Why Does Material Efficiency Stay in the Shades of Energy Efficiency?

The efficient utilization of raw materials has become a crucial topic for more and more companies in order to assure their existence and competiveness. Therefore, the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg has commissioned the Institute for Industrial Ecology (INEC) at Pforzheim University along with other partners to compile and evaluate a 100- company case study on resource efficiency in the state’s manufacturing industry. While many studies on energy efficiency in industries have been published (Schulze et al. 2016), empirical studies on material efficiency and their expectable saving potentials are scarce. So far, empirical research has not adequately reflected the importance of material efficiency in the manufacturing industry although the subject is of high relevance; since material costs constitute about 40 % of costs whereas energy costs only make up about 2 %. The evaluation and comparison of the completed case studies revealed a strong interlinkage between energy and material usage; or more precisely, that an increase in material efficiency is the precondition for various energy efficiency improvement options. Another common scheme within the case studies was the observation that successful resource efficiency measures require cross-functional and interdisciplinary teams within and beyond the companies. Technology adoption or innovation which was often necessary for an increase in material efficiency could only be realised in close collaboration with equipment manufacturers.