This evidence-based survey presents a holistic vision of options for a sustainable future by going beyond efficient and clean production to the inclusion of material efficiency and the reduction of demand. Beginning with an all-encompassing examination of the uses of the five most important materials—steel, aluminum, cement, plastic, and paper—this exploration delves into the entire lifecycle of these materials, from smelting and goods manufacture to final recycling. Through evidence drawn from this analysis and real-world commercial enterprises, the study submits creative solutions for achieving manufacturing efficiencies and the same functionality or services using less material, and identifies potential economic outcomes from these scenarios.

Julian M. Allwood is a reader in engineering at the University of Cambridge, a fellow of Gonville and Caius College at the university, and a head of the college’s Low Carbon Materials Processing research group. He is a recipient of an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council leadership fellowship, which funds the WellMet2050 project, and a vice chairman of the International Academy of Production Engineering. He is a joint editor in chief of the Journal of Materials Processing Technology and a lead author for the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Jonathan M. Cullen is a research associate in the Low Carbon Material Processing group at the University of Cambridge and a research fellow at the university's Fitzwilliam College. He graduated from the university’s MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development Program and received a PhD on the engineering fundamentals of energy efficiency from the University of Cambridge.