Statement by the VDI and the DBU on the occasion of the cooperative presence at this year’s Hanover Trade Fair
According to the Federal Ministry of the Environment (“Bundesumweltministerium”, BMUB) more than 68 billion tons of raw materials were used worldwide in the year 2009 – or approximately double the amount from the end of the 1970s. With a projected global population of over nine billion humans by 2050, and the simultaneous rapid economic development of “emergent” countries, a continued strong growth in the demand for raw materials and energy is expected. These developments represent a great challenge to the international community, not only economically, but in view of the ecological and social parameters of this complex of issues. A careful and, at the same time, more efficient handling of natural resources and sources of energy is thus the essential, key competence for a sustainable future.
Material costs account for 45 % of total costs
The future sustainability of the small- and mid-sized businesses upon which the DBU’s grant activities are focused also stands or falls based on the economic handling and management of crude and raw materials and energy…and for that reason, it must be our highest priority to increase the efficiency with which we utilize them.
