5.3. Ensuring the sustainable supply of non-energy and non-agricultural raw materials

Sectors such as construction, chemicals, automotive, aerospace, machinery and equipment, which have a combined added value in excess of EUR 1000 billion and provide employment for some 30 million people, all depend on access to raw materials. The Union is self-sufficient in construction minerals. Nonetheless, whilst the Union is one of the world's largest producers of certain industrial minerals, it remains a net importer of most of them. Furthermore, the Union is highly dependent on imports of metallic minerals and is totally import dependent for some critical raw materials. Recent trends indicate that demand for raw materials will be driven by the development of emerging economies and by the rapid diffusion of key enabling technologies. Europe has to ensure a sustainable management and secure a sustainable supply of raw materials from inside and outside its borders for all sectors that depend on access to raw materials. Policy targets for critical raw materials are outlined in the Commission's Raw Materials Initiative COM(2008) 699 final. . The aim of this activity is therefore to improve the knowledge base on raw materials and develop innovative solutions for the cost-effective and environmentally friendly exploration, extraction, processing, re-use, recycling and recovery of raw materials and for their substitution by economically attractive and environmentally sustainable alternatives with a lower environmental impact. To achieve this, research and innovation will focus on the following: The assessment of the long-term availability of global and Union resources, including access to urban mines (landfills and mining waste), coastal-sea and deep-sea resources (e.g. the sea-bed mining of rare earth minerals), and the associated uncertainties will be improved. This knowledge will help society reach a more efficient use, recycling and reuse of scarce or environmentally harmful raw materials. It will also develop global rules, practices and standards governing economically viable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable resource exploration, extraction and processing, including practices in land use and marine spatial planning on the basis of an ecosystems approach. Research and innovation is needed over the entire life cycle of materials, in order to secure an affordable, reliable and sustainable supply and management of raw materials essential for European industries. Developing and deploying economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally friendly exploration, extraction and processing technologies will boost the efficient use of resources. This will include mineral resources, from land and sea, and will also exploit the potential of urban mines. New and economically viable and resource-efficient recycling and materials recovery technologies, business models and processes, including closed-loop processes and systems, will also contribute to reducing the Union's dependence on the supply of primary raw materials. This will include the need for longer use, high-quality recycling and recovery, and the need to drastically reduce resource wastage. A full life-cycle approach will be taken, from the supply of available raw materials to end of life, with minimum energy and resource requirements. In anticipation of the possible reduced global availability of certain materials, due for example to trade restrictions, sustainable substitutes and alternatives for critical raw materials, with similar functional performance, will be investigated and developed. This will reduce the Union's dependence on primary raw materials and improve the impact on the environment. The necessary move to a more self-reliant and resource-efficient economy will require cultural, behavioural, socio-economic, systemic and institutional change. In order to address the growing problem of skills shortage in the Union's raw materials sector, including the European mining industry, more effective partnerships between universities, geological surveys, industry and other stakeholders will be encouraged. It will also be essential to support the development of innovative green skills. In addition there is still limited public awareness of the importance of domestic raw materials for the European economy. To facilitate the necessary structural changes, research and innovation will aim to empower citizens, policy-makers, practitioners and institutions.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.