Eunomia, working in consortium with WSP and the University of Leeds, led a programme of research to identify resource efficiency measures for UK industrial sectors and understand their associated challenges and opportunities. The findings are being used to update modelled emissions savings potential for resource efficiency, feeding into the Government’s modelling of carbon budget delivery pathways and informing the development of its Government’s Circular Economy Strategy.

Resource efficiency has a critical role to play in UK Government efforts to meet its legally binding net zero target and decarbonise industry. The 2021 Industrial Decarbonisation Pathway sets out how industry will cut 8 MtCO2e in emissions annually by 2035, amounting to 25% of the industrial carbon savings needed for Carbon Budget 5 (2028-32) and 20% for Carbon Budget 6 (2033-37).

Optimising material use means requiring fewer material inputs to meet society’s needs. Resource efficiency measures can reduce demand for raw materials and energy. They can also decrease waste and emissions from industrial processes and keep products and materials in circulation for longer.

Given sizeable gaps in the evidence base for resource efficiency, DESNZ and Defra required further research to build an evidence base that would inform the development of policies to deliver it. To address these gaps, we conducted detailed studies of resource efficiency across 11 UK industrial sectors with high potential for carbon and material footprint savings: steel, cement, vehicles, construction, textiles, chemicals, glass, paper, plastics, electricals, and food and drink.

The project team drew up a preliminary list of resource efficiency measures and then expanded this through a comprehensive literature review. We identified expert stakeholders for each sector, including academic researchers as well as industry actors across the value chain, and held interviews and workshops with them. This engagement process developed consensus around the current, maximum deliverable, and maximum technical levels of efficiency for each measure.

Based on the evidence and expert opinion gathered through this process, we then estimated every measure’s current, maximum, and business-as-usual levels of efficiency. We provided a red-amber-green rating for each level of efficiency, reflecting the strength of the supporting evidence, and explained the current and anticipated barriers and drivers affecting improvements for each measure.

Our research, presented in 15 reports available to download from DESNZ and Defra, built a solid evidence base for further stakeholder engagement by DESNZ and Defra to inform effective policies to bring about resource efficiency in UK industry.