If you search online for “Digital Services Act” (DSA) you get some 1.62 billion hits. Compared to only 513 million hits for its five years older “policy cousin”, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). All that, is of course a nerdy way of saying: the DSA is the EU’s latest regulation about to change the... Continue Reading →
Op-Ed: Mastodon as a common good alternative: Conditions apply.
Curious about Mastodon? Personally, I'm a big fan of its potential -- just as I'm weary of its bias towards those with privilege. In my latest piece, I explore 3 conditions to ensure the fediverse can provide a common, public good alternative. * diversity and inclusion * training for content moderators * sufficient funding Read... Continue Reading →
Op-Ed: We “pledge” action: The delay and diffuse tactics of climate misinformation
We pledge action. ≠ We act. Most certainly so, when it comes to the climate crisis.In my latest commentary with Observer Research Foundation, I argue that the necessary transformation of our societies is underminded by pervasive climate misinformation. Beyond outright climate change denial, diffuse, distract, and delay tactics are far more widespread than one may... Continue Reading →
Launch of new project
Official as of October 1: I’ll be co-leading a new team working on disinformation in digital spaces. Under the title “Upgrade Democracy”, we will analyse and highlight the dynamics of disinformation. If this seems detached from my usual focus on sustainability, climate action, and innovation — I can assure you, it is not. Not only... Continue Reading →
Consultancy: Theory of Change (Liberate Science)
It may sound theoretical, but it is a powerful directional vehicle: A business’ Theory of Change. Thank you to Liberate Science and CEO, Chris Hartgerink, for allowing me to join them on their impactful journey and facilitate a 3 months process to develop their unique approach to conducting and distributing research in a fair and... Continue Reading →
Blog: Big Tech & The Climate
Read any highly ambitious climate pledges or reduction targets lately? I’m guessing yes, given the level of attention on corporate responsibility to reduce and mitigate their climate impact. Including —and especially so— Big Tech. However, to do so, all of them must effectively (not just on paper) reduce their emissions. Are they? Here’s the tl;dr... Continue Reading →
New role with Bertelsmann Stiftung
I've been feeling the need to go deeper and spend more time thinking, researching, and supporting people on their impact journeys for a while now. This is why I am particularly happy to share that I joined the Bertelsmann Foundation as a Senior Expert on Future Tech and Sustainability at the beginning of July. I'll... Continue Reading →
Climate litigation just became that much more powerful
161 for -- 8 abstensions -- 0 against🌍🌎🌏On July 28, 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted a historic resolution declaring access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, a universal human right. This is huge. And it has been 50 years in the making.There are many reasons to applaud the many people whi tirelessly fought... Continue Reading →
Research: Environmental Impact of Publishing Houses
New research piece: Together with Chris Hartgerink, we look at scholarly publishing houses and their environmental impact in this guest post.TL;DR:1) We need transparent, comparable, machine-readable emissions data. We are in a Climate Emergency — there is no time to hide behind wordy (100 pages) reporting.2) Some of these research publishers are big enough to... Continue Reading →
Consultancy: Liberate Science’s 2021 environmental impact
I really enjoy working with smaller organisations on their sustainability and impact journeys. Seeing their creativity and progress is just so rewarding. Year 2 of Liberate Science‘s GHG assessment took Chris Hartgerink and me merely an hour to calculate. What did we learn? ✅ Practice helps✅ Every decision matters✅ Focus on both, reduction & mitigation... Continue Reading →
Cathleen Berger 