Raw materials are fundamental for many sectors of the economy, including the automotive, electronic, and manufacturing industries. In the EU, over 24.6 million jobs currently depend on the secure supply of raw materials.

EU Raw Materials Initiative

The EU ‘Raw Materials Initiative’ is based on sustainable sourcing of raw materials from global markets, sustainable domestic raw materials production, and on resource efficiency and supply of secondary raw materials.

In 2012, the European Commission launched the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials. It is a stakeholder platform bringing together representatives from industry, public services, academia and NGOs. It covers all non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials such as metals, minerals and biotic materials, and provides a new approach aiming to streamline efforts and accelerate the market take-up of innovations.

EU Raw Materials Scoreboard

The EU Raw Materials Scoreboard is an initiative of the EIP on raw materials. It provides policymakers with quantitative data on the EIP's general objectives and on the raw material policy context. It presents reliable and relevant information to inform governments, industry and other stakeholders. The EU Raw Materials Scoreboard also contributes to monitoring progress towards a circular economy. It is published every 2 years. The 2018 Scoreboard is the second edition of the series.

Key findings

Jobs, value added and investments in the sector are recovering after the impacts of the financial crisis, and circular economy sectors have expanded. However, more efforts are needed to increase security of supply and to boost domestic production. Specifically, attention should be given to the following points:

• The EU is increasingly reliant on raw material imports
• More R&D is needed to boost investment attractiveness of raw materials sector
• An efficient minerals policy framework is necessary
• Valuable raw materials are wasted for lack of recycling and proper waste management
• Raw materials should be sourced more sustainably

Background

Data and knowledge are essential for the sustainable and secure supply of raw materials to the EU's economy. They continue to be a fundamental part of EU's raw materials policy. Improving knowledge is a continuous process that requires efforts and active involvement from all relevant stakeholders.

The Raw Materials Scoreboard is based on robust data and highlights the increasing importance of raw materials for

• the competitiveness of Europe’s industry
• innovation
• the transition to a low-carbon, more circular economy

With key indicators, it provides an overview of the sector's current and future challenges but also its achievements. It helps to increase the knowledge base and monitor the success of EU raw materials policy.

The Raw Materials Scoreboard is the result of a combined effort between the Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs and the Joint Research Centre. It was created thanks to support from the Sherpas of the EIP on raw materials, contributions of a number of external experts and contributions from colleagues from different services of the Commission.

Documents

Raw Materials Scoreboard 2018