Dr. Irmgard Schultz

In the project, researchers from ISOE and the German Öko-Institut are developing new approaches to reduce power consumption in households. The new “power efficiency classes” label will be recording power consumption in households and assigning them an efficiency class.

The 'KlimaAlltag' project is investigating low carbon lifestyles in different social strata. The focus is on mobility, nutrition, home living and household energy consumption.

In IMPACT, 16 European research facilities are investigating how corporate social responsibility activities (CSR) contribute to the goals of the EU.

Within the Intelliekon project, ISOE, together with two Fraunhofer institutes (ISE and ISI) and nine energy suppliers, is investigating the impact of intelligent electricity meters.

The team of NaHa ("Nachhaltig Handeln" - Sustainable Practices) looked at how experiences and routines in working life can help promote sustainable behaviour in the private sphere.

In the EU project EUPOPP, seven research institutions are examining and evaluating political strategies and tools for sustainable consumption.

A meta-analysis was used to collect existing pieces of research on scientific gender studies in Europe and establish research needs.

In Quali-Set-Praxis, the team developed and tested methods and instruments for quality development in health promotion programmes.

The team developed a gender mainstreaming tool for two hospitals in Saxony in order to improve the reconcilability of work and private life for men and women.

The team of the JET-SET group project evaluated the practice of emissions trading from a socio-ecological perspective and made recommendations for its further development.

Seven European research institutions have investigated the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the EU.

The goal of the project group was to develop strategies and instruments that enable municipal decision-makers to take forward-looking action in the current process of transformation to the infrastructure systems.

ISOE, together with the Gender Institute of Saxony-Anhalt, advised the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of the State of Saxony-Anhalt on how to devise a new consumer policy model. The focus here was on a gender- and target-group-specific perspective.

The team provided scientific support and advice to the forestry commission in the Eifel National Park with introducing gender mainstreaming into its work.

The team developed support materials for the introduction of a gender impact assessment (GIA) into the day-to-day workings of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU).

Within the scope of this project, scientists developed a target group model for the organic foods market.

ISOE examined the environmental funding programme of the of the Hanseatic City of Bremen’s Support Program for Applied Environmental Research using a gender impact assessment (GIA).

By way of example, ISOE developed the instrument of a gender impact assessment (GIA) for the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU).

The EU ordered the 5th Framework Programme for Research to be examined for gender-specific implications. As part of this process, ISOE carried out a gender impact assessment (GIA) within the sub-programme "Environment and Sustainable Development". The scientists began by developing evaluation criteria and scrutinising the main areas of research for gender-specific approaches. Finally, they ascertained the participation of women in institutions and petitions/applications. From this the team drew up recommendations as to how the participation of women could be improved and gender aspects taken up in environmental and sustainability research.

The team working on this study explored existing research on gender-specific orientations and behaviour relevant to sustainable consumption. In doing so, it also analysed whether men and women are responsible for different types of pollution, respectively. Data from mobility research, for example, points to men being more inclined to drive larger cars and drive longer distances, thus contributing more towards climate change. The scientists also evaluated consumption data (e.g. water and energy consumption) from a gender perspective. On this basis, proposals were drawn up for gender-specific strategies to change consumer behaviour.

The object of this study was to carry out a systematic investigation of the links between gender and environmental awareness and behaviour. For this purpose the authors evaluated the UBA survey "Environmental Awareness in Germany 2000" and the ISOE "Consumer Styles study" from a gender perspective. From the empirical results, the scientists then devised environmental communication strategies for the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA). The findings are to be used to support environmental policy making with strategies that link ecological sustainability with gender fairness.

In conjunction with a housing association, a concept was developed for the sustainable renovation of selected housing developments built in the 1950s and 1960s. The pilot settlements are the Hans-Böckler housing estate with 368 residential units in Offenbach along with 241 residential units in the Bad Soden "Musicians' District", and a further 202 residential units on an estate in Bad Soden-Neuenhain.

In this project the team developed a typology of relevant consumer styles in Germany.

During the two years of research, a consumption-related "innovation probe" was developed, with which to utilise consumers' demands for ecologically innovative products and services. The "knowledge transfer" between consumer and manufacturer so far has to pass between the bottleneck of market research. A broader approach is called for if ecological aspects of relevance to everyday life are to be identified alongside purchase behaviour and market preferences.

On behalf of the Öko-Institut Freiburg, ISOE examined which social groups have so far been excluded from climate protection policy. Background was the research project Environmental Policy, Social Exclusion and Climate Change (EPSECC).

Within the joint project, the scientists worked out concepts and strategies for sustainable traffic and mobility development in towns and cities. It was while working on this project that ISOE developed, tested and scrutinised the first empirically validated concept for mobility style analysis.