Domestic material consumption by main material category (Indicator)

While most consumption relies on non-metallic minerals, mitigating the environmental impacts linked to the EU’s material consumption relies on reducing the use of fossil fuels and metals from primary production and improving the sustainable management of biomass.

Consumption is the ultimate cause of the need to extract and process natural resources into products (such as food, vehicles, electronic equipment and housing) that deliver services (including nutrition, mobility and shelter, among others).

Extraction and processing come with high environmental costs, including pollution [link to indicator ‘Europe’s consumption footprint’]. More than 40% of global human health impacts caused by fine particulate matter result from the extraction and initial processing of metals, non-metallic minerals, fossil fuels and biomass, including also agricultural production (UNEP, 2024).

Pollution also occurs during the use phase of products and when products reach their end of life. The current linear EU consumption model means that a substantial share of used materials becomes waste and does not feed back into the economy, leading to additional impacts linked to waste management (see indicators Air pollutant emissions from landfills and Pollutant emissions from waste incineration).

The EU Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) indicator records the volume of materials used to meet EU demand and takes into account products manufactured in the EU and elsewhere. Non-metallic minerals (such as gravel and sand) account for the highest share of EU material consumption (55% of the total in 2022), followed by biomass (23%) and fossil fuels (17%).

Between 2010 and 2023, the DMC has slightly decreased in the EU (down by 3.2%). This means the EU has decoupled its material consumption from economic growth, which grew 19% over the same period. By material category, the consumption of metal ores and non-metallic minerals increased (by, respectively, 18% and 8%), while consumption of fossil fuels and biomass reduced (by, respectively, 31% and 1%).

On the other hand, the EU already has very high material consumption levels with close to 14 tonnes per person per year. This is higher than in many parts of the world (OECD, 2024). The impacts of EU consumption exceed several planetary boundaries, including pollution such as toxicity and particulate matter [see indicator The EU’s consumption footprint].

This means that despite the slight decoupling of material consumption from economic growth, EU consumption is still a significant driver of global pollution. Some projections (UNEP, 2024) point to further increases in the consumption of materials from all world regions, including Europe, accounting for the material needs for the energy transition (EC, 2020a, EC, 2023).

Reducing material consumption would alleviate the strain that material use puts on the environment and human health. Therefore, the EU needs to consume better (e.g. creating more durable items and less impactful commodities) and consume differently (e.g. establishing a sharing economy and improving public transport) (EEA, 2023a). Critical actions include leveraging and scaling up circular economy actions, building on existing initiatives (such as ecodesign and the right to repair) and focusing on the systems that consume the most resources.

Measures to reduce consumption need to account for the different environmental impacts caused by the extraction and processing of each material. Generally, non-metallic minerals (e.g. gravel, limestone) have lower environmental impacts since they are relatively inert materials. Therefore, efforts to mitigate pollution from material consumption should prioritise where the highest impacts lie: fossil fuels, metals from virgin materials and biomass (EEA, 2023b).

Please consult the relevant indicators and signals below for a more comprehensive overview on the topic.