Öko-Institut, Institute for Applied Ecology

http://www.oeko.de/home/dok/546.php

"We can only hope if we act ourselves!"

On 5 November 1977, a group of 27 concerned citizens, coming together upon the occasion of a scientific conference, took the initiative to found Öko-Institut (Institut für angewandte Ökologie / Institute for Applied Ecology). Resistance against the Wyhl nuclear power plant was a common cause uniting all founding members. Their concern was to preserve an environment that was being exploited ever more ruthlessly. And they wished to protect the natural life-support systems on which human existence depends, and whose destruction was becoming increasingly evident. The aim was to at least halt these processes, and if possible reverse them. At first, Öko-Institut was a small science centre with its own engineers, physicists, chemical industry experts, lawyers and theologists. These analysed and assessed, and brought their findings to the attention of a wider public. They did so with mounting success.

Today, Öko-Institut is a leading European research and consultancy institution working for a sustainable future. It employs more than 100 staff, including 70 researchers, at three locations: Freiburg, Darmstadt and Berlin.