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Improving resource productivity and ensuring a sustainable resource and materials management building on the principle of the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) is a central element of green growth policies. It helps to improve the environment, by reducing the amount of resources that the economy requires and diminishing the associated environmental impacts, and sustain economic growth by securing adequate supplies of materials and improving competitiveness. To be successful such policies need to be founded on a good understanding of how minerals, metals, timber or other materials flow through the economy throughout their life cycle, and of how this affects the productivity of the economy and the quality of the environment. This report contributes to this understanding. It describes the material basis of OECD economies and provides a factual analysis of material flows and resource productivity in OECD countries in a global context. It considers the production and consumption of materials, as well as their international flows and available stocks, and the environmental implications associated with their use. It also describes some of the challenges and opportunities associated with selected materials and products that are internationally-significant, both in economic and environmental terms (aluminium, copper, iron and steel, paper, phosphate rock and rare earth elements).

This report is part of the OECD programme of work on material flows and resource productivity that aims to (i) develop a better understanding of the physical resource base of countries’ economies, including the international and environmental dimensions, (ii) monitor progress with resource productivity, and (iii) foster the implementation of effective policy mixes that improve resource productivity, reduce negative environmental impacts of natural resources, materials and product use, and promote integrated life-cycle oriented approaches to natural resource, waste and materials management.

One of the first metals ever extracted by humans, copper has a long history of industrial use and is one of the most widely used metals in the economy today. An excellent conductor, copper plays a critical role in powering everything from homes, cars, and consumer electric and electronic devices to telecommunications and commuter rail networks. Strong demand and capacity constraints have led to an ongoing supply crunch and record level prices, renewing interest worldwide in copper recycling. Secondary copper markets are already well-developed and copper scrap is commonly traded internationally. The challenge ahead will be to increase stock of scrap through increased recovery and collection, particularly from fast growing waste streams, such as consumer electronics. Virgin copper resources will continue to be the world’s primary source of copper, making continued improvements in extraction and production efficiency important. Managing the environmental impacts of extraction is also important, particularly water usage in arid areas.

By 2050, the world economy is expected to quadruple and the global population to grow to over 9.5 billion. A growing population with higher average income requires more food, more industrial products, more energy and more water, thus placing additional strain on the earth’s material resources and the environment. As production and consumption have become displaced with increasingly globalised value chains, questions also arise about the distribution of the environmental burden associated with resource use.

Within a relatively short time, aluminium has become one of the most widely used metals in the world today and a metal of choice in the transportation industry where fuel efficiency has become of paramount importance in the face of growing concerns over climate change. However, the production of primary aluminium is itself extremely energy intensive and an important contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. With aluminium consumption increasing, particularly in the high-growth emerging economies, the challenge ahead will be to reduce the industry’s overall energy consumption, including through maximising opportunities to recycle scrap.

Natural resources are fundamental for the economy and for well-being. They provide essential raw materials, water and other commodities, and are an important source of income and jobs. With land and ecosystems they form the society’s natural capital.

Natural resources are fundamental for the economy and for well-being. They provide essential raw materials, water and other commodities, and are an important source of income and jobs. With land and ecosystems, they form our society’s natural capital.

This report is part of the OECD programme of work on material flows and resource productivity that supports the implementation of the 2004 and 2008 OECD Council recommendations related to material flows and resource productivity. It contributes to OECD work on monitoring progress towards green growth and to the OECD project on measuring economic performance and social progress.

From relatively obscurity rare earth elements have grown to become essential components in a wide range of high tech, alternative energy and military applications. Although crustally abundant, concentrations that can be economically extracted are rare. China’s dominance over global supplies in the face of rising global demand are raising fears of shortages that risk disrupting economies and derailing green growth plans. As with other metals, refining rare earths is energyand water-intensive, with added complexity due to their similar chemical properties. While there is renewed interest in 3R and circular economy approaches, the recycling and reuse of rare earths remains uneconomic and remains near zero.

The last decades have witnessed unprecedented growth in demands for raw materials worldwide, driven in particular by the rapid industrialisation of emerging economies and continued high levels of material consumption in developed countries. At the same time, international commodity markets have expanded, with increasing international trade flows, and increasing mobility and fragmentation of production. This has been accompanied by increases in, and volatility of, commodity prices, and by growing competition for selected raw materials.

One of the three macronutrients essential for plant growth, phosphorus is fundamental to sustaining human life. But the lack of substitutes in agriculture and the concentration of the earth’s finite phosphate mineral reserves in a handful of countries are raising questions about future global food security. At the same time, eutrophication – the harmful build up of excess nutrients in lakes, rivers and marine environments – is a growing concern. Ensuring that there will be enough phosphorus to feed a population that is expected to grow to over 9.2 billion by 2050, while limiting the load on the environment, will require an integrated approach that focuses on both supply and demand solutions. Closing the nutrient cycle loop by recovering phosphorus from organic sources and changes in food consumption patterns will be critical.

Establishing a resource efficient economy is central to achieving green growth. It involves putting in place policies that improve resource productivity and that ensure a sustainable natural resource and materials management building on the principle of the 3Rs —reduce, reuse and recycle— and encouraging more sustainable consumption patterns. Better resource productivity can both help to improve the environment, by reducing the amount of resources that economic activity requires and diminishing the associated environmental burden, and help to sustain economic growth by securing adequate supplies of materials, investing in new technologies and innovation, and improving competitiveness.

This chapter examines global trends in material flows and resource productivity using tools from Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and data from Material Flow Accounting (see the Reader’s Guide for data sources). In MFA, the term "materials" is often used in a broad sense, so as to encompass all material-related flows arising at all stages of the material cycle. It refers to both materials and products derived from natural resources that are used as inputs into human activities, as well as residuals (such as waste or pollutant emissions) arising from their extraction and use, and ecosystem inputs (such as nutrients, carbon dioxide, and oxygen) required for their extraction and use. Here the focus is on “material resources” that designate the usable materials or substances (raw materials, energy) produced from natural resources. These usable "materials" include energy carriers (gas, oil, coal), metal ores and metals, construction minerals and other minerals, soil and biomass. Ecosystem inputs and pollutant outputs are not considered.

The backbone of industrialised economies, iron (in the form of steel) is by far the most important metal in the world today. Strong when alloyed, abundant and relatively inexpensive in comparison to other metals, iron is used extensively in the construction of buildings, bridges and railways and in the manufacture of motor vehicles, machinery and equipment, and appliances. The rapid pace of industrialisation in the large emerging economies of Asia, China and India in particular, has lead to an unprecedented increase in the demand for steel and rising prices for steelmaking materials (i.e. iron ore and ferrous scrap). Although resources are abundant improving resource productivity remains a priority because of climate change concerns stemming from the energy intensity of the steelmaking process. Increased use of ferrous scrap offers limited opportunities for energy and raw material savings in the near term, but there is potential to achieve a circular iron economy as global in-use stocks stabilise in the long term.

Paper was one of the first products made by humans. Originally fabricated from plant fibre exclusively for writing, today paper is made mainly from wood fibre and is used in a variety of applications, ranging from packing boxes to personal hygiene. Despite challenges from new media and alternative materials, global demand for paper products continues to grow particularly in China and other non-OECD economies. Although the pulp and paper industry produces 50% of its own energy from biomass, production remains energy intensive and contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. Water use and timber harvesting methods are other core environmental sustainability issues. The use of recovered fibre can reduce these environmental pressures to some extent, but there are signs that recycling rates may soon reach their natural and practical limits in some countries that are important global suppliers. Further energy and material efficiency gains will require focusing paper collection efforts in new supplier countries and expanding the use of best available technologies.

This chapter examines trends in material flows and resource productivity in OECD countries using tools from Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and data from Material Flow Accounting (see the Reader’s Guide for data sources). In MFA, the term "materials" is often used in a broad sense, so as to encompass all materialrelated flows arising at all stages of the material cycle. It refers to both materials and products derived from natural resources that are used as inputs into human activities, as well as residuals (such as waste or pollutant emissions) arising from their extraction and use, and ecosystem inputs (such as nutrients, carbon dioxide, and oxygen) required for their extraction and use. Here the focus is on “material resources” that designate the usable materials or substances (raw materials, energy) produced from natural resources. These usable "materials" include energy carriers (gas, oil, coal), metal ores and metals, construction minerals and other minerals, soil and biomass. Ecosystem inputs and pollutant outputs are not considered.