<p>Mineral raw materials are essential components of our everyday life and basic pillars of the construction industry. In Austria the average demand for raw materials per person is around 700 tons over the course of a&#xa0;person’s life. The total annual demand is about 100 million tons. These raw materials are indispensable for infrastructure, residential construction, and industry, and they are also of great importance as an economic factor, especially in rural regions. Despite the existence of sufficient deposits, the industry is facing challenges, such as complex licensing procedures and conflicts of use with settlement, transport, and nature conservation interests. The “Master Plan Raw Materials 2030” is intended to ensure long-term security of supply. An increase in the permissible total truck weight by 10% could save 900,000 trips per year and significant amounts of CO₂ and diesel—an efficient contribution to environmental and climate protection. In addition, circular economy plays a&#xa0;central role: around 90% of construction and demolition waste is recycled. However, with the approximately 9.5&#xa0;million tons of recycled building materials produced per year, only around 10% of the annual raw material demand can be met. The industry has always relied on environmentally friendly processes and is strengthening this commitment today through targeted renaturation and the use of low-emission technologies. Surprisingly for many, the extraction of raw materials by changing the natural area has such positive consequences for animals and plants. For example, rugged and steep mining walls in stone quarries and barren areas in the sand and gravel pits are an important habitat that is hardly found in the wild anymore. The companies have been voluntarily implementing various nature and species conservation projects for many years. The social image and acceptance are also being actively improved—for example through the awareness campaign “stone makes our life fine”.</p>