"Green Economy" – Fact or Fiction?

On behalf of the German Federal Environmental Agency, the Ifo Institute polled its business survey participants regarding their assessment of a "green transformation" of the economy. A green economy calls for products, production processes and services that contribute to structuring economic development within ecological guard rails to prevent any irreparable negative impact on the environment, air, water, soil and biological diversity. The poll showed that the transition to a "green economy" is an important topic for German industry across the board, and not just a "green niche concern". Increasing energy efficiency was identified as particularly important, while the importance of the majority of the other components of a green transformation, on the other hand, was reported to have remained unchanged. However, a relatively large number of participants were unaware of the fact that preserving biological diversity, replacing non-renewable raw materials, using renewable raw materials and closing product cycles have a role to play in this context. In Eastern Germany increasing the efficiency of raw and semi-finished materials was attributed an increasingly important role more frequently than in Western Germany.