Resource scarcity is a growing problem for 91% of industrial businesses, leading to problems like increased costs, supply chain disruption, and slowdowns in production, according to a survey from ABB Motion.
Raw materials (37%) are seen as the scarcest resource, followed by energy (34%), labor (32%), and electronic components (26%). This resource scarcity has led to increased costs for 37% of businesses, as well as supply chain disruption for 27% and slowdowns in production capacity for 25%.
The global survey, titled "Circularity: No Time to Waste," was conducted by Sapio Research in October 2023. It gathered responses from 3,304 industrial decision-makers across 12 countries including the US, China, India, UK, Sweden, Germany, and France. Respondents represented a range of industries, such as energy, metals, chemicals, oil and gas, marine, mining, and utilities.
The survey also looked into solutions, finding that despite energy being rated as the scarcest resource, two-fifths reported it as their biggest source of waste. This highlights an urgent need for greater energy efficiency across industry, something the International Energy Agency (IEA) says will be a critical lever in meeting Net Zero targets, according to Zurich-based ABB Motion, which provides drives, motors, and generators for applications in industry and infrastructure.
The survey also found that two-thirds of respondents plan to increase their investment in circularity initiatives within the next three years. That’s important because many important circular practices have still only been adopted by a minority of businesses, including partnering with waste management companies (41%), incorporating energy-efficient technologies (37%), and promoting circular principles in the supply chain (32%). Although encouragingly, 67% are using recycled materials in their products to some extent. In turn, investing in circularity has already led to measurable benefits, with the most common being waste reduction (46%) and energy efficiency improvements (45%).
"The pressing need to transition to a circular economy has never been clearer,” Tarak Mehta, President of ABB Motion, said in a release. “Our current way of life is depleting resources at an unsustainable rate, contributing to emissions and climate change. Embracing circularity is not only essential for safeguarding our environment but also for enhancing business resilience.”
