The Importance and Challenges of Sustainable Development for the Raw Materials Sector: The Views of Key Stakeholders in Three ESEE Countries

Abstract

The raw materials (RM) sector is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and it impacts their implementation, in a positive or adverse manner, throughout the whole RM value chain (e.g., mining, processing, metallurgy, recycling, etc.). This study aims to identify and rank the SDGs that are classified as more significant for this sector, according to the views of key stakeholders, university students, academics, professionals, and industry representatives, in three East and South-East Europe (ESEE) countries: Greece, Poland, and Slovakia. Moreover, the expected challenges of the RM sector in the next ten years are presented and are based on the opinions of the industry representatives of the abovementioned countries. Within this framework, 423 participants provided their views in a survey with structured questionnaires. The results were analysed on the basis of the stakeholder groups and the countries that were examined. SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), were highly ranked by the stakeholders, which indicates a strong link between these SDGs and the RM sector. Digital transformation, recycling and material chain optimization for end-of-life products, and increased resource efficiency in mineral and metallurgical processes, were reported as the most important challenges that are expected to be faced by the RM industry in the next decade.