Resource Use in Austria 2027. Report 5.

Since 2011, the Report "Resource Use in Austria" (RENU) has served as a key source of information on societal resource consumption in Austria for stakeholders in policy, research, NGOs etc. RENU2027 marks its fifth edition. Based on current material flow data from Statistics Austria, the report analyzes the status and trends of resource use in Austria and contextualizes them within the framework of national and global challenges. Recent years have seen a rapid succession of multiple geopolitical, economic, and environmental crises — supply bottlenecks, energy price shocks, climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequality. Approximately three years after the adoption of Austria’s Circular Economy Strategy, RENU27 therefore focuses on the following core topics: A discussion of Austria’s current material consumption and material footprint, the core indicators of the circular economy and their development, global supply chains and import dependencies — including critical raw materials — recycling and secondary raw material markets, as well as the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and its conflicts of use. The report provides a scientific analysis of these topics and complements existing monitoring tools of the Circular Economy Strategy. The goal is to provide evidence-based knowledge for policymakers, the scientific community, and the public, and to identify structural lock-in situations as well as opportunities for action toward a more sustainable, circular use of resources in Austria.