Roshini Bains

RAE signs joint letter calling on government to develop a cross sector UK materials strategy

News
1 min read

The Royal Academy of Engineering has signed a joint letter with the Royal Society of Chemistry, Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and The Geological Society calling on the government to develop a joined-up, cross-sector strategy for using and managing materials in the UK.

RAE signs joint letter calling on government to develop a cross sector UK materials strategy

Professor Joan Cordiner FREng FRSE FIChemE, Chair of the National Engineering Policy Centre Working Group on Materials and Net Zero, has signed the letter on behalf of the Academy, following the National Engineering Policy Centre’s report on Critical Materials published in October. That report also recommended that the government develop an integrated materials strategy, to reduce demand, reuse and recycle critical materials to support the UK’s existing Net Zero Strategy and improve economic security. Addressing the demand for materials continues to be an imperative for the UK following the release of the UK 2024 Criticality Assessment, which identified a growing list of minerals deemed ‘critical’ to the UK economy and net zero transition.

In addition, the report recommends maintaining a National Materials Data Hub to monitor the sustainability of materials consumed by and in use in the UK, and international collaboration to measure their environmental and social impacts.

The new joint letter similarly champions the need to build further comprehensive data on the use of materials in the UK and highlights that:

“The UK’s population consumes 15.3 tonnes of materials per person per year which is well above the global average. Not only does this mean we are contributing disproportionately to the problem of unsustainable resource use, but also

  1. The economic value that these materials have is lost from the UK economy if they end up in landfill, incineration or are exported abroad, with some estimates suggesting that at present as little as 7.5% of materials are circled back into the UK economy.
  2. Many of the materials that are vital to meet the UK’s net zero commitments are also essential in a range of other sectors including healthcare, defence and electronics, and there is significant global demand for these materials. Some of these materials are designated as ‘critical’ because of their importance to our economy and supply chain risks. Unresolved imbalances between supply and demand pose risks to UK economic growth and national energy security.

Crucial steps will include developing robust data on the origin and use of materials and improved design practices and policy frameworks that reduce disposal and waste, and setting an overall goal of reducing UK resource consumption as per our commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 12.”