Renewable material is an important contributor to closing material loops in a circular economy because of its natural regeneration. However, in order to count toward this indicator, the renewable materials should be sustainably sourced and regenerated within a timeframe that ensures that they are not depleted, such as wood from a sustainably managed forest.
New applications for renewable materials in products continue to be developed, creating opportunities to substitute virgin, non-renewable materials and therefore reduce environmental impact from extraction and processing. Additional data is needed to track the level of renewable materials that are truly compatible with sustainable development.
This indicator should increase as long as resource use remains well within the capacity of the ecosystem to regenerate. The exact limit depends on the local ecosystem.