Technical documentation for the financial carbon footprint of loans by GLS Bank in 2024 : scope 3.15 emission intensities & methodology

This report is the result of work conducted on behalf of GLS Bank in 2025. The corresponding work package aims to calculate and operationalize the Financial Carbon Footprint of GLS Bank loans (indirect GHG emissions under Scope 3.15). The document at hand constitutes the "technical documentation" for this work. The research project that forms the basis of this report was carried out on behalf of GLS Bank. GLS Bank assigned the Wuppertal Institute with the calculation of the Scope 3.15 emissions of their loan programme in 2024. Moreover, they also asked for a set of calculation rules and background data to conduct such a calculation for future loan periods as well. Such GHG intensities usually estimate the emissions of an actor on the basis of the economic activity, the underlying value-chain-related emissions of this activity as well as some monetary reference unit so that each unit of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) can be directly associated with the loan value (e.g. as tons of CO2-equivalents per million Euro)

D2.2 - assessing needs for model applications : WP2 - understanding stakeholder needs for new capacities ; TRANSItioning towards an Efficient, carbon-Neutral Circular European industry - TRANSIENCE

This report examines the key transformation challenges and research capacity needs in four European industrial regions: the Basque Country, Rhine-Ruhr Area, the Port of Rotterdam, and Silesia. The study employed a mixed methods approach, including desk research and stakeholder workshops utilising the Three Horizons facilitation method. In three regions, workshops involving 8-18 participants representing diverse stakeholder groups were held. Due to prior workshop saturation, the Port of Rotterdam study opted for a series of interviews, drawing insights from well-documented previous workshops. A key finding across all regions is the heightened perception of risk and uncertainty stemming from recent global events. This uncertainty affects various dimensions, including technology choices, geopolitical stability, resource availability, and political landscapes, exacerbating an investment bottleneck as industries face reinvestment decisions against a backdrop of strained public finances and volatile interest rates. This uncertainty is compounded by the lack of a clear business case for green materials despite the anticipated decline in the viability of traditional, emission-intensive materials within the EU. While interest in green materials exists, uncertainties around certification, bulk availability, and production costs make securing financing for green production facilities challenging

Tracing food packaging waste : the emergence of a configuration

The mid-twentieth century marks the proposed beginning of the Anthropocene, wherein human activities have irreversibly changed the environment, partly due to the accumulation of plastics from food packaging. Practice theories have contributed to understanding these activities, with some studies shifting the focus from isolated practices to the configurations they form to explain such significant social phenomena. This article uses the rise of packaging foods as an example to investigate how practices emerge as part of a configuration. Based on archival issues of the magazine Neue Verpackung (1948-1958) - pioneering magazine of the German packaging industry - I elaborate how the paradigm of rationalization orchestrated formerly separate practices toward converging and aligning, forming a configuration of densely interconnected and interdependent practices that eventually established food packaging as an essential component of transportation and retail sale. Insights into the emergence of a past configuration that remains relevant today can help transform current configurations, leading to the reduction of packaging waste

Circular economy from scratch : a novel project-based learning method to increase motivation in metal recycling among industrial design students

Project-based learning, with its emphasis on "learning by doing", is the dominant teaching method in industrial design. Learners are supposed to be motivated to tackle complex problems such as those in the dynamic field of sustainability. However, it is still unclear how the process of increasing motivation within projects can be systematically targeted for specific sustainability challenges and directed towards potential later pro-environmental behavior. The project-based learning method presented in this paper, framed by a normative decision-making model, aims to intrinsically motivate industrial design students to engage in the exemplary circular economy field of metal recycling and at the same time promote necessary professional competencies on the metal, alloy, product and system level. It is demonstrated which specific intervention measures can be suitable to achieve this goal and how they can be methodically employed. Preliminary quantitative evaluation results indicate that the project-based learning method can indeed strongly motivate the target group

A typology for circular economy data

The circular economy (CE) is a key pillar of sustainability policies, notably the European Green Deal, requiring extensive data across the value chain. However, the lack of a clear definition of CE data creates ambiguity in its understanding and application. This study addresses this gap by investigating the fundamental research questions: What are the dimensions that define CE data? and How is CE data currently being utilized according to these dimensions? To answer these questions, this research proposes a novel typology for CE data, examining its various dimensions and subdimensions across different levels, from product-specific to macroeconomic scales. Through a literature review and an analysis of 26 CE performance measurement frameworks, 334 distinct CE data points were identified and collected, serving as the foundation for defining eight CE data dimensions within the proposed typology. This approach has provided a clear definition of what constitutes CE data, contributing positively to business applications, particularly in performance measurement. Additionally, it streamlines data collection and analysis, offering a structured approach to prioritizing and interpreting CE data for effective implementation

Disposable but indispensable : the role of packaging in everyday food consumption

Consumers nowadays usually dispose of food packaging after a single use. As the amount of packaging waste increases, it is of the utmost importance to encourage its reduction. Whereas most previous studies have focused on packaging in practices related to supermarkets, we analyse its role in food consumption beyond the realm of shopping. Rooted in practice theories, we conceptually frame packaging as an integral material element that is unconsciously used in daily food consumption. To explore this idea, we collected qualitative data from 26 consumers in Berlin, Germany, combining food diaries and interviews. Our results illustrate that disposable packaging is entangled in many food consumption practices in multiple ways. It is a multifaceted object that saves time and space while facilitating consumption, making it difficult for consumers to sidestep. Based on these insights, we derive recommendations for a shift towards packaging waste prevention

Providing a knowledge base for decarbonizing the Kazakh metals industries (DeKaMe) : final report

Kazakhstan is one of the world's largest producers of metals such as uranium, iron, steel, copper, zinc and aluminium. This makes metallurgy, in particular the iron and steel industry, one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Kazakhstan's industrial sector. Kazakhstan has set itself the goal of achieving a climate-neutral economy by 2060. The country’s strategy for achieving climate neutrality includes the transformation of the Kazakh steel and aluminium industries to almost GHG neutral production. Against this background, the overarching objective of the DeKaMe project was to provide a knowledge base on which Kazakh policymakers and stakeholders can draw to define technological pathways towards a deep decarbonisation of steel and aluminium industries in Kazakhstan and for the design of supporting policy instruments. The project team identified and described technological options for decarbonising the iron and steel industry as well as the aluminium industry and summarised their advantages and disadvantages in the Kazakh context. In order to provide the Kazakh authorities with a broad portfolio of policy options, the researchers also identified and described policy instruments for decarbonising the steel and aluminium industries, including best-practice examples and international activities on green lead markets. To collect data and validate the findings, stakeholder interviews were conducted. The project results were presented in a webinar to Kazakh stakeholders