Umweltbundesamt
Click to enlargeWind power and solar energy enable the intelligent, efficient and environmentally friendly utilisation of natural resources
“Factor X” stands for an intelligent, efficient and environmentally friendly use of natural resources (e. g. raw materials, water, land). Increasing resource efficiency by a Factor of X is an important element of a sustainable development.
The increasingly intensive use of natural resources by humans is causing ecosystems to exceed their stress limits and exacerbating global environmental problems. In the last 40 years, the global extraction of raw materials has more than tripled to around 85 billion tonnes per year. Today, this already significantly exceeds the earth's regenerative capacity and endangers the development opportunities of future generations.
The term Factor X goes back to the "Factor 10" concept developed by Friedrich Schmidt-Bleek. In the early 1990s Schmidt-Bleek postulated, that if sustainable development is to be achieved globally and for all of humankind, industrialized countries must reduce their consumption of resources by a factor of 10 (= roman X), or 90 percent, within 50 years. In 1995, Ernst-Ulrich von Weizsäcker stated that a factor of 4 can double wealth and halve resource consumption.
The use of natural resources must become x times more intelligent and efficient. X times more use could be made and therefore x times more wealth be generated from a ton of raw material. Whether by a factor of 4 (= 75 percent increase), 10 (90 percent) or more – resource efficiency must be drastically increased. The name Factor X implies that huge resource efficiency potential exists in many areas of production and consumption which so far has largely remained untapped and is in some cases not yet sufficiently known. In order to achieve a goal like Factor X, scientists, economists, politicians, product designers, consumers and the service sector must work together with creativity and dedication. The economy must become more efficient in its use of resources, and the supply of and demand for resource-efficient products and services must increase.
FLOW, a ten-minute film (playable below) produced by sustainable design centre on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency as part of the “Factor X: Beyond Climate Change” campaign, explores the issue of wastage of our natural resources. It reflects our consumption-oriented lifestyle through impressive imagery and illustrates how global material flows are linked. Facts and figures caution viewers to act responsibly without discouraging them. The film ends with the camera moving through the town of tomorrow with many examples of sustainable approaches.
The UBA’s motto, For our environment (“Für Mensch und Umwelt”), sums up our mission pretty well, we feel. In this video we give an insight into our work.
