This work aimed to characterize the use of resources in Portugal and propose measures that could improve resource efficiency and productivity, reduce consumption, substitute raw materials, recover resources through recycling, and conserve endogenous resources.
The study focused on natural resources, whether they come from domestic extraction or are imported, and that constitute production factors for various sectors of the national economy, such as biomass, metallic and non-metallic minerals, fossil energy materials, and water.
Development of a strategic report on circular economy and resource efficiency to match with the defined principles in several European and national strategic documents, namely the “National Waste Management Plan” and the “Commitment to Green Growth.”
The growth of knowledge about resource usage in Portugal requires the employment of specialized methods that combine environment and economy. Thus, the work developed in this strategy was based on three distinct but complementary approaches:
The results of this study constitute relevant actions for promoting the efficient use and productivity of resources, reducing consumption, replacing raw materials, recovering resources through recycling, and conserving endogenous resources.
