The most important policy strategy at the European level promoting resource efficiency is the Commission's Flagship Initiative "A resource-efficient Europe" (European Commission 2011b) as well as the subsequent "Roadmap to a resource-efficient Europe" (European Commission 2011c), both part of the implementation of the "Europe 2020" strategy.
A co-director of the UK Energy Research Centre, he is also chairman of the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP), the UK's most effective initiative at promoting resource efficiency in industry.
Significant changes to infrastructure are required for a low carbon future EU initiative to promote resource efficiency Using land wisely is crucial for protecting ecosystem services Why the ecology crisis poses a threat to business as usual Victor Anderson is One Planet Economy leader at WWF This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional.
Consequently, political measures, needed to promote resource efficiency in mining, should focus on region-specific aspects and the properties of the mined ore deposit.
The article also discusses the potential evolution of end-of-life scenarios for electronic displays and suggests possible recommendations for recyclers, producers and policy-makers to promote resource efficiency in the recycling of such waste products.
Water use in data centres has "flown under the radar for the longest time" but it's something companies are starting to get to grips with, says Jack Pouchet, a board member with The Green Grid, a non-profit that promotes resource efficiency in information technology.
But to become a viable party, Bütikofer recalled that Alliance 90 had to "cooperate with progressive movements in the business sector, where people are adapting to new ways of doing business by promoting energy or resource efficiency".
The Raw Materials Initiative of the European Union (EU), which aims to "boost overall resource efficiency and promote recycling to reduce the EU's consumption of primary raw materials and decrease the relative import dependence", is currently implemented on the national and industry levels.
Policy responses to the multiple ecological, economic, and social crises have included measures to promote a transition to sustainability, frequently defining resource efficiency and decoupling of resource use and economic growth as targets (European Commission, 2011; UNEP, 2011; Zhijuan and Nailing, 2007).
Examples for these strategies on the international level with a strong focus on resource efficiency include the "Green Economy" concept promoted by UNEP (2011b) or the "Green Growth Strategy" of the OECD (2011).
More broadly, many of the policies (especially those associated with the neoliberal "Washington Consensus") foisted on developing countries with the noble objective of promoting the efficiency of resource allocation today actually impede learning, and thus lead to lower standards of living in the long run.
