From data to decisions: material footprints in European policy making

This briefing provides information about the EU’s material footprint and consumption expenditure. It is based on data provided by Eurostat and is published to inform the development of sectoral policies aiming to address consumption patterns and reduce the demand for raw materials.

Key messages

• While Europeans spent 10% more in 2021 than in 2010 on goods and services purchased from all over the world, the EU’s material footprint remained stable due to a fall in the use of fossil fuels and to an increase in resource efficiency at both European and global levels.
• In 2021, housing and food were hotspots for resource consumption, accounting for 72% of the EU’s material footprint and requiring the highest amount of material per euro spent. Housing and food accounted for the use of around 80% of non-metallic minerals and biomass, half of fossil energy materials and 44% of metal ores.
• Attempts to reduce the overall material footprint need to address the resource efficiency and consumption patterns within housing and food.
• The material footprint of non-metallic minerals, biomass and metals increased from 2010 to 2021. These increases were compensated by a fall in the consumption of fossil energy materials over the same period, resulting from the effective implementation of climate change mitigation policies.
• Services require the lowest material use per euro spent among all domains, followed by clothing and household goods. Therefore, consumption patterns directly affect the EU’s material footprint and one way to reduce it is to promote expenditure patterns that are less material intensive.