overconsumption--2009

are more aware of the true costs of resource consumptionand would prefer resource-saving products. Higher pricesfor resources would also have an impact on transport, increasingthe cost of flying and driving. International freighttransport would be more expensive and trade would beorganised in more regional cycles.However, rising prices for resources will have negativesocial effects on the poorer parts of societies, includingin Europe. Such measures therefore need to consider thesocial and distributional impacts.Developing resource efficient public procurement.Public authorities across Europe are a major consumer ofproducts and services. Implementing resource efficiencystandards for such procurement (in addition to otherenvironmental and social criteria) will both reduce theenvironmental impacts and stimulate demand for resource-efficientproducts and services.Exploiting resource efficiency potentials in companies.Companies must play a key role in the transformationof our societies towards a sustainable resource use. Manyenterprises do not know in detail how much energy and resourcesthey purchase and what they cost. The potential forsaving resources - and often money - remains undetectedand unexploited. 45Producing with high resource efficiency will also be an increasinglyimportant factor to maintain the competitivenessof companies on the international markets. As prices forcommodities and energy go up, using fewer natural resourcesis one key strategy to reduce the costs of production. Producersshould also take a life-cycle perspective in theirproduction activities. This includes expanding their sphereof responsibility to the materials and intermediate productsthey purchase from their suppliers. Companies should sethigh environmental and social standards for purchasingraw materials, energy and resource efficient intermediateproducts.Increasing the recycling of materials. One of the moststraightforward methods of increasing resource efficiencyis to ensure that we recycle as much as possible, keepingthe materials concerned in the economy. Recycling ratesvary hugely around the EU (and the rest of the world), andeven valuable materials like aluminium frequently end upburied in landfills or burnt in incinerators. Some companiesare now aiming to achieve zero waste to landfill or incineration,and some regions in Europe are demonstrating how toachieve high levels of recycling of household waste (see thecase study on the Belgian region of Flanders on page 32).Informing consumers about the resource use of products.There has been increasing consumer awarenessabout the environmental impacts of their consumptionin the past decade. This has been partly due to labellingsystems, and there is potential to extend these to coverthe resource use caused by a product or service during itslife cycle.Changing lifestyles and consumption patterns. Inorder to achieve substantial changes in our resource use,we do need to make changes in our current lifestyles. Forexample, a move towards vegetarian diets and a reductionin the consumption of meat, milk and dairy products; andmore use of public transport and cycling, with a reductionin travel by private car and airplane.SECTION 2: MEDIUM TO LONGTERM CHALLENGESAchieving significant reductions in resource use requiresus to address more fundamental questions, for example:How can new models of development be created inEurope and other industrialised countries that focuson well-being instead of increased production andconsumption?How can developing countries increase their inhabitants’quality of life without overusing the resourcecapacities of our planet?These are not easy questions to answer, but the rest of thechapter will outline some initial pointers.Economic growth and the limits of de-coupling.Alt hough we are using resources more efficiently, the30 | OVERCONSUMPTION? Our use of the world’s natural resources