Siddharth Prakash

Special Expertise

Main areas of research:

• Sustainable products and consumption
• Resource and waste management
• International cooperation and development policy

Topics:

• Circular economy, obsolescence, product longevity and repairs
• Eco-design, ecolabeling and sustainable public procurement
• Information and communication technologies (ICT)
• Social and environmental standards in global value chains

Methods:

• Product Sustainability Assessment (PROSA)
• Social Life Cycle Assessment (s-LCA)
• Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment

Key Projects

International cooperation and development policy

Sustainable consumption

• Sustainable approaches to reducing plastic packaging in Asia (Thailand, Malaysia & Indonesia)
• Transforming production and consumption patterns by strengthening ecolabeling and green public procurement in five Asian countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Bhutan, Vietnam, Myanmar) 
• Methodological challenges for ecolabels in the Global Ecolabelling Network – evaluation and traceability of critical raw materials and determination of quantitative environmental relief potentials
• Implementation of innovative incentive mechanisms to promote climate-friendly products and services in ASEAN (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia & Philippines)
• Promoting environmental-friendly services in ASEAN taking the example of Germany’s environmental standards, such as the Blue Angel label (Thailand & Malaysia)
• Blue Angel – national eco-label with international impact – further development of internationalisation strategy and cooperation with other Type I eco-labels (Thailand & China)
• Promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) for a low-carbon economy in ASEAN (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia & Philippines)
• Sustainable Consumption and Production for Low Carbon Economy – Low Emission Public Procurement and Eco-Labelling (SCP4LCE) – Advisory Services on Eco-Labelling in Thailand and the ASEAN region (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia & Philippines)
• Strengthening the international use of the Blue Angel as a climate protection label – project under the National Climate Protection Initiative (India, Turkey, United Kingdom)
• Certification of low-carbon product groups in China and Germany

Resource and waste management

• Marine litter and microplastics: Promoting the environmentally sound management of plastic wastes and achieving the prevention and minimization of the generation of plastic wastes
• Indo-German financial cooperation – scoping assignment solid waste management, commissioned by the KfW-Bank
• Concepts for sustainable solid waste management, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
• Technical support of KfW in the management of the FC project "Environmentally sound management of e-waste in Ghana"
• E-waste Ghana Lot 3: Enhancing capacities of informal sector stakeholders & payment system for e-waste, commissioned by the GIZ
• Ghanaian-German Financial Cooperation (FC): Sound disposal and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment – Feasibility Study for the preparation of a new FC project, commissioned by the KfW-Bank
• E-waste Africa Project (UNEP)
• Informal e-waste management in Lagos, Nigeria – socio-economic impacts and feasibility of international recycling co-operations
• Socio-economic assessment and feasibility study on sustainable e-waste management in Ghana

Policy Concepts and Instruments in the Field of Sustainable Consumption in Europe

Circular Economy and Obsolescence

• Further development of strategies against obsolescence including legal instruments
• Economic and environmental impacts of extending the useful life of electrical and electronic equipment
• Technical strategies against obsolescence
• Analysis of consumer behavior in strategies against obsolescence
• Extending product use and lifespan and enforcing consumer rights
• Convergent ICT: Estimating the potential of consumer electronics devices in terms of energy and resource efficiency
• Resource efficiency in the ICT sector
• Paradigm shift in Green IT necessary!
• Timely replacement of a notebook under consideration of environmental aspects
• Sustainability Assessment Standard Framework for the global ICT Industry
• Ecological and economical aspects in a comparison of personal computers to be used by public authorities
• Technical support for the revision of the European Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria – Lot 1: Desktop and notebook computers and Lot 4: Televisions

Ecodesign, ecolabel, sustainable public procurement (SPP)

• Identification of elements for a future “Strategy for the EU Ecolabel”
• Blue Angel: Development of award principles for the product groups of information technology and consumer electronics
• Extended integration of social aspects in the Blue Angel eco-label
• Identification of elements for a future “Strategy for the EU Ecolabel”
• Preparatory studies for eco-design requirements of EuPs (II) and on stakeholder representation – Lot C: Consumers' representation
• Development of an EMAS sectoral reference document on best environmental management practice for the electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing sector

Information and communication technologies

• Estimating the potential of consumer electronics devices in terms of energy and resource efficiency
• Resource efficiency in the ICT sector
• Sustainability assessment standard framework for the global ICT industry
• Öko-APC: Ecological and economic aspects when comparing workplace computers for use in public authorities
• Technical support for the revision of the European Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria – Lot 1: Desktop and notebook computers and Lot 4: Televisions
• Study on the practical application of the new framework methodology for measuring the environmental impact of ICT – cost/benefit analysis (SMART 2012/0064)

Membership of committees and boards

• Collaboration as partner in UN One Planet Network, network, programme consumer information for SCP
• Collaboration in the working group “Product Lifetime Extension” of the UN One Planet Network, programme consumer information for SCP 
• Member of the UNEP/SETAC Working Group “Integration of social aspects in Lifecycle Assessment of Products” (s-LCA)
• Member of the UNEP/SETAC working group “Towards a Lifecycle Sustainability Assessment” 
• Advisory board member of the EU project “Premature Obsolescence Multi-Stakeholder Product Testing Programme (PROMPT)” within the Horizon2020 programme

Professional Training and Career

• Since 2022: Head of Circular Economy & Global Value Chains Subdivision
• Since 2008: Researcher at Öko-Institut, Sustainable Products & Material Flows Division
• 2006: Post-Graduate Studies in “Rural Development” at the Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development, Humboldt-Universität Berlin
• 2005: Research Associate at Silviculture Institute, University of Freiburg
• 2003-2006: Freelance Consultant for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Tropenbos International, The Netherlands, and InWEnt gGmbH, Bonn
• 2002-2005: Master of Science in Sustainable Forestry and Land Use Management, University of Freiburg
• 1999-2002: Bachelor of Science in International Forest Ecosystem Management, University of Applied Sciences Eberswalde

Language Skills

English and Hindi (mother tongues), German, French