(07 July 2016) – In the European Union, resource productivity increased to 2.00 €/kg in 2015 from 1.48 €/kg in 2000, an increase of 35.4% in real terms.
Resource productivity measures how efficiently natural resources are used by the economy and indicates whether economic growth is compatible with a more efficient use of the natural resources from the environment. Since 2008, resource productivity progressed in the EU both by increasing economic activity, as measured by GDP, and by reducing the extraction of materials, as measured by domestic material consumption (DMC).
According to the new DMC estimates for 2015, 13.2 tonnes of crops, minerals and metals were consumed per inhabitant in the EU, compared with 15.5 tonnes in 2000.
This reduction is equivalent to savings of 2.3 tonnes per person, meaning that in 2015 more than 6kg less was consumed per person and per day than in 2000.