Deutschland verbraucht überdurchschnittlich viele Ressourcen. Unsere Ressourcennutzung führt an anderen Orten oft zu Knappheiten, Menschenrechtsverletzungen und gewalttätigen Konflikten. Germanwatch setzt sich deshalb für einen gerechten Zugang zu Ressourcen, Ressourcenschonung und Menschenrechte ein.

Infos "Ressourcenpolitik"

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HINSEHEN und ANALYSIEREN: Würden alle Menschen so viele Ressourcen verbrauchen wie wir in Deutschland, dann bräuchte die Weltbevölkerung drei Planeten. Massenkonsum und Wegwerfmentalität sowie die Missachtung von Gesetzen zum Schutz von Umwelt und Menschenrechten führen beim Abbau von Rohstoffen in anderen Ländern der Welt zu Umweltverschmutzung, Menschenrechtsverletzungen und gewaltvollen Konflikten.

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EINMISCHEN: Deutschland muss seinen Rohstoffkonsum senken und sich dafür einsetzen, dass der Rohstoffabbau weltweit nachhaltiger und menschenrechtskonform ausgestaltet wird. Germanwatch begleitet die Umsetzung der EU-Konfliktrohstoffverordnung und engagiert sich für politische Rahmensetzungen, die zu nachhaltigeren und reparaturfreundlicheren Produkten führt sowie eine lange Nutzung von Produkten inklusive Reparatur ermöglicht. Wir arbeiten im Koordinierungskreis des Arbeitskreises Rohstoffe mit und haben das Netzwerk Runder Tisch Reparatur mitgegründet.


Wichtige Publikationen:

Aktuelles zum Thema

Publication
The need for comprehensive environmental due diligence in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)

In this brief, BUND and Germanwatch examine cases of environmental degradation in value chains of European companies, for example impacts of land use, pesticides, or gas and oil operations. We also provide analyses of how proposals for the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive cover these impacts and highlight the pivotal role of the European Parliament in this matter.

News

Global consumption of raw materials at this point is not sustainable for the Earth. Germany consumes an above-average of resources compared to other countries. If they were to consume as much as Germany, it would take three Earths to satisfy global demand. We therefore welcome the German government’s initiative of a National Circular Economy Strategy to reduce raw materials demand, but press for adverse effects for the Global South to be addressed.

Blogpost
Germany’s Ministry for Economic Affairs has announced new climate related sector guidelines for export credit guarantees and investment guarantees that would prevent support for almost all new fossil fuel projects from 1 November onwards. A limited number of gas projects may still receive support if they fulfil national security requirements or prove they can aid short term supply shortages, which is unlikely to be the case. Third countries are concerned about the potential drop in investment; this should be addressed by investing the billions now saved from servicing fossil fuel projects in clean energy instead.
News

Lithium mining poses numerous environmental and human rights risks. As part of the Sector Dialogue Automotive Industry, Germanwatch therefore collaborated with stakeholders from industry and politics in the development of “cross-country recommendations for responsible lithium mining and recommended actions” in the “Lithium Project Group”. The paper identifies four risk areas and makes recommendations on how they can be addressed by the companies in the supply chain that mine and purchase lithium. Germanwatch supports the recommendations. However, we do see some key gaps in achieving a globally sustainable and equitable economy within planetary boundaries.

Publication
Key elements of the Ecodesign Regulation for transforming product design

Design plays a crucial role in determining the circularity of a product, including factors such as repairability, recyclability, or the potential for refurbishment and remanufacturing. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR) establishes a new framework for setting ecodesign requirements for products and is therefore crucial to enable a circular economy. At present, the EU Commission, the Council and the European Parliament are negotiating the ESPR in the so-called trilogue. In this policy brief, we highlight five key issues that need to be considered to make the final version of the Regulation as effective as possible and to promote more durable and circular products.

Blogpost
As part of the European Green Deal, the EU has committed to making European product markets more sustainable, with circularity playing a key role. To achieve this goal, the EU is planning to introduce a Digital Product Passport for a wide range of products. In the future, the Digital Product Pass could foster new market opportunities for business models that strengthen the circular economy. To do so, it must be designed in such a way that it is particularly empowering for actors in the fields of product life cycle extension.
Publication
Make it a game-changer for circular economy!

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is comparable to a comprehensive digital index card or a “digital CV” that the EU seeks to introduce for a wide range of products. It is intended to provide information needed, for example, for more efficient repair and recycling of products. We believe that the DPP has a significant potential to pave the way towards a more circular economy as it can address the information deficit along a circular value chain that often impeded circularity.

Publication
A must-have for the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

The debate on downstream due diligence has never been more topical: The EU currently discusses the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. However, both the Council and various parliamentary groups want to limit the scope of the value chain to which environmental and human rights due diligence obligations should apply. Among other things, the downstream value chain would then be (largely) exempted from corporate due diligence obligations. In this short policy brief, published along with Initiative Lieferkettengesetz, SOMO, SwedWatch, and the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung we demonstrate why downstream due diligence is necessary and how it can be implemented. We also provide key recommendations for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

Publication
Status quo and the way to go

European mining equipment manufacturers are cooperating with and supplying mining projects that are known for human rights abuses and environmental destruction. The lack of legislation requiring companies to address severe human rights and environmental risks in their downstream value chain makes this possible. This study highlights the need for downstream due diligence obligations in the mining equipment sector.

Publication
Due diligence in downstream value chains

This case study of the Andina copper mine in Chile shows how European mining equipment manufacturers maintain close business relationships with the mine, despite the mining activities damaging the surrounding glaciers, massively increasing the water scarcity in the region and local protests against the expansion of the mine. We provide an example of how downstream due diligence obligations of European companies could have been exercised in this case. This is particularly relevant in this sector, where the business relationships between mining equipment manufacturers and their customers involve significant human rights and environmental risks.

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Referentin für Ressourcenpolitik und zirkuläres Wirtschaften

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Referentin für Ressourcenpolitik und Rohstofflieferketten

Netzwerke

Netzwerke

AK Rohstoffe: Der Arbeitskreis Rohstoffe ist ein Netzwerk deutscher Nichtregierungsorganisationen, die sich für Menschenrechte, soziale Standards und Umweltschutz im Rohstoffsektor einsetzen.
>> Blog des AK Rohstoffe

Runder Tisch Reparatur: 2015 wurde in Berlin ein -Runder Tisch Reparatur- gegründet, der sich das Ziel gesetzt hat, die Reparatur zu stärken. Mit dabei waren Vertreter von Umweltverbänden, Verbraucherschützer, Vertreter der reparierenden Wirtschaft, herstellenden Industrie, Wissenschaft und Reparaturinitiativen.
>> www.runder-tisch-reparatur.de