Roadmap to a

Resource Efficient Europe

-and what about buildings?Josefina Lindblom

European Commission – DG environment

Scheme of my presentation

1. A resource constraint world

2. What is Resource Efficiency?

3. European policy context

4. The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe

5. What about buildings?

A resource constraint world

ONLY ONE EARTH

World Footprint = 1.3 earths

Growth of the World Economy

1950 2010

2050

Increased globalization

Source: Eurostat Comext Statistics, EEA 2010, The European Environment, State and Outlook 2010 : Thematic Assessment – Material Resources and Waste

Growing Resource Use

Source: EEA 2010 derived from SERI GLOBAL 2000, Friends of the Earth Europe (2009)

What is Resource Efficiency?

raw materials:minerals-fuels-biomass

ecosystems–biodiversity

– water –land and soils –

air – marine resources

Resource Efficiency: Doing more with less

Sustainable management and use of

resources throughout their life cycle

Producing more value while living,

producing and consuming within the

physical and biological limits of the

planet

What can resource efficiency bring to the economy and society?

New business opportunities (innovation, eco-industries), new skilled jobs

Competitiveness and cost savings for European businesses

Better food/water/energy security

Reducing environmental impacts and avoiding depletion of natural resources

(Source: Wuppertal Institute)

Market failures – environmental and social costs not

considered, decisions not factoring in the long-term

Policy failures –inconsistent market signals,

uncertainty, slow reform of policy (e.g. subsidies)

“Lock-ins” and system effects – Infrastructure,

consumption patterns and business models

What to do? Breaking down barriers

European policy context

EU 2020 Strategy

Adopted in 2010: the course for EU economy for the next 10 years and beyond – 3 main priorities

Smart Growth – focus on education, research Sustainable Growth – low carbon, resource

efficiency

Inclusive Growth – high-employment, delivering economic, social, territorial cohesion

7 Flagship initiatives, incl. “Resource Efficient Europe”

Communication January 2011

Roadmap September 2011

The Roadmap to aResource Efficient Europe

Communication “The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe

Adopted on 20 September 2011

Outline the key challenges and opportunities:

“A fundamental transformation within a generation”

Policy changes to tackle resource inefficiencies for

the EU, Member State, Regions and for business

The main lines of the Roadmap

Three time lines long term 2050 vision (short-termism) milestones for 2020 actions to be taken now

Three action lines Transforming the economy Addressing natural capital Tackling key sectors

Accompanied by governance and monitoring

Transforming the economy Address bottlenecks and barriers to resource efficiency

Get the prices right (reflect environm. externalities)

Tackling inefficient subsidies

Shifting from labour to resource taxation

Stimulate innovative forward thinking

Boost resource efficiency in production, consumption and waste management

Translation to economic sectors & new business models

Disposal

Design

Collection

Reuse, Recycling, Recovery

Manufacturing

Distribution

Use

Natural Resources

Waste & Recycling

Smarter Consumption

Leaner Production

Better Products

Eco-innovation

Natural Resources

Policies across the Life-Cycle of Products

Poor performance

Good performance

1. Companies & production

2. Products

3. Demand & consumption

4. End of life

Reduce resource use and limit environmental impact of production and consumption

Sustainable consumption and production

Tackling key resources

Ecosystem services

Biodiversity

Minerals and metals

Water

Air

Land and soils

Marine resources

Interactions

Prevention

Recycling

Recovery

Disposal

Re-use

Turning waste into a resource

PREVENTION

REUSE

RECYCLING

RECOVERY

DISPOSAL

Turning waste into a resource

Tackling key sectors

Food

Reducing food waste and tackling animal proteins

Addressing phosphorus

Mobility

Resource efficiency objectives in transport

Housing / buildings

Tackling key sectors: buildings Facts

42 % of our final energy consumption

> 50 % of all extracted materials – most of them minerals

33 % of waste

Milestones by 2020 Life-cycle approach applied for all new and renovated buildings

Existing building stock “resource efficient” refurbished at a rate of 2 % per year

70 % of construction and demolition waste recycled.

Governance

Implement at all levels – EU, Member States, regions,

internationally (RIO+20) …

Concerted action with business, scientists and society

Engage with stakeholders to set targets and use appropriate

indicators by 2013

Using initially “resource productivity” together with land, water

and carbon indicators

National resource efficiency strategies

Opportunities for business

By 2050 we need a 4-10x increase in resource efficiency (World Business Council for Sustainable Development)

$3.5 trillion gains in improving resource efficiency (McKinsey)

New businesses – first mover advantages Security against future price fluctuations

Winners are those who prepare for resource constraints in a predictable and controlled way,

before shortages and price hikes hit

What about buildings?

Tackling key sectors: buildings Fact

Construction and buildings impact our environment Some initial thoughts

How to apply the life-cycle approach for buildings? How can the component and system levels complement each other? How can we trigger more information on resource use/environmental performance? How do we recognize a green building, throughout Europe? What would be necessary to step up the “resource efficient refurbishment” rate to

2% per year? Do we know enough about the existing stock? Resource inventories? New and better ways to get same or higher functionality with less resource

intensive materials, new technologies and approaches to design? Operational vs embedded energy? Urban mining and reuse in higher value applications than today? Closing loops? Increasing space per person, does it matter?

http://http://ec.europa.eu/environment/resource_efficiencyec.europa.eu/environment/resource_efficiency/ /

Josefina.Lindblom@ec.europa.eu