The material footprint gives an indication of the volume of raw materials extracted worldwide to fulfil Dutch final demand, in terms of both in consumption and investment. It does not include resources extracted in the Netherlands and used to produce goods and services intended for other countries (exports).
The material footprint is calculated using the RME (raw material equivalents) tool developed by Eurostat. As calculations of environmental footprints are based on models and rely on available international data, the results are subject to a larger degree of uncertainty.
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