The Royal Academy of Engineering has signed a 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.
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 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 , 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 is contributing disproportionately to the problem of unsustainable resource use.
- The economic value that these materials have is lost from the UK economy.
- Unresolved imbalances between supply and demand pose risks to UK economic growth and national energy security.
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