13.12.2011 - The European Commission’s resource efficiency roadmap was recently commented in detail by Dutch MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy. During a debate Gerbrandy expressed to the European Parliament’s environment committee that Europe cannot wait until 2013 to set resource efficiency targets. Since indicators for these targets are already available, they should be quickly put into use.
The Commission’s roadmap launched a consultation process for stakeholders which is expected to end with an agreement on targets in 2013. MEP Gerbrandy presented a draft working document to the committee in which he agrees that for a full set of indicators there is still work to be done. However indicators on waste, air quality and land already exist and the EU should not wait with using them.
Urgency is needed because resource efficiency has an influence on competitiveness and job creation. A new McKinsey study shows that resource efficiency represents a $3.5trn business opportunity. The MEP notes also another defect in the roadmap : policy instruments to encourage greater efficiency are too vaguely recommended and the role to be played in this area by businesses and Member States is not expressed clearly enough.
Resource efficiency is in the heart of the Pre-waste project, which tackles the issue of resource consumption by encouraging reuse of products and ecodesign. Pre-waste is focused on helping cities and regions reducing the amount of waste generated and its impact on the environment.
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