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2 Resource efficiency potentials
in focus of research
As described in chapter 1.2 the Resource Efficiency Atlas
aims at identifying and evaluating potentials arising from
resource-efficient products and technologies with emphasis
put on the integration of international perspectives.
Chapter 2 begins with the presentation of international
experts’ opinions on resource efficiency aspects.
2.1 International experts’ perspective on resource efficiency
As part of the project Resource Efficiency Atlas a number
of interviews were held with international experts. The
purpose of these interviews was to obtain an overview of
the general understanding of resource efficiency, main po-
tentials, possible prospective developments and obstacles,
and success factors in the implementation of resource ef-
ficiency in an international context. In total 17 interviews
were conducted. A compilation of names and contact de-
tails of the interviewed experts are listed in the appendix.
The results of the survey, based on the four interview sec-
tions “understanding and importance of resource efficien-
cy”, “potential estimation of resource efficiency”, “possible
future developments” and “cross-cutting themes“ as well
as “implementation of resource efficiency”, are presented
in the following:
Understanding and importance of resource
efficiency (interview part 1)
Within the context of major global challenges such as de-
mographic trends, climate change, and resource scarcity,
the interviews showed that resource efficiency is mainly
considered as one of the key global strategies for economic
The second part of this chapter includes the procedure
for collecting international good practice examples of
resource efficient key products, technologies and strategies.
It describes both findings and difficulties in terms of
identifying and evaluating these examples. In addition, an
overview of the results of the collected examples is given.
activity. There is consensus on a tightened shortage of primary
resources considering rapidly increasing demand for
resources. There is a need for resource efficiency – a concept
to achieve the same performance with geologically
limited resources to serve the same number of people. The
objective is to maximize the use of existing resources.
According to the interviewed experts, already for decades,
there are a number of scientific publications and
capabilities available in various disciplines concerning
this topic. The publications illustrate possible instruments,
methods, and solutions that can support the increase of
resource efficiency at different levels. Even in the public
debate, the issue is on the daily agenda. For this reason,
most of the experts agree that responsible resource management
is fundamental. However, there are differences in
opinions concerning questions of implementation and several
focal points. Here, the regional and discipline-related
interests are natural determinants.
Economic gains or benefits are the key driving factors for
resource efficiency. In many countries, there is concern
about reducing dependencies on imported raw materials
– hence, they secure the control of resources and their
Ressourceneffizienzatlas
Resource Efficiency Atlas 11