”The resource
efficient consumer”
IVA, 25 March 2015
Åsa Söderberg
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
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“What we extract from nature should be used, reused,
recycled or finally disposed of in a sustainable manner,
with the least possible consumption of resources and
without harm to the natural environment”.
Strategy for non-toxic, resource saving
environmental life cycles, 2008
- Our life style
- Our consumer behaviour
- Our options
- How we use and dispose of goods
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Material consumption in the EU and Sweden
by material category, 2013 (tonnes per capita)
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Source: Statistics Sweden and Eurostat. Material consumption is defined as:
domestic extraction + import – export.
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Source: Living Planet Report 2014 (WWF)
Per capita Ecological Footprint (global
hectares demanded per person)
”Top ten”:
1. Kuwait
2. Quatar
3. United Arab Emirates
4. Denmark
5. Belgium
6. Trinidad and Tobago
7. Singapore
8. United States of America
9. Bahrain
10. Sweden
Sweden´s 16 environmental quality objectives
– most not expected to be met by 2020
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Greenhouse gas emissions per inhabitant
(Climate Programme for Gothenburg 2014)
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2050 2012
In-depth evaluation of Sweden´s
environmental objectives 2015 (in
progress)
Three focus areas:
• Environmental work in the business sector
• Sustainable consumtion
• Sustainable cities
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Three paths are highlighted to bring
about resource efficient consumers:
1. Minimise waste in the food chain
2. Increase product life span through repair and
maintenance
3. Collaborative consumtion
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(Report to be published before summer)
1. Minimise waste in the food chain
• High and rising level of consumtion (households)
• Limited application of steering instruments
• Proposal: Extend and expand on-going
Government commission (i.e. information
campaign)
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2. Increase product life span through
repair and maintenance
• Product life spans are decreasing
• Environmental costs are not internalised
• Proposal: Investigate use of economic steering
instruments in order to change the relation in
price between repairing and buying new products.
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3. Collaborative consumtion –
exchanging, sharing, and borrowing from
each other
• Primarily products that are seldom used, expensive
and/or high-maintenance (such as vehicles, tools,
household appliances)
• New field for public agencies
• Proposal: Investigate application of taxes, changes in
legislation, supporting business => new business
models
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Thank You!
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