Citation: Randebrock, I.; Marinova, S.; Bach, V.; Arendt, R.; Finkbeiner, M. Adapting the ESSENZ Method to Assess the Criticality of Construction Materials: Case Study of Herne, Germany. Resources 2023, 12, 92. https://doi.org/10.3390/ resources12080092 Academic Editor: Benjamin McLellan Received: 11 May 2023 Revised: 27 June 2023 Accepted: 19 July 2023 Published: 2 August 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). resources Article Adapting the ESSENZ Method to Assess the Criticality of Construction Materials: Case Study of Herne, Germany Inka Randebrock, Sylvia Marinova *, Vanessa Bach , Rosalie Arendt and Matthias Finkbeiner Institute of Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany * Correspondence: s.marinova@tu-berlin.de; Tel.: +49-3031-419-003-667 Abstract: The steady increase in the world’s population combined with the globally growing need for living space by each individual is leading to an ever-faster consumption of limited resources by the construction industry, particularly sand and gravel. While a consensus exists regarding the sand and gravel resource availability on a global level for long-term supply, it is important to note that local supply shortages may still occur. Thus, this study aims to identify critical aspects of both locally and globally traded construction materials by adapting the ESSENZ method, which evaluates the criticality of globally traded abiotic resources. For the specific case of the local availability of construction materials, a new indicator is introduced: The Surface Squared Driven Indicator (SSDI), which is adapted to the specific conditions of the German market. The modified ESSENZ method is applied in a case study of materials needed for maintaining the material stock of the city of Herne, Germany. The results indicate that raw materials for concrete production in Germany, such as aggregates, are expected to be sufficient in the long term, but silica sand for glass production is only guaranteed for a few decades. Concrete poses the highest supply risk due to its high material demand, with steel and concrete dominating the environmental impacts. Limitations include data availability and the exclusion of certain materials. The adapted ESSENZ method allows for the comparison of criticality results for materials traded globally and locally, offering valuable insights for decision-makers seeking to promote sustainable construction practices. Keywords: supply risk; criticality; construction; ESSENZ; concrete; glass 1. Introduction Global resource use has increased in recent decades [1]. This development can be ob- served in many sectors, especially in the construction industry, as buildings are responsible for around 65% of the world’s material flows [1], 35% of the world’s energy flows and 38% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions [2]. The two most commonly used building materials in the EU are concrete, i.e., a mixture of different-sized mineral rocks (sand, gravel, natural stone, lime, clay, gypsum and anhydrite), and glass made from silica sand, lime, alt, dolomite and feldspar. Together they account for almost 90% of the raw materials used in construction [3]. In Germany, the per capita annual usage amounts to 137 million tons of concrete and 9 tons of glass [4]. In the construction industry, bulk materials are often traded locally, mainly to reduce transport costs. While sand and gravel for concrete and glass production are rather cheap to purchase [5], their transport costs contribute considerably to their procurement expenses, doubling the gravel price, on average, for every 40 transport kilometers traveled [6]. Short delivery distances are particularly crucial for ready-mixed concrete, as the concrete must be discharged from the mixer truck within a maximum of 90 minutes [7]. However, ensuring short transport routes is only feasible when raw materials are locally available. In regions where distribution is uneven, certain areas may necessitate long-distance transportation of Resources 2023, 12, 92. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources12080092 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/resources