Brussels, 13 November 2012 – Resource efficiency holds the key to the competitiveness of the European manufacturing sector with its over 740,000 SMEs and 11 million employees. During the European conference ‘How green industries are reshaping the industrial landscape’ hosted by MEP Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens/EFA), the public-private partnership ‘Resource Efficiency in the Manufacturing Industry (REMake)’ showcased its results and illustrated the high potential for improving resource efficiency in manufacturing companies and value chains.
Dr Uwe König, CTO at the German Surface Industry Association and REMake Coordinator, pointed out that “Materials and energy represent nearly 50% of all manufacturing costs. Resource flow analysis in Germany has shown that individual manufacturing companies can save between 7-10%. Through our work under the REMake partnership, we have now also indications that resource efficiency at value chain level can yield an additional 55-70% of savings. We need innovative approaches and new business models that enable these efficiency gains in manufacturing value chains and we very much hope that the EU will supporting these efforts.
For more information on the REMake project, see the Project Page, here.