Initiative Resource Efficiency and Climate Action (IREK) II

• Project completed.
  
  

Global:

• Together with VDI-ZRE, the project developed an online seminar series on resource efficiency for small and medium-sized enterprises in the metalworking industry. The training content was further developed on a sector-specific basis and contextualized by local experts for the partner countries Argentina and Mexico.
• The project cooperated with the International Resource Panel (IRP) of the United Nations. The aim was to contextualize the findings and recommendations of the 2020 global IRP report ("Resource Efficiency and Climate Change: Material Efficiency Strategies for a Low-Carbon Future") in Argentina, Mexico, and Indonesia. The national priorities and characteristics of the three countries were explored in depth, highlighting material efficiency strategies with the most significant potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Preliminary results were presented at the 30th meeting of UNEP/IRP in Bangkok (June 2023).
• On 01/12/2022, IREK II supported the European Resources Forum (ERF) with a session on "Resource efficiency and circular economy - policy experiences and stories from Indonesia, South Africa and Uruguay".

Mexico:

• The Public Education and Training Institute of the State of Guanajuato (IECA), with support from the project, developed a course on resource efficiency and climate change mitigation for businesses. This took place twice in a hybrid format in 2022 and 2023. Many of the 30 companies that participated are already working on concrete plans for implementing resource efficiency measures in their businesses. Due to high demand, the course was held again in autumn 2023 in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment in Guanajuato with ca. 150 companies. In addition, with the support of the project, IECA piloted a new course on eco-design with nine participants in spring 2023.
• In the state of Guanajuato, the project supported the Ministry of Environment and Economy in developing a strategy to promote resource efficiency and a circular economy. With the strategy, Guanajuato's government sets specific goals that it plans to implement by 2024, or 2030, to enable the state to become a leader in circular economy by 2050.
• For high-ranking representatives of Mexican state environmental authorities, the project organized a dialogue with two IRP scientists in November 2021, in which they presented essential results of the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and discussed possible conclusions for Mexico.
• IREK II supported the Ministry of Environment of Guanajuato, SMAOT, and the National Association of State Environmental Agencies of Mexico, ANAAE, in organizing a high-level dialogue forum on resource efficiency, circular economy and climate change mitigation in León/Guanajuato on 2.2.2023. The forum was attended by the governor of Guanajuato, the environment ministers of three Mexican states, and high-level representatives from the environment ministries of other Mexican states.

Argentina:

• With the preparation of strategy papers for the decarbonization of the building materials industry and the metal processing industry, the project supported the ongoing national climate planning. In close cooperation with the Argentine Ministry of the Environment, six resource efficiency measures were identified in the building materials industry and nine in the metal industry together with important national stakeholders, and proposals for concrete policy instruments to promote them were developed. The results will be incorporated into the national climate plan.
• Together with the Argentine Metal Industry Umbrella Association (ADMIRA) and the National Ministry of Economy, the project conducted the first pilot series of webinars on resource efficiency for small and medium enterprises in the metalworking industry. ADIMRA's training institute integrated the webinar as an integral part of their training program.
• Through studies and the promotion of an opinion-forming process, the project has made a significant contribution to ensuring that the use of recycled concrete for load-bearing and non-load-bearing components is approved and regulated for the first time in the new concrete building regulation CIRSOC200:2023.
• Together with the Argentine Metal Industry Association (ADIMRA), the project conducted another course series on resource efficiency for SMEs as a webinar and as a face-to-face event in two regions. The Ministry of Economic Affairs also offers a training format for sustainable production in SMEs. IREK II supported this training format with a component on resource efficiency in form of a cross-sector webinar series and another regional face-to-face event.

Indonesia:

• Since November 2022, the project has been supporting the Ministry of the Environment in establishing a national environmental product declaration programme. This important tool contains information on a product's material consumption and impact on global warming and thus contributes to strengthening resource efficiency as well as climate protection. A guideline outlined initial recommendations, such as advancing the establishment of the programme and creating institutional arrangements for the introduction of the declaration system. The Ministry of the Environment is implementing this roadmap together with its subordinate institutions.
• Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method for calculating the environmental impact of products and services throughout their life cycle. The project developed trainings for ministry and company representatives to learn how to use and conduct LCAs. Considering the IRP study and the establishment of the new Indonesian capital, the focus of the training was on the building materials sector.