In cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the German Environment Agency (UBA) is hosting a session on environmental due diligence in global supply chains on June 25, 2020, as part of the "OECD Global Forum for Responsible Business Conduct". The event takes place online. read more
OECD/UBA/UNEP event on environmental due diligence
Emerge more sustainable from the coronavirus pandemic
The German Environment Agency (UBA) has presented a plan on how to design the coronavirus stimulus packages to target environmental protection. "Environmental protection and climate action have been high on the political agenda in recent times and both will remain of major importance after the coronavirus crisis. We should be wary about losing sight of these acute problems as we restart the economy. The restart can only be viable for the future if the funding is used to drive a transformation to a sustainable and climate-neutral society. Investing in obsolete technologies and structures would aggravate the environmental crisis, prevent innovation, slow our competitiveness and put our implementation of the Paris Agreement a long way off," said UBA's President Dirk Messner. Originally presented in May the plan is now available in English. read more
Climate change has an impact on the safety of installations
Sources of natural hazards, such as heavy rainfall, flooding, winter storms or lightning, can cause major accidents. Climate change can change the intensity, frequency and local distribution of such sources of hazards. Operators of installations in which large quantities of hazardous substances are present and the authorities responsible for them must therefore adapt their risk management. read more
National alliance champions more use of the bio-bin
May 11 2020 marks the launch of this year's "Biowaste Bin Campaign” (Aktion Biotonne Deutschland). The initiative supports municipalities in providing waste disposal advice at local level. Private households in Germany are to improve the separate collection of biowaste for energy recovery or use as fertiliser. read more
New blog: Corona Sustainability Compass (CSC)
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Employment numbers in environmental protection sector rising steadily
Some 2.8 million people in Germany were employed in the environmental protection sector in 2017, says a recent report by the German Environment Agency (UBA). The importance of environmental protection for the labour market has continued to grow in recent years. In 2010, 5.9 percent of the labour force was employed in the environmental protection sector, rising to 6.4 percent in 2017 . read more
Federal contest prize for environmental building: "UMWELT & BAUEN"
Due to the present circumstances, the deadline for the first-ever federal environmental building award called "UMWELT & BAUEN" has been extended. Contestants now have until 22 May 2020 to submit project entries. read more
CO2 emissions per kilowatt hour of electricity in further decline in 2019
The specific CO2 emission factor of Germany's electricity mix continues to be on the decline, say the latest calculations done by the German Environment Agency (UBA) for 2019. The main relevant factors which contributed to this were increased electricity generated from renewables and less from coal firing as well as prices in emissions trading. read more