Towards a German Programme for
Resource Efficiency
Birgit Schwenk
Head of Division „Ecological Resource Efficiency“
Act Clean Conference, Berlin
13 October 2011
Resource Efficiency:
the ecological challenge
Resource use:
• Steep rise: +50% in
last 30 years
• Impacts on the
environment
Drivers:
• Population growth
• Growth in prosperity
2050: ?
• 9,2 billion people
• Resource Use: ?
Resource Efficiency:
the economic challenge
Price of copper (US $ per ton)
Quelle: www.finanzen.net
Resource Efficiency:
the economic challenge
• Rising and highly volatile prices
• Germany dependent on imports: rich in minerals, but
poor in most metals and rare earths
• Materials account for 45% of costs in German
manufacturing sector
Eurobarometer survey (March 2011):
• 85% of German entrepreneurs report a moderate or
even dramatic rise in material costs in last 5 years,
• 97% expect rising costs in future
Quelle: www.finanzen.net
Part of the solution:
Resource Efficiency
More efficient use of raw materials will
- lower costs
- decrease dependency on imports
- decrease vulnerability to rising and volatile prices
- result in higher competitiveness
- secure jobs
and:
- decrease adverse effects on the environment
- secure our natural capital for future generations
Quelle: www.finanzen.net
2002: National Strategy for
Sustainable Development
German SDS of 2002
• identified a set of 21 indicators
• established quantitative targets
Raw Material Productivity:
 Double by 2020 (against 1994)
Further targets include: land use, energy productivity, renewable
energy, biodiversity, GHG emissions
Bi-annual progress reports to monitor success
Raw material productivity:
Are we on track?
Indicator:
GDP/DMI
Target:
1994-2020
+100%
Status:
1994-2009
+ 46.8 %
2010: German
Raw Materials Strategy
German Raw Materials Strategy (20 October 2010):
Mix of instruments
to support industry in achieving
a safe, secure and sustainable supply
of raw materials
Contains decision to develop a
Programme for Resource Efficiency
„aiming to minimise the adverse effects of resource
extraction and resource use on the environment“
Quelle: www.finanzen.net
The Way Forward: ProgRess!
Programme on Resource Efficiency
(ProgRess)
Goals:
 Decouple growth from resource use
 Reduce resource use and environmental impacts
How?
• Build on best practices and existing measures:
information, coherence, scaling up
• Identify measures along the entire value chain
• Explore additional indicators and targets
ProgRess: Overview
Example:
Action Field „Production“
Proposed actions:
Resource-efficient
Production
• Program to provide tailor-made advice on resource-
efficiency for companies
• Support dissemination of resource-efficient production
and processing methods
• Promote environmental management systems (EMAS)
• Incentives for resource-efficient product design
• Integrate resource efficiency criteria into technical norms
ProgRess: Process
October 2010:
German Raw Materials Strategy
Mandate to develop Resource Efficiency Programme
February – April 2011
working drafts
February – June 2011
stakeholder consultations
July - September 2011
finalisation of MoE Draft
October - December 2011
government consultations
on MoE draft
Envisaged for January 2012
Decision by Council of Ministers
Resource Efficiency
Federal Minister Dr. Norbert Röttgen:
“Resource efficiency means innovation and
modernisation. This is a prerequisite for making
societies and economies fit for the future.
Our economy has the potential to become the most
resource-efficient economy in the world. And this
is what we are aiming to achieve.”
Thank you very much for
your attention!
birgit.schwenk@bmu.bund.de
www.bmu.de
Name
BMU, Referat