The Federal Environment Agency was hosting the 3rd National Resources Forum with support of Ecologic Institute on 11 November 2016. The conference took place in the "Ludwig Erhard Haus" in Berlin. The NRF 2016 brought together 300 participants.

The aim of the National Resources Forum (NRF) is to provide a national platform for discussion of the issue of sustainable resource use by focusing on the political and scientific debate on this subject. After the successful conferences in 2012, 2014 and 2016, the National Resources Forum has established itself as an important platform for discussion on the issue of sustainable resource use in Germany. It is a relevant instrument for communication on resource issues in Germany and beyond, as well as for setting up networks and initiating stakeholder alliances at national level.

The National Resources Forum was held in the context of the 2012 adopted national program on resource efficiency (ProgRess) and it’s relevant follow-up process in Spring 2016 (ProgRess II).

The discussions and results of the conference showed the complexity of the topic of resource efficiency. The diverse functions which are fulfilled by natural resources, the complex value added chains which are related to resource use as well as the high number of stakeholders involved make resource policy a highly integrated and complex policy field.

The NRF 2016 focused on the role of resource conservation in the German foundation's work. Further key questions included: Protection of resources in an urban context - what can it look like? Resource efficiency in practice - how does the transfer of research work?

Photos and presentations of the conference are available on the conference website.

There were several discussions and comments on twitter under the hashtag #2016NRF.