"Making the circular economy a reality" by Dr Michelle Wyart-Remy, Secretary General of IMA-Europe. Presentation made at the 15th European Parliament Ceramics Forum on 3 December 2014.

1. “Making the circular economy a reality”
A resource industry perspective
Dr Michelle Wyart-Remy
IMA-Europe Secretary General
15th EP Ceramics Forum
European Parliament, 3 December 2014

2. The European IM industry
500 companies
(685 mines & quarries, 750 plants)
42,500 employees
180 million tonnes/year,
EUR 10 billion turnover
28 European Countries
i.e. 24 EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine
The sector counts ~60% SMEs
Most major global IM producers are EU based

3. What are Industrial Minerals? (IM)
Industrial minerals: geological materials which are mined for their
commercial value. They are used in their natural state or after
beneficiation in a wide range of applications
IM include barites, bentonite, borates, clays, diatomite, feldspar,
fluorspar, gypsum, limestone, silica sand, talc, and many others
The Industrial Minerals industry umbrella organisation
of 10 European associations
e.g. KPC-Europe: European Kaolin & Plastic Clays Association
http://www.ima-europe.eu/

4. 23.01.14 4
IM indispensable to the manufacturing industry
4
CERAMICS contain up to 100% minerals
Catalysts supportsTableware Tiles & bricks Sanitary ware
Photovoltaic solar cellsWind turbine
Water treatment
and filtration
Gas treatment
A material science based industry
Innovative ingredients for green & high-tech industry
Electronics

5. 5
Industrial Mineral Resource Efficiency is manifold
1. Primary resource efficiency: sustainable extraction & processing1
2. Efficiency of usage: improving performances in applications,
they enable savings in downstream sectors
3. Secondary resource efficiency: by-products and waste valorisation
4. Recycling of their end-applications: IM are recovered
(1) “In terms of material extraction, industrialised economies are characterised by the
lowest material intensities (or highest eco-efficiency), with Europe being world-leader”
SERI Report 2011

6. Resource productivity, measured by GDP relative to Raw Material Consumption
(GDP:RMC) is suggested as a candidate for a resource productivity target.
A target increasing resource productivity by 30% would also have a positive impact
on job creation and growth of GDP.
A resource productivity target, while not binding and set at the level of the EU,
would provide an impetus for those Member States that do not already have a target
at national level to develop measures that take account of resource use.
Decision should take into account the outcome of the public consultation on the EU
2020 Strategy review
(1) COM(2014)398 Towards a circular economy: A zero waste programme for Europe
Circular Economy Package1 & Resource Productivity

7. Bio IS 2012
Minerals 50% of EU Domestic Material Consumption (DMC)

8. EU dependency on imported Raw Materials
Minerals count for 3-5% of EU imports!

9. • “A well-established method which fits well with current available
datasets (such as official statistics), allowing for a breakdown of
results by materials, sector or industry” - NO!
 RMC is not assessed in all MS, it will hardly be assessed in imports
It is derived through modelling raw material equivalent in goods
• “Whilst the indicator is weight-based, it reflects environmental
impacts reasonably well.” - NO – it just reflects density1!
 Around 50% DMC (or RMC) represent minerals, i.e. materials
- which are geologically not scarce
- produced in the EU with a low import dependency (~5%)
- with lower environmental impact than other materials in DMC
Resource productivity as a lead indicator
(1) Density of a substance is its
mass per unit volume

10. • Raw Materials Consumption (RMC): neither reflects environmental
impacts, nor the value of resources for the economy in terms of
functionality and performance of materials
e.g. 1 tonne talc ≠1 tonne platinum
• GDP/RMC does not reflect resource productivity across sectors/value
chains
Consumption slowdown may be due to economic or financial crisis
• Incentives to enhance decoupling cannot be based only on raw
materials content: taxing primary resources, without comparing
resource environmental impacts will be discriminatory
(1) Density (of a substance is its mass per unit volume
Raw Material Consumption should not be used

11. A few guiding principles addressing the
• Target setting should not be an end in itself
• Primary raw materials will remain essential to Europe’s growth
• A consistent primary and secondary raw materials policy
• A life-cycle thinking based on a full supply chain and sectoral approach
guaranteeing proportionality
• Subsidiarity should apply down to the relevant local level

12. A variety of EU industries share
the same opinion on resource efficiency
Representing various segments of the European resources producing industry
and manufacturing industry , these sectors have a strong commitment to
contribute to the EU economic growth & societal wealth through a sustainable
production and management of these invaluable resources

13. Thank you for your attention!
More about IMA-Europe
http://www.ima-europe.eu
Dr Michelle Wyart-Remy
IMA - Europe, Brussels
Tel: +322 210 44 10
secretariat@ima-europe.eu