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Ireland’s Environment 2012
66
Ireland and the EU is transferring the
environmental impact of associated
consumption to other parts of the
world.
Resource Efficiency
Resource efficiency (also often
referred to as eco-efficiency)
comprises five elements:
n
water conservation
n
waste prevention
n
energy efficiency
n
clean technology
n
eco-design.
Establishing a resource-efficient
society is a complex matter that
involves changing production
and consumption activities and
behaviours in our homes and in
the workplace. A consumer’s
attachment to unsustainable
products (e.g. less energy-efficient;
difficult to repair, recycle) is
environmentally damaging and a
false economy for the household.
The increasing demand from
informed consumers and clients for
‘green’ and sustainable products and
services provides new opportunities
for enterprises to meet customer
needs. In addition to new markets,
companies are becoming increasingly
aware of the financial savings and
competitive advantage that arise
from adopting an environmentally
sustainable and resource-efficient
approach to their own business.
This advantage comes through
awareness of, and action on, such
key business pressures as energy
costs, raw material costs and supply,
and waste management costs.
Responses
EU Resource and Waste Policies
Changing consumption and
production behaviours are
considered central to the resource-
efficiency challenge, as is the need
to consider the whole life-cycle of
the way resources are used. The
implementation of the resource
efficiency and waste prevention
aspects of the EU Waste Framework
Directive (EP & CEU, 2008) is an
important policy intervention.
Unsustainable consumption and use
of resources in products has been
the subject of EU policy in relation
to Integrated Product Policy and
Eco-design of Energy-using Products
based on life-cycle thinking (EC,
2003, EP and CEU, 2009).
In 2011 the EU published a
‘roadmap’ on resource efficiency in
Europe (EC, 2011) which sets out
the EU ambitions and milestones
in this topic area up to the year
2020. A number of the identified
actions relate directly to waste
(e.g. prevention, re-use, reduce
hazardousness, consumption and
production efficiency). The roadmap
sets resource efficiency as key to this
vision and establishes milestones
and actions as well as a framework
for how policies interrelate. The EC
noted that resource efficiency will
bring increased competitiveness and
new sources of growth and jobs
through cost savings from reduced
raw material use, commercialisation
of innovations and better management
of resources over their whole life cycle.
National Policy and
Implementation
The need for resource efficiency has
been reflected in national policy
over the past decade through
emphasising the integration of waste
management issues with a more
sustainable production/consumption
cycle in order to stabilise and
reduce waste volumes. The 2011
Programme for Government states
that policy will be developed
adhering to the EU waste hierarchy
– minimising landfill and maximising
resources recovered.