ETC/RWM

Since April 2001, the Wuppertal Institute (Research Group "Material Flows and Resource Management") is consortium partner within the European Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management (ETC/RWM). European Topic Centres are part of the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET) and contracted to the European Environment Agency (EEA). They assist the EEA with the implementation of its mandate and tasks, i.e. providing information on the state of the European environment and assessment of European environmental policies.
Waste prevention which constitutes the first priority of the EU waste strategy is one main focus of the ETC/RWM work. In doing so, a clear understanding of processes causing waste generation is needed, so that technically, economically and environmentally feasible options for waste prevention and reduction at source can be applied. Further, the ETC/RWM is working on topics related to the European Commission's two Thematic Strategies on the Sustainable Use and Management of Resources and Waste Recycling.
The Topic Centre's annual work programmes usually comprise some 15-20 projects. The Wuppertal Institute is involved in several projects such as e.g.

• Environmental Input-Output analyses based on NAMEA
• Effectiveness analysis of economic instruments in resource policy
• Waste and Resource chapters in EEA reports
• Environmental outlooks for waste and material flows
• "Sustainable Consumption and Production" trends and policies in Europe.

The European Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management (ETC/RWM) is a consortium of seven partners:

• Danish Environmental Protection Agency (lead organisation)
• Umweltbundesamt, Austria
• Wuppertal Institute, Germany
• Estonian Environment Information Centre, Estonia
• The Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Hungary
• Agenzia Nazionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente e per i servizi tecnici (APAT), Italy
• Environment Agency for England and Wales, UK