cities -
Insights and Issues for Policy Makers and Researchers

March 21-22, 2013
Hotel Danube Bratislava/Slovak Republic

with high-level keynote speakers from policy, science and society:

Representative of the Slovak Ministry of the Environment, Bratislava (tbc)
Petter Næss, The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), Aas/Norway
Martin Schreiner, City of Munich/Germany
Heinz Hoegelsberger, Austrian Federation of Trade Unions, Vienna/Austria
Johannes Hartwig, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Karlsruhe/Germany
Jakob Hurrle, Charles University, Prague/Czech Republic
Representative of the European Commission/DG Mobility and Transport, Brussels (tbc)

Organised by the Institute for Forecasting Studies of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Slovak Ministry of the Environment, the event will draw together a selected group of researchers, policy-makers, activists and business representatives from the EU and neighbouring countries.

Questions we plan to explore include:

• What are the trends in urban mobility and what could we learn from adverse and promising examples?
• What are the policies and practices to strengthen sustainable urban mobility and to promote sustainable mobility lifestyles?
• What are the visions of low-carbon, secure and competitive mobility systems in cities?
• How could sustainable mobility approaches reduce spatial segregation, urban sprawl and promote social inclusion?
• How to move towards effective mobility policy making in the real world?

This event will be a moderated, open discussion among about 35-40 experts stimulated by several keynotes.

In order to register for the event, please go to http://www.scp-responder.eu/community/my_registrations or send us the completed registration form (which you can download here in Word or PDF format) to mobility@scp-responder.eu.

Registration will be open until 10 February 2013!

The Institute for Urban Economics (IUE) implements a project commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the City of Vienna to create a “Casebook of Best Practices for Energy-efficient Housing in the UNECE region”. The main objective is to collect and review best practices of energy efficiency in housing across the wider-European region. Primarily the casebook attempts to elaborate on examples and experiences of improving housing energy efficiency in countries with economies in transition. However, it also focuses on best practices from Western Europe, which could provide interesting knowledge for transition countries.

The conference provides a unique opportunity to meet experts in the field of sustainable design and Information and Communication Technologies elaborating on three major topics, namely sustainability through ICT, sustainability in ICT and economic and political dimensions. The conference brings together leading researchers, developers and decision-makers from academia, politics and business aiming to create an interdisciplinary synopsis and to inspire new ways of contributing to sustainability with the use of ICT. By providing an arena for interdisciplinary and critical reflection, the conference will help to improve the methodologies for evaluating, developing, and governing the effects of ICT systems on the sustainability of complex societal and environmental systems.

ICT for Sustainability, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, February 14-16, 2013.

The 2012 Euro Plus Monitor is an innovative ranking of the 17 eurozone countries on a range of macro-economic indicators providing a comprehensive view of progress and retreat throughout the European currency zone. The ranking is based on two key indicators: 1) the Fundamental Health Indicator considering overall economic health, and 2) the Adjustment Progress Indicator measuring the rapidity of countries to adjust to ongoing economic and financial challenges. This year, the 2012 Euro Plus Monitor expands to include three major non-eurozone economies – Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom – and assesses these countries’ performances on key criteria vis-à-vis the eurozone-17.

The Green IT node project (GRIN-CH) addresses the shortage of skilled professionals in the Green IT field. It analyses the market needs, the existing training curricula available, and defines professional profiles in relation to European Qualifications Frameworks (EQF and eCF). It seeks to improve transparency and recognition of learning outcomes and eventually, an improved labour market situation across Europe.

The GRIN‐CH is co-funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) of the European Commission (EC) and operates under the e-Jobs Observatory web platform. 

In recent years, the importance of ‘Cloud Computing’ significantly increased within the IT sector and numerous firms are taking advantage of the new technology. As a consequence of recent developments, the “Wissenschaftsforum Green IT” organizes a conference investigating the potential of ‘Cloud Computing’ and scrutinizes realistic contributions to Green IT. Accordingly the conference discusses underlying problems and economic and ecological merits of ‘Cloud Computing’. Researchers and practitioners are involved in a series of lectures and discussions focusing on essential aspects of ‘Cloud Computing’ ultimately examining its future role in Green IT.

Venue: Lower Saxony State Chancellery, In den Ministergärten 10, 10117 Berlin.

In current times, OECD economies are facing a prolonged period of little or no growth, or even de-growth. This is true of Europe, the United States and Japan. Environmentally this is not bad, as it is easier to avoid a climate change disaster with less growth. Yet socially, lack of growth in growth economies can be catastrophic leading to further unemployment and debt accumulation. How can economies without growth become socially sustainable and economically stable? A group of interdisciplinary researchers at ICTA-UAB aspired to answer this question by scrutinizing the economics and politics of de-growth.

The group together with the association Research & De-growth, have edited three volumes on de-growth in the prestigious journals Futures, Journal of Cleaner Production and Ecological Economics.

Evolving around the ubiquitous matter of sustainable resource use and inefficient economy strategies, the OECD set up a new initiative to foster cross-sectoral dialogue on ‘Green Growth’ and ‘sustainable development’. Therefore it hosts the first annual “OECD Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum” in Paris, 23rd November 2012. The theme of the Forum is “Encouraging the Efficient and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources: Policy Instruments and Social Acceptability”. The Forum aims at bringing together experts from various policy fields and disciplines working on green growth and sustainable development issues, and provides them with an interactive platform for encouraging discussion, facilitating the exchange of knowledge, and easing the exploitation of potential synergies.

We are happy to cordially invite you to join the 2nd RESPONDER Multinational Knowledge Brokerage Event

Green ICT for Sustainable Consumption?

Exploring Emerging Policies and Open Research Questions.

taking place
January 17-18,2013
at the Palais Harrach, Freyung 3, 1010 Vienna, Austria

with high-level keynote speakers from the science, policy and business fields:

Ray Pinto, Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa
Inge Røpke, Aalborg University
Grégoire Wallenborn, Free University of Brussels

The event brings together high-level scientists and policy-makers to explore, discuss and address pressing questions on the potentials and challenges of Green ICT for enabling Sustainable Consumption:

• What is the potential of Cloud Computing as enabler of sustainable consumption in terms of direct, indirect and systemic effects?
• How can Smart Metering help to reduce energy consumption of households?
• How can we design policies and practices to realise the potential of ICTs and promote a process towards sustainable consumption?
• What are the respective roles and responsibilities of policy-makers, representatives of ICT industries, researchers, and other stakeholders?

Please let us know by email (ict@scp-responder.eu) until 30 November 2012 if you want to attend.

The European Commission's technology chief, Neelie Kroes, has present a European strategy for cloud computing, which among others recommending to cut across the "jungle of standards" currently in place to foster growth in the sector. The Commission expects that wider use of new technology to store data on off-site locations could create millions of new jobs in Europe and add nearly €1 trillion to the European GDP.

The Center for Humans and Nature engages scholars and professionals of various disciplines in discussions to explore humans and nature relationships thereby strengthening the exchange of knowledge between research community and decision-makers.

Accordingly the Center established four principal sections inviting people with ideas to connect through reflections on thoughtful Questions, ongoing Projects, the Journal ‘Minding Nature’ and its own Blog ‘City Creatures’. The exchange of ideas essentially seeks better decisions in relationship with each other and the rest of nature and consequently investigates new approaches to improve humanity’s relationship with nature. It specifically contemplates alternative notions of functioning economies beyond conventional economic growth strategies and moreover provides an ethical perspective on sustainable consumption and production methods.

The Center for Humans and Nature engages scholars and professionals of various disciplines in discussions to explore humans and nature relationships thereby strengthening the exchange of knowledge between research community and decision-makers.

Accordingly the Center established four principal sections inviting people with ideas to connect through reflections on thoughtful Questions, ongoing Projects, the Journal.

The summit places the city as a vital area of work and opportunity within the field of global sustainability, and thus brings together decision-makers, researchers and civil society to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue and accelerate change on a global scale. The programme of ECOCITY elaborates on four priority challenges for sustainable cities namely financing, governing, thinking and shaping.

The conference will be held from 25th to 27th September 2013 and anyone interested is invited to return their call for contributions before 30th November 2012.

For two days European science and policy experts convened last week in Brussels to discuss Europe's sustainable future. The "European Dialogue on Sustainable Consumption and Economic Growth" addressed the challenges of the concept of "Greening the economy" in order to enable the formulation of adequate policy strategies. More than 50 professionals from 13 countries across Europe took part in the discussion.

The experts agreed that there is no time to lose, and that enough existing knowledge justifies kick-starting a transition. "Many policy experiences from the last 20 years have revealed what works and what does not work", comments André Martinuzzi, coordinator of the consortium RESPONDER and director of the Vienna-based Research Institute for Managing Sustainability. As key pillars of the transition to a "true" green economy, the experts emphasized the importance of tangible visions and more policy experiments at all governance levels, from municipalities up to national and international levels.

The European Commission's new strategy for "Unleashing the potential of cloud computing in Europe" outlines actions to deliver a net gain of 2.5 million new European jobs, and an annual boost of EUR 160 billion to EU GDP (around 1%), by 2020. The strategy is designed to speed up and increase the use of cloud computing across the economy.

See the complete communication here

In an investigative report, the New York Times uncovers the environmental impact of data centers, huge server and information processing centers used by companies all over the world to create constant and instant access to data. The article found that most data centers are run in an extremely energy inefficient manner, with most wasting about 90% of the electicity they pull from the grid. In addition, many rely on extra diesel power generators, lead-acid batteries, and other polluting forms of energy to power their server and cooling systems.

With the recent rise and spread of electronic data storage and electronic information, the impact of data centers is becoming an ever growing environmental risk.

In a communication to the European Parliament and the European Council, the European Commission released its “Strategy for the sustainable competitiveness of the construction sector and its enterprises”. The paper points out that as a crucial part of the European economy the sector could contribute significantly to job creation by increasing its activity in areas such as the renovation of buildings and in infrastructure. However, there are many problems facing the construction industry. The strategy paper recommends policies to promote demand as well as encourage investment to bring about sustainability in the construction sector.

ICLEI announces the fifth international Local Renewables Conference, 25-26 October 2012 in Freiburg (Germany). The conference focuses on the combination of locally generated renewable energy, smart grids and smart end-users. Topics of the conference include:

• Smart energy grids & urban-regional interlinkages
• The role of cities and towns in enhancing renewable energy & the deployment of smart grids
• Regional projects and financial mechanisms
• Bridging the gap between energy suppliers, technicians and local policy makers.

Programme highlights include the following range of subjects and activities:

• EU political and financial framework conditions
• EU projects on central management of decentralised local production, storage and optimal end-user equipment
• Financing tools
• Interaction and exchange with key stakeholders
• Networking and social events, including a welcome reception and study tours.

The conference will also bring together a line-up of international experts, local government representatives, agencies and energy providers. See the website below for more information and to register.

The European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE) announces their 10th International conference (ESEE 2013) on Ecological Economics and Institutional Dynamics, 18-21 June 2013 in Lille (France).

The conference is organized in collaboration with CLERSE (Université Lille1-CNRS, France) and REGARDS (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France). Proposals for paper and poster presentations on any of the following Conference themes, and for the organisation of special sessions are welcomed.

• The Themes of the conference are:
• Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary theoretical approaches
• Methodological and epistemological issues
• Governance, policies and institutions
• Resources and environment
• Actors and behaviors
• Towards a Socio-Ecological Transition
• Institutionalization of Ecological Economics: a European Perspective

Keynote speakers and roundtable participants will include:

Daniel W. Bromley, Michel Capron, Andrew Dobson, Florence Jany-Catrice, Inge Ropke, Elizabeth Shove, Clive Spash.

A main feature of the RESPONDER project, the interactive systems mapping platform, is now available at www.scp-responder.eu/platform. The platform provides an on-line space for creating, exchanging and discussing knowledge in between the RESPONDER knowledge brokerage events. The system maps that are available so far deal with the topics of "Cloud Computing" and "Perspectives on Mobility and Urbanisation"

The Retail Forum for Sustainability has published a new issue paper on sustainable seafood. The paper deals with the environmental impacts of fishing and aquaculture, the safeguard of existing stocks and measurements to balance the growing demand for seafood products and the overfishing threat.

The Retail Forum for Sustainability is a multi-stakeholder platform initiated by the European Commission together with representatives of EuroCommerce and the European Retail Round Table (ERRT) in 2009.

Call for papers and conference announcement by Australia New Zealand Society for Ecologic Economics (ANZSEE) on “Green Growth or De-Growth?” The conference will take place November 12th -15th 2012 at the Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia. Themes of the conference are:

• Greening the Economy
• Social and Political Dimensions
• Policy Issues and Applications in Ecological Economics
• Challenges and Frontiers in Methods

The keynote speakers for include: Dr Richard Denniss, Executive Director of the Australia Institute, Dr Lyn Carson, Professional Fellow, University of Western Sydney and, Dr Rosalind Bark, Resource Ecological Economist, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences

The European Commission is finalising a strategy on cloud computing aimed at promoting the use of off-site data storage in a bid to cut information technology costs and create new jobs. According to EurActiv.com Brussels is planning to address several aspects of the cloud computing regulatory framework to encourage its use by companies and public administrations. The strategy addresses data protection, copyright in the cloud, standardisation and global governance. The sustainability issue of cloud computing, which was debated at RESPONDER’s ICT event in Vienna end of May, is not being covered by the strategy paper.

Although frustration and pessimism have been voiced immediately after the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), referring to the summit even as a complete failure, the number of optimistic and pragmatic voices calling against belittling the invested effort and months of negotiations among 192 countries is on the rise. With this in mind, a new RESPONDER knowledge unit observes and analyses the role of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and of the growth debate in the UNCSD outcome document “The Future We Want”.

Following a first round of RESPONDER multinational knowledge brokerage events held across Europe, the 2nd EU Dialogue on Sustainable Consumption and Economic Growth, entitled "Linking Policy and Science for Greening the Economy", will be held on 29-30 October 2012 in Brussels.

The Green Economy is put forward as a decision-making framework that improves human wellbeing while at the same time reducing environmental risks and scarcities. It is argued that this new development path centered on new forms of qualitative growth is needed because risks are rising as growth continues to erode the environment and social capital. The Rio+20 preparations for the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication have framed and considered the need for a holistic approach and structural adjustments of economies. A comprehensive policy mix and links between key policy fields is suggested in order to face multiple interrelated crises. State interventions are perceived as necessary to jump-start and guide the greening of the economy.

However, there are major barriers and systemic gaps in the implementation of a green economy, especially as Europe currently faces difficult times: low growth projections for the coming years, high unemployment rates across Europe, financial instability and rising budget deficits, and scarce empirical evidence of absolute decoupling between economic growth and resource use. Not least due to these circumstances, the growth-skeptical debate currently experiences a revival, including an increasing number of degrowth advocates who argue for a multi-dimensional reduction of overall consumption and production as the only path towards social justice, ecological sustainability and well-being.

Against this background, the 2nd European Dialogue will bring together policy makers and researchers to explore and discuss

• what challenges arise on this development path and how these might be overcome,
• examples of successful policies for greening the economy,
• whether there are conflicting priorities in key policy areas that are essential for greening the economy (e.g. Can full employment be achieved while aiming for an absolute reduction of environmental impacts?)

The 2nd EU Dialogue aims to offer an arena for debate about the Green Economy from a systemic perspective.

In case you would like to stay informed about the RESPONDER project and the 2nd EU Dialogue, please express your interest at http://www.scp-responder.eu/events/eu_dialogue.

The Role of Household Savings and Debts in a Sustainable Economy
24-25 May 2012, London (UK)

A number of scientific papers deal with sustainable consumption in general and with the issues of nutrition, housing and mobility in particular. The indebtedness of households and the investment of private savings have rarely been discussed in the context of sustainable consumption, although they represent an important aspect of consumer behavior. The RESPONDER workshop on "The Role of Household Savings and Debts in a Sustainable Economy" aimed at closing this gap that was held on 24-25 May 2012 in London.

Tim Jackson (University of Surrey) who celebrated European-wide success with his book "Prosperity without Growth" referred to the European financial and economic crisis in his opening speech: especially in difficult economic times, households tend to limit consumption spending and create savings to be prepared for more difficult times. Households in Great Britain are being asked not do so, but to stimulate the economy through consumer spending. Jackson pointed to an alternative that through renovation and insulation of houses could create jobs and reduce future energy costs at the same time.

James Vaccaro from the "Global Alliance for Banking on Values" showed a new trend in banking: while most banks hardly inform about the companies they give credits to, some British banks offer exactly this information. Who invests money in these banks can track in which companies it is invested. "Many people want to know exactly where their food comes from. For them, it will soon be as important to know in which companies their savings are invested. We provide full transparency”, is he convinced to have found a growing niche market.

Richard Werner from the University of Southampton emphasized the role of banks to finance small and medium-sized companies. He criticized the creation of money by banks and the high proportion of speculative transactions in international banking and demanded that British banks focus more on the real economy. Using examples from Germany and Japan, he showed that a banking system having a large number of small banks have a higher level of stability.

A documentation of this event is available at: http://www.scp-responder.eu/community/documentation/KB_Savings_2012

Green ICT for Growth and Sustainability?
30 May-1 June 2012, Vienna (Austria)

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have not only changed our daily lives, they are often regarded as the area that can provide growth and employment in Europe. But are these hopes justified? Can Cloud Computing and Smart Metering contribute to a decoupling of economic growth, energy consumption and resource consumption? Or do new problems arise from consumer electronics and the integration of ICT in everyday consumption practices? These were the key questions of the RESPONDER knowledge brokerage event on "Green ICT for Growth and Sustainability?" held from 30 May to 1 June 2012 in Vienna.

In her opening speech, Inge Røpke (Technical University of Denmark) underlined that the question was not whether ICT was good or bad for the environment, but how ICT could be used to contribute to sustainable development. In her opinion, improving energy efficiency is not sufficient since the needs of consumers are continuously increasing and the efficiency gains are over-compensating the additional consumption.

Peter Johnston (European Policy Center & Club of Rome) pointed out the enormous opportunities that result from an increased use of ICT for sustainable development, such as indicating climate impacts on every purchase decision.

Lorenz Hilty (University of Zurich & Empa) used two examples to demonstrate that the use of ICT does not always lead to lower environmental impact: while participating in virtual conferences leads to an absolute reduction of CO2 emissions even at a significantly higher number of participants, improving the energy consumption of vending machines led to their increased use also in smaller office, with the volume growth offsetting the energy savings again.

In the framework of a working group, the impact of Cloud Computing on energy consumption and the use of renewable energy sources were discussed, existing knowledge was exchanged and future research needs were drafted. System mapping was used as a participatory methodology with great success. The participants agreed to continue their work in July.

A documentation of this event is available at: http://www.scp-responder.eu/community/documentation/KB_ICT_2012