The Driving Forces of the Material Resource Efficiency in Europe

Abstract

During the last decade, use resources in a sustainable way and their efficient management throughout the lifecycle, has benefited from increased attention within the European Union, presenting itself as a smart way of addressing environmental, climate, economic and safety objectives. The starting point of the paper is the question of what are the major factors and concerns that lead the policies of material resource efficiency in each country. The analysis aimed to identifying the major factors who were reported by each country and that lead to the efficiency of material resources and the existing concerns. The most countries reported a combination of three or four categories, although some other countries mentioned more, significant variations being recorded in their response. Efforts are therefore needed in the coming years to demonstrate the benefits of material resource efficiency as a synergistic approach to reducing environmental pressures, addressing economic challenges and combating climate change, and which have been recognized and require greater attention in the future. The overall picture that results is that the economic benefits of improving the efficiency and circularity of resource use are increasingly recognized and acted, indicating the need to be aware of the importance of the efficiency of material resources and the opportunities it promotes and supports. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53486/cike2023.11; UDC: 330.123.72(4); JEL: Q42, Q56.