Resource efficiency
Resource efficiency is the maximising of the supply of money, materials, staff, and other assets that can be drawn on by a person or organization in order to function effectively, with minimum wasted (natural) resource expenses. It means using the Earth's limited resources in a sustainable manner while minimising environmental impact.
Motivation[edit]
A 2014 report by The Carbon Trust suggested that resource challenges are intensifying rapidly – for example, there could be a 40% gap between available water supplies and water needs by 2030, and some critical materials could be in short supply as soon as 2016. These challenges could lead to disruptions to supply, growing regulatory requirements, volatile fluctuation of prices, and may ultimately threaten the viability of existing business models.[1]
Possible approaches[edit]
To achieve and optimize natural resource and energy efficiency, several sustainable economical or production schemes have been proposed over the course of the last 50 years: circular economy, cradle-to-cradle- or regenerative design, as well as biomimetics principles, just to name a few. Common to all of them is built-in sustainability, in which (non-renewable) resource-wasting is ruled out by design. They are generally built to be holistic, robustly self-sustaining and respecting the carrying capacity of the economic or ecological system.
Resource use measurement and identification of hotspots[edit]
A key tool in resource efficiency is measuring different aspects of resource use (e.g. carbon footprint, water footprint, land footprint or material use), then identifying 'hot spots' where the most resources are used or where there are the best opportunities to reduce this resource use. For example, WRAP has published information on hotspots for 50 grocery products likely to contribute most to the environmental impacts associated with UK household consumption. [2] WRAP have created a range of tools and guides to help improve business resource efficiency.[3]
Initiatives and programmes[edit]
UNEP[edit]
UNEP works to promote resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in both developed and developing countries. The focus is on achieving increased understanding and implementation by public and private decision makers, as well as civil society, of policies and actions for resource efficiency and SCP. This includes the promotion of sustainable resource management in a life cycle perspective for goods and services.[4]
Europe 2020[edit]
The resource-efficient Europe flagship initiative is part of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the EU's growth strategy for a smart, inclusive and sustainable economy. It supports the shift towards sustainable growth via a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy.[5]