Metals, construction minerals and biomass as primary raw materials

The economic, environmental and social impacts of the production of primary raw materials are varied and complex. Different raw materials call for different approaches in order to make their extraction and production more environmentally responsible and socially equitable. It is therefore key to a sustainable raw materials policy to define resource-specific goals and devise actions tailored closely to the issues at hand.

It is also important to look at how raw materials are produced and processed in Germany, Europe and the rest of the world and what legal frameworks apply. A sustainable resource policy cannot focus only on the production of primary raw materials: it is also important to use raw materials for as long as possible and to recycle them. This involves considering underlying national and international conditions while also remembering that different raw materials present different problems when it comes to recycling.