Environmental pollution caused by the extraction and utilisation of resources, the associated emissions and the disposal of waste lead to ecological and, as a result, to social and economic problems. Supply insecurity, resource scarcity, the resulting international raw material conflicts and high and highly fluctuating raw material prices can lead to major economic and social upheaval in all countries around the world. The competitive disadvantages resulting from inefficient resource utilisation jeopardise the development of companies and jobs. Increasing resource efficiency has therefore increasingly become a top issue in national and international politics.

Against this background, the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Environment Agency commissioned 31 project partners under the leadership of the Wuppertal Institute with the research project "Material Efficiency and Resource Conservation" (MaRess).

The IZT was involved in two areas of the research project. Firstly, the IZT drew up an industry-orientated roadmap for resource efficiency. Secondly, the IZT determined which metallic material flows - analogous to the rarity of these metals - were prioritised in the project. The IZT then identified options for more efficient utilisation of these metals.

The aim of the project was to make substantial advances in knowledge on four key issues for increasing material efficiency and conserving resources.

  • Firstly, the potential for increasing resource efficiency needs to be identified.
  • Secondly, approaches for target group-specific resource efficiency policies need to be developed.
  • Thirdly, results are expected with regard to the impact analysis on an overall and economic level.
  • The fourth component is the scientific monitoring of the concrete implementation and agenda setting as well as the dissemination of the results.
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