03/23/2022

Job advertisements at ConPolicy
We are looking for a Project Manager from June and a Team Assistant from May 2022.

ConPolicy - the Institute for Consumer Policy - is looking for a Project Manager (m/f/d) starting June 2022 in Berlin in the field of consumer research and policy to work on various research and consulting projects. 

In addition, we are looking for a Team Assistant (m/f/d) with interest and commitment to provide administrative and organizational support to the team and the management from May 2022. 

Further information regarding the job openings can be found here.

04/04/2022

Consumer access and use of their own data
ConPolicy presentation at the OECD CCP-Roundtable

On April 4, 2022, the OECD's Committee on Consumer Policy (CCP) organized a roundtable on consumers access and use of their own data. The aim of the virtual event was to shed light on how consumers can use their data to make better consumption decisions, the challenges they face in data use and sharing, and how policymakers and businesses can constructively support them with respect to data privacy, security, and portability.

In this context, ConPolicy project manager Dr. Sara Elisa Kettner gave a presentation on the challenges and expectations of consumers regarding their data use and demonstrated from a behavioral science perspective how data consent can be designed in a consumer-friendly way.

In addition, representatives from international ministries, public authorities, industry, and civil society contributed to the roundtable with presentations and discussion statements on best practices and innovative solution strategies.

04/04/2022

ConPolicy supports call of well-known personalities
Saving energy as the key to energy security

The war in Ukraine makes it clear that energy policy must change radically. However, this should not be primarily a question of which supplier countries will compensate for the loss of Russian oil and gas or whether coal or nuclear power should be used for longer than planned.

Instead, leading figures from science and civil society have issued a call for the implementation of measures to consistently and permanently reduce energy through energy efficiency measures. This involves a large number of measures that can be implemented in the short term in the areas of transport, heating, public buildings, industry, agriculture and digitization.

The advantages of energy sufficiency are obvious: energy sufficiency makes us more independent in terms of security policy, reduces CO2 emissions, is cost-effective and does not require compromises with states that disregard human rights.

The ConPolicy Institute supports this call. Further information can be found in the thesis paper and a material collection.

04/01/2022

Role models – And the fight against e-waste
ConPolicy discusses solutions at the rebuy Salon

In Germany alone, almost 20 kilograms of electronic waste are generated per person every year. The recommerce company rebuy wants to combat this waste of resources and the associated environmental impact. As part of its new campaign "Pass it on instead of putting it away," the company organized a roundtable discussion on the topic of e-waste on March 31, 2022. In the one-hour YouTube livestream, ConPolicy behavior expert Dr. Annette Cerulli-Harms joined rebuy CEO Philipp Gattner, editorial director at the magazine green Lifestyle Petra Schmatz, and Ole Nymoen, book author and podcast host of 'Prosperity for All', to discuss why consumers continue to find it difficult to make sustainable consumption decisions. 

To avoid e-waste, it would be important for consumers to first use their devices for as long as possible and then either pass them on or at least have them professionally recycled. However, many are quick to buy new when it comes to electronics due to innovation cycles or habits, such as upgrading smartphones every two years.

In the panel discussion, it became clear that knowledge of the problem alone will not guide people to change their actions. Marketing, unsustainable product design and ingrained behavior patterns prevent consumers from consuming more sustainably. In addition to legal framework conditions, education and many positive impulses from outside are needed to bring about a change in consumer behavior.

The event was broadcast via livestream and can be viewed here. 
In addition, the Hochrhein-Zeitung reported on the rebuy Salon here.