Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

What do we
need to change ?
Resource Efficiency
For further information, see the
resource-use and CO 2 emissions
modelling report
63
Priority 1:
Improving resource efficiency through behavioural change
Non-renewable resources are being consumed at an unsustainable level.
With rising prices and increasing concern over energy supply, the price
and availability of resources is becoming a priority for many businesses.
Electricity prices for the non-domestic sector have risen by 60 per cent in
real terms between 2002 and 2007 and gas by 64 per cent over the same
period, while prices for copper and lead have tripled since 2004. Such rises
are likely to increase further as markets respond to imbalance between
supply and global demand.
Minimising resource-use is therefore a key to the profitability of businesses,
the development of a sustainable economy and to meeting growing
consumer expectation of high environmental standards. The regional
economic strategy (RES) sets the challenging target of reducing waste
arisings per £ million GVA to 37 per cent below 2005 levels by 2031.
Achieving this is consistent with the regional ambitions around economic
performance if bold policies are enacted to de-couple economic growth
from resource-use. Resource efficiency requires attention at all stages of the
product life-cycle, from design and material specification, through efficiency
in use, to end-of-life recovery in resources. To be fully effective, this requires
changing the behaviour of individuals, businesses and organisations.
Poor information can affect our consumption and production choices.
Organisations or individuals may not change behaviour, due to a lack
of enabling services or infrastructure. Actions under the Transport,
Digital Economy and Spatial Economy goals are particularly relevant
to this agenda.
The East of England currently has one of the highest levels of resource-use
of the UK regions. The region has already made progress on a number of
fronts: increasing the levels of renewable energy generating capacity and
recycling, as well as developing a supportive policy framework for
resource efficiency. However, more needs to be done to position the
region as among the best in Europe on this agenda. The RES sets the
challenging ambition of reducing end-user CO 2 emissions to 60 per cent
below 1990 levels by 2031 and to reduce emissions of other greenhouse
gases. This would put us on course for an 80 per cent reduction in C0 2
emissions by 2050, the position many scientists now believe needs to be
achieved to avert climate change.