Authors: Tadhg Coakley, Dermot Cunningham & Caroline Kelly
Summary: The purpose of this study was to assess the current situation in Ireland and elsewhere with regard to resource efficiency and to recommend how, by the development of a roadmap, Irish performance could be improved.
Already in Ireland, much is being done to support resource efficiency. Progressive legislation is in place and a series of policies and strategies has been developed to improve our performance.
Many activities are taking place in a wide variety of sectors, through the EPA’s National Waste Prevention Programme (NWPP), Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Enterprise Ireland, Forfás, IDA Ireland, Bord Bia, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Teagasc, An Taisce, local authorities and many other organisations.
These are occurring across several business areas and in the public sector. In many cases, for relatively modest investments, they are achieving significant cost savings and economic benefits to society, by reducing unnecessary spending without impacting on outputs.
However, a study of resource efficiency programmes in other countries shows that Ireland can and should be doing more, especially in the following areas: Resource Efficient Production, Recycling Economy, Research, Green Public Procurement, Life Cycling Thinking and Awareness Raising.
https://www.epa.ie/media/epa-2020/publications/research/Research-128-thumbnail.JPG