The COBALT Opening Conference aimed to initiate (and foster existing) debate, networking and exchange on a more sustainable raw materials management in the EU among a multitude of actors from industry and business, civil society, geological surveys, policy making at EU, national and regional level and academia. Participants from 15 European countries engaged in an open dialogue, thus increasing mutual understanding for challenges and opportunities towards sustainable raw materials management in Europe.

Europe's increasing import dependency on raw materials and the associated impacts for its supply and use are addressed by the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on raw materials. In a welcome video address to the COBALT opening conference, Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik referred to these challenges, pointing out that, in an era marked by increasing resource scarcity, a strong industrial base that can continue to contribute to wealth and job creation in the future will depend on our ability to find innovative solutions along the value chain.

In this context, the coordinator of COBALT, Dr. André Martinuzzi from the Institute for Managing Sustainability at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, argued that "addressing broader issues in the policy debate on sustainable raw materials management is very important: "(i) taking a life cycle perspective by considering both production and final consumption systems, and (ii) going beyond security of supply, addressing the fundamental issue of the limits ecological boundaries impose on raw materials use."

The opening conference served as a platform to share common as well as different views on sustainable raw materials management. The conference strove to

• address potential solutions along the value chain from extraction to consumption and recycling at end of product life;
• identify how industry and civil society can be best supported to
  • meet the challenge of complexly interwoven international value chains,
  • and changing global material demands, and
  • respond to social and environmental needs in relation to raw material management.

One of the six sessions of the conference was characterized by working group discussions.

The first working group "Identifying challenges for sustainable raw materials management for EU policy, society and business" explored prospective steps for a range of diverse EIP Strategic Implementation Plan action areas. A second working group "Opportunities and best practice: sustainable raw materials management along value-chains" encompassed an introduction to potential (future) opportunities linked to sustainable raw materials management along the value chain, and a carousel of four cases of sustainable raw materials management along different value-chain stages.

Fostering a circular economy through closing material cycles, improving recycling, urban mining and also substitution of raw materials plays a prominent role and receives attention and calls for commitment under the EIP. During the conference discussions, a circular economy emerged as one mutually shared hot topic for further action. While fostering the use of secondary raw materials through recycling and urban mining practices seemed much more within reach of joint action in the shorter term, the issue of staying within planetary boundaries by also having to reduce use of primary raw materials appeared to require a longer-term debate.

The COBALT opening conference was only the first step to create the space for an open and continuous dialogue between various stakeholders. Based on the opening conference input and discussions, the conference was followed by the set up of a working group on a COBALT Declaration, bringing together relevant stakeholder groups to discuss issues to tackle in relation to a more sustainable raw material management, and providing input to the debate on sustainable raw material management for further development and full implementation of the raw materials policy framework.

For future COBALT activities and events, please visit the COBALT project homepage.

The COBALT project is funded by DG Research in the 7th Framework Program for Research and runs from 2013 to 2015.