Europe’s material footprint

The European Union’s material footprint refers to the amount of material extracted from nature, both inside and outside the EU, to manufacture or provide the goods and services consumed by EU citizens. The 8th Environment Action Programme aims to significantly decrease the EU’s material footprint to safeguard precious natural resources and mitigate environmental impacts, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.This reflects the Treaty commitment (Art. 191 TfEU) to ensure ‘the prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources’.

From 2010 to 2024, the EU per capita material footprint decreased by 5.5%. The material footprint fell markedly in 2020 — influenced by the economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic — yet increased again by 2021. Another sharp 6.2% drop between 2022 and 2023 was mainly caused by a decrease of metal and fossil fuel consumption. Consumption of metals decreased by 16% in 2023, which may be attributed to the EU decreasing its imports of metals from Russia and increasing its exports to Ukraine, overall resulting in a lower metals footprint.

Consumption of non-metallic minerals is the highest of the various material groups, accounting for 51% of the footprint in 2024. Consumption changes in this group were largely responsible for the overall trend during the entire time period. Biomass was the next largest group (23%), followed by fossil fuels (16%) and metals (10%). Fossil fuels are the only material group to show a decrease (of 36%) between 2010 and 2024, driving the overall drop in material footprint. This could be attributed to EU climate policies, and other recent energy consumption-related developments, like high energy prices due to Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Non-metallic minerals account for a large part of the total material footprint, yet they have less environmental and climate impact than metals and fossil fuels because they are mostly composed of inert materials such as gravel or limestone.

The material footprint provides a comprehensive measure of all materials extracted, including outside the EU and imported, to satisfy consumption demand. The reliance on external suppliers differs by material. Demand for metals and fossil fuels is mainly met by imports, while demand for biomass and non-metallic minerals is largely met by domestic extraction, due to their weight, lower value, availability and in the case if biomass degradability.

The EU’s total material footprint is above the global average and greater than those of low- and middle-income non-EU countries. The level of resource consumption exceeds the planet’s ‘safe operating space’ for resource extraction. This indicates, if the world were to consume resources at this level, the capacity of the planet to provide these resources would be exceeded.

Material footprints can be reduced by decreasing consumption (including for example by optimising use of products and assets, for example through sharing or product-as-a-service models) or choosing goods or services whose production or provision needs less material. Various circular economy policies (as part of the EU circular economy action plan) aim to reduce the need for primary material extraction, by keeping materials in the economy for as long as possible, optimising product and asset use, keeping their value as high as possible, and boosting high-quality recycling.

Discounting the temporary dips in 2020 and 2023, the level of the material footprint has been relatively stable from 2015 until 2024, albeit lower than its 2010 levels. Available projections for material use, such as the OECD Global Material Resources Outlook, predict an increased future demand for materials in the EU. This suggests it is unlikely that the EU will significantly reduce its material footprint in the coming decade.

Material footprints vary substantially across EU countries, from 9.8 tonnes/capita in Spain to 42.9 tonnes/capita in Finland. Since 2010, 19 of the 27 EU Member States and Switzerland, have reduced their material footprint. Cyprus, Greece and Italy reduced their footprints by more than 30%. However, Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania increased theirs by more than 50%.

Differences in material footprints among countries are difficult to explain, as they are based on the structure and efficiency of the economy and citizens’ consumption patterns. Yet, elements such as high levels of circularity in the national economy are also important. High levels of circularity may partly explain, beside econometric considerations, the low material footprint value in Belgium, Malta and Italy, countries with high circular material use rates. On the other hand, Finland and Romania with the highest and third-highest material footprints display very low circular material use rates (2.4% and 1.3% respectively in 2023).