Dr Axel Borchmann, MSc

Deputy Head of Unit WR III 1:

National and Fundamental Aspects of Resource Efficiency

12. September 2016

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▪ Export-oriented economy with strong industrial base

▪ Germany depends on imports of raw materials rich in

minerals, but 66.8 % of metals imported

▪ Materials account for 45 % of costs in German manufacturing

sector (labor costs: 19%; energy less than 3%)

▪ Germany is a leading country regarding green technologies,

e.g. recycling technology

Saving and efficient use of resources for the whole value chain is of

high priority for German environmental and economic policies

German Economic Drivers for Resource Efficiency

▪ Adopted by Federal Cabinet on 29 Feb. 2012

▪ Goals

▪ Decouple economic growth

from resource use

▪ Target (NHS): Double Raw Materials

Productivity by 2020 relative to 1994

▪ Reduce environmental impacts of resource

use

▪ Strengthen competitiveness

▪ Considering the whole value chain

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German Resource Efficiency Programme (ProgRess)

Raw

Mate

rial

Pro

du

ctiv

ityin

Germ

an

y

4

▪ 4-year update: Adopted by Federal Cabinet

on 2 March 2016

▪ Consists of two parts:

▪ Report on implementation of ProgRess I

2012-2016

▪ Onward development

2016-2020

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German Resource Efficiency Programme II (ProgRess II)

Pro

gR

ess

II -

Are

as o

ffo

cu

s

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▪ Structure & Goals

▪ Following ProgRess I

▪ Emphasis on thematic areas

▪ Promoting the joint analysis of energy and material flow

▪ Sustainable building and urban development

▪ Resource-efficient information and communications

technology (ICT)

▪ Further development of indicators

▪ Economic indicators

▪ Recycling & Recovery indicators

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ProgRess II - Development

▪ Synergies

▪ Reduction of offcut waste and reject

▪ Reduction of material loss

▪ Substitution of primary resources with secondary resources

▪ Remanufacturing

▪ Potential trade-offs

▪ Provision of wind and photovoltaic power plants

▪ Lightweight construction

▪ Insulation of the building shell

▪ Recycling of materials from end-of-life products

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Joint Analysis of Material and Energy Efficiency

Production

Consumption

Circular Economy

Raw Material Supply

Building & Urban Development

Raw Material Strategy

Efficient ProductDevelopment

Efficiency Consulting

EfficientProduction

Awareness Raising

Retailers & Consumers

CertificationSchemes

ProductResponsbility

RecyclingAvoid Illegal

Exports

Education Legal Framework

Regenerative Resources

Research & Innovation

ICT

Cross-Cutting

Infrastructure Construction, Renovation

Labelling ofBuilding Products

EfficientICT Products

EfficientSoftware

Public Procurement

Sustainability & Transparency

NE

W

9

Pro

gR

ess

II –

Th

em

atic

are

as

Sustainable Building and Urban Development

▪ Resource-saving development, construction, renovation and

use of neighborhoods and buildings

▪ Resource-saving infrastructures

▪ Labelling of building products

▪ Increasing the use of recycling in construction processes

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ProgRess II – Thematic areas

Resource-efficient information and communication

technology (ICT)

▪ Improving the resource efficiency of ICT products

▪ Reducing ICT resource use with efficient software

▪ Preferential procurement of resource-efficient ICT products

and services

▪ Making data centres more resource-efficient

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ProgRess II – Thematic areas

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Continuous improvement in the

resource efficiency of domestic production

Raw material productivity (GDP/DMI

abiotic materials)

(indicator under the German Sustainable

Development Strategy)

Doubling of raw material productivity from 1994 to 2020

Continuous improvement in

resource efficiency, including biotic

resources and making adequate allowance

for imports

Total raw material productivity

(GDP + imports)/RMI (including biotic

materials)

Trend from 2000–2010 to be sustained to 2030

AIM INDICATOR TARGET

ProgRess II - Economic Indicators

Increase in the recycling rate of municipal solid waste

Percentage of waste recycled Permanent increase in the recycling rate of

municipal solid waste to over 65% from 2020

Increase in the recycling of plastic waste (from which harmful substances have been

removed)Recyclingquote Kunststoffabfälle

Significant increase in recycling rate by 2020

Increase in the use of recycled construction materials – recycled aggregates as concrete aggregate

Recycling rate for plastic waste Significant increase by 2030

Increase in the high-quality use of recycled construction materials –

separation of gypsum from construction and demolition waste)

Percentage of recycled aggregate used as concrete aggregate relative to total volume of mineral recycled construction materials

Significant increase by 2030

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ProgRess II - Recycling & Recovery Indicators I

Improvement of end-of-life vehicle recycling – separation of automotive

electronic components from end-of-life vehicles before shredding

Mass of separated automotive electronics per end-of-life vehicle

Largest possible proportion of automotive electronics removed from each end-of-life

vehicle by 2020

Increase in collection and recycling of waste electrical and electronic

equipment (WEEE)

Ratio of total weight of collected WEEE to average weight of electrical and electronic

equipment placed on the market in the three preceding years

Permanent increase in the collection rate: collection rate must be at least 65% from

2019

Increase in collection and recycling/recovery of organic waste

Quantity of organic waste collected

50% increase in the quantity of separately collected organic waste and high-quality

recycling/recovery of such waste by 2020relat. to 2010

Increase in the recovery of economically usable phosphorus from secondary

sources

Recovery rate of phosphorus (e.g. in readily plant-available form) from

wastewater/sewage sludge

Significant increase no later than 10 years after entry into force of the new Sewage

Sludge Ordinance

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ProgRess II - Recycling & Recovery Indicators II

▪ Advise, training and support

▪ Strengthening voluntary measures and

initiatives in industry and society

▪ Standards & guidelines

▪ Platforms for knowledge and

information transfer

▪ Financial support and competitions

▪ Research & Development

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ProgRess II - Voluntary Measures

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ProgRess - Examples of successful Implementation

Expansion ofEfficiency Consulting

VDI ZRE

Faster Exchange ofKnowldege

Establishment of Networks

Development andDissemination ofMaterial-efficient

Production Processes

Environmental Innovation

Programme (UIP)

Developing a Resource-efficientCircular Economy

Amendment ofKrWG, Waste

PreventionProgramme

Avoid Illegal Exports

AmendmentElectrical

Equipment Act (ElektroG)

Resource Efficiency Policy at International

Level

G7, SDGs

▪ Resource Efficiency is a process

▪ Needs commitment and initiative by many actors

▪ policy-makers, business, science, civil society, regions

▪ Close involvement of all stakeholders

▪ Provide long-term orientation for business

▪ “can do”: Exchange and co-operation on best practices

▪ Soft measures: awareness-raising, information, education

▪ Helpful: strong political underpinning in National Sustainability

Strategy and national target

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ProgRess – Lessons learnt

▪ Developed: Preperation started already

2014; end December 2016

▪ Cabinet decision in January 2017

▪ Basis: multi-stakeholder approach (5

public conferences, hearing of German

associations, internet)

German Sustainable Development Strategy (DNS)

▪ 63 indicators, 38 areas (2002 strategy:

38 indicators, 21 areas)

▪ New areas: poverty/inequality, water,

sea, consumption, combat against

corruption

▪ Every SGD is linked to at least one

national aim (mostly quantified,

otherwise qualitativ)

▪ Aims are to be achieved until 2030

DNS - Indicators

DN

S –

Ind

icato

rs

on

SD

G 8

▪ Adopted in February 2016 by the Federal

Government of Germany

▪ Guiding Principles

▪ Program as a platform

▪ Sustainable Consumption needs to evolve from niche

market into mainstream

▪ Consumers have to be empowered to consume

sustainably

▪ All parts of the society have to be involved and able to

actively participate

▪ Life-cycle approach (no outsourcing of problems)

National Program for Sustainable Consumption

▪ Societal Discussion about (change of) Lifestyles

▪ Education

▪ Consumer Information

▪ Environmental and Social Labels

▪ Eco-Design

▪ Sustainable Public Procurement

▪ Research on Sustainable Consumption

▪ Social Innovations

▪ Monitoring on Sustainable Consumption

National Program for Sustainable Consumption

▪ Opportunities:

▪ 60% think that we need to consume less and more resource

efficientSocietal Discussion about (change of) Lifestyles

▪ Barriers:

▪ Measures are often highly unpopular

▪ Information deficit vs. Information overflow

▪ Routines of daily behavior/ Path dependencies

▪ Availability of affordable alternatives

▪ Lifestyle, status considerations, and social norms

National Program for Sustainable Consumption

▪ Guiding principle ProgRess I and II: Global responsibility

as a key guide of national resource policy

▪ Dimension of resource use transcends national scope

▪ Global supply and material chains - G20 Motto: „Shaping

an interconnected world“

▪ Learning from each other

Germany’s international initiatives in G7 and G20

Global challenges require global solutions!

▪ G20 Communiqué, Hamburg Summit, 7/8 July 2017:

▪ „The G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue will exchange good practices and national

experiences to improve the efficiency and sustainability of natural resource use across

the entire life cycle, and to promote sustainable consumption and production

patterns.”

▪ Annex about G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue

▪ Contribution to implementation of 2030 Agenda

▪ First dialogue subjects:

▪ Cooperation on implementing resource-related SDGs

▪ Broadening the knowledge base on global resource use and future resource needs

▪ Exchange of good practices on resource-efficient solutions along the entire life-cycle

G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue

Resource Efficiency as established working area of G7 since

German G7 Presidency in 2015

▪ Commitment to ambitious action to protect natural resources and use

them efficiently

▪ G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency: Forum to exchange best practices

in G7 and with stakeholders

▪ Request of reports to UNEP International Resource Panel (synthesis

report) and the OECD (policy guidance)

▪ Japan, 2016: Toyama Framework on Material Cycles

▪ Italy, 2017: Bologna Roadmap as 5-year working plan for

resourece efficiency in G7

Resource Efficiency in the G7

axel.borchmann@bmub.bund.de