At the proposal of the Federal Environment Ministry, the Federal Cabinet adopted the third German Resource Efficiency Programme (ProgRess III) on 17 June 2020. With this programme, the government aims to achieve an economical use of raw materials. Companies in particular are to use natural resources more efficiently along the entire value chain. Greater use is to be made of digital solutions to increase resource efficiency. The decision in favour of resource-saving products is to be made easier for citizens through improved information.
Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze: "A secure supply of raw materials is essential for the German economy. The Corona crisis with its impact on supply chains and raw materials markets has made this clear to us. Tomorrow's economy needs a push for more resource efficiency. Companies and consumers are equally challenged here. It is about using the opportunities of digital technologies for more prosperity and competitiveness, social justice and an intact environment. With its guiding idea of gradually making economic and production methods in Germany less dependent on primary raw materials, ProgRess makes an important contribution to making the German economy more crisis-proof."
Digitalisation contributes significantly to the increased consumption of raw materials. This is illustrated by the increasing spread of smartphones and tablets as well as the growing demand for server services. At the same time, digitalisation offers solutions, as the Federal Ministry for the Environment has also made clear in its environmental digital agenda: Thanks to ever faster processing of process data, production can be better controlled and the use of raw materials more efficient. ProgRess III is therefore devoting a new focus to digitalisation with measures for resource efficiency in the area of Industry 4.0 and data centres. Companies are supported in designing and producing products in a resource-efficient manner in the future. During the manufacturing, use and disposal phases, products should in future use a minimum of material, water and energy and still fulfil their function.
Not only in production, but also in consumer behaviour, digitalisation has so far been driving the increasing consumption of resources. Online trade, for example, has become an important segment of the retail trade today, with growth rates of around ten percent annually. Therefore, ProgRess III also focuses on raising awareness among the population, in everyday areas such as "working and living", "mobility" and "informing and communicating". Here, durability and quality are to become central selling points. Consumers should receive transparent, reliable, comparable, verifiable and easily understandable information for their purchasing decisions. The German Resource Efficiency Programme III focuses in particular on market incentives, information, advice, education, research and innovation as well as on strengthening voluntary measures and initiatives in business and society. The spectrum of topics covered by the 119 measures ranges from ecological due diligence obligations in raw material supply chains to the reparability of products, advisory services for companies and standardisation and certification systems for recyclates to investments in public transport and eco-labels for resource-efficient software.
In addition to an intensive consultation process with the federal states, associations and other social actors, extensive citizen participation was also carried out as part of the development of ProgRess III. Based on the results of this dialogue, citizens formulated a Citizens' Advice on resource conservation, which was integrated into ProgRess III.
Further information on ProgRess III can be found at HERE>
Source: BMU
Keywords:
Building materials / Construction, DE-News, Funding, Sustainable management, Resource efficiency, Environmental policy
