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Project Code [2014-RE-DS-5]

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Project title

Resource Efficiency in Priority Irish Business Sectors

Primary Funding Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

Clean Technology Centre (CTC)

Lead Applicant

Colman McCarthy

Project Abstract

On average in Europe, manufacturing firms spend about 40% of their costs on raw materials, or 50% including energy and water. This compares to only 20% on labour but savings often only focus on staff reductions. A recent research study by Clean Technology Centre for the EPA estimated that Ireland spends about �46 billion on raw materials per annum. A 2% annual target of reduced material consumption could lead to annual savings of about �928 million in the first year and could yield total savings of approximately �7 billion by 2020. The aim of this study is to assist Ireland in identifying mechanisms for making such improvements. This project will identify the most important economic sectors in Ireland (in terms of size, value, employment, and particularly resource use), and to provide outline resource efficiency (RE) metrics and benchmarks for these sectors, using international and published data, as well as actual Irish industrial data. This, in turn will lead to identification of improvement options, potential best practices and preferred technologies, opportunities for resource use reduction (resource efficiency), and pointers for new markets and technologies, as well as policies and strategies to promote the RE measures identified. An analysis of 12 Irish business sectors; a ranking matrix to prioritise 6 main sectors in terms of resource efficiency potential (e.g. scale, resource use, potential for improvement, data availability, etc.); a data gap analysis; a matrix of metrics for measuring resource efficiency by sector; benchmarks to include best, worst, mean to be developed for each sector; 6 sets of resource efficiency measures; 6 best practice factsheets (short, specific documents) to be produced; interim and final reports i.e. policy support documents; project meeting outputs and presentations; workshop outputs; conference presentations; peer-reviewed paper.

Grant Approved

�97,506.86

Research Hub

Green and Circular Economy

Research Theme

Resource efficiency

Start Date

02/03/2015

Initial Projected Completion Date

01/03/2016