Exporting agricultural products from tropical regions to China, the USA, the Middle East, and Europe is three times more harmful to biodiversity than previously assumed. Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and ETH chair of Ecological Systems Design have shown this by tracking how agricultural exports from 1995 to 2022 affected land use changes in the producing countries. Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Madagascar are particularly affected by species loss.

Prof. Stefanie Hellweg and the Ecological Systems Design group got featured in an article in the NZZ special edition "Nachhaltig Handeln" (acting sustainably). In the article, Prof. Hellweg talks about the group's research and how circular economy can help reduce resource use to a sustainable level.