Material Efficiency and Resource Conservation

Environmental damage caused by the extraction and exploitation of resources, the associated emissions and the disposal of waste, all lead directly to environmental problems, and as a result, also to social and economic problems. Other factors, such as the insecurity of supplies, the scarcity of resources, the resulting international conflicts, and high and/or volatile raw materials prices, can also lead to strong economic and social dislocation in every country on Earth. Competitive disadvantages arising from the inefficient use of resources endanger the development of businesses and jobs. Increasing resource efficiency is also more and more frequently becoming a key issue in national and international politics.
Against this background, the German Environment Ministry and the Federal Environment Agency tasked 31 project partners, under the direction of the Wuppertal Institute, with the research project "Material Efficiency and Resource Conservation" (MaRess).