Material intensity

SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal description 
«[…] Technological progress is the foundation of efforts to achieve environmental objectives, such as increased resource and energy-efficiency. Without technology and innovation, industrialization will not happen, and without industrialization, development will not happen. » 

Swiss target 9.4: Companies exploit their resource efficiency through optimally designing their production processes and products. The economic and technical potential to close resource cycles is used.

Significance of the indicator
The indicator shows the relationship between domestic raw material consumption (RMC) and gross domestic product (GDP). It shows the total amount of raw materials consumed for every Swiss franc generated by the national economy. The more goods produced and materials sold, the greater the pressure on natural resources. In the interests of sustainable development, it is therefore necessary to preserve or increase the generation of wealth while reducing material consumption.

Help for interpretation
As well as raw materials extracted in Switzerland, the domestic raw material consumption (RMC) data also take into account the total amount of raw material used outside Switzerland during production processes and the transport of goods and services consumed in Switzerland.

International comparability
The flows in raw material equivalents cannot be measured directly and therefore have to be modelled. Internationally, there are a number of statistical approaches for estimating these flows. The data for this indicator are calculated according to a method developed by Eurostat. Only a small number of European countries currently publish this type of data. Eurostat publishes these data at EU level.