Introduction
The great challenge faced by economies today is
to integrate environmental sustainability with economic growth and
welfare by decoupling environmental degradation from economic
growth. From climate change to economic crises, the world is not short of
challenges. To help alleviate some of the challenges we face, the global
community needs to adopt more sustainable consumption and production
patterns. This will help reduce the use of natural resources and carbon
dioxide emissions as we move closer towards low carbon lifestyles and
green economies. It is now time to move towards an
energy and resource efficient economy.
Sustainable consumption and production maximise
business' potential to transform environmental challenges into economic
opportunities and provide a better deal for consumers. The challenge
is to improve the overall environmental performance of products
throughout their life-cycle, to boost the demand for better products
and production technologies and to help consumers in making informed
choices.
Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) aims to do “more and better with less,” by reducing
resource use, degradation and pollution along the life cycle of goods
and services, while increasing the quality of life for all.
SCP is about promoting resource and energy efficiency and
sustainable infrastructure while offering opportunities such as creating
new markets and generating green and decent jobs, such as markets for
organic food, fair trade, sustainable housing, renewable energy,
sustainable transport and tourism. SCP is especially beneficial for
developing countries as it provides an opportunity for them to
“leapfrog” to more resource-efficient, environmentally sound and
competitive technologies, allowing them to bypass inefficient and
polluting phases of development.
One of SCP’s main goals is to ‘decouple’ economic growth
and environmental degradation by increasing the efficiency of resource
use in the production, distribution and use of products. SCP aims to
keep the energy, material and pollution intensity of all production and
consumption functions within the carrying capacities of natural
ecosystems.
SCP uses a “life-cycle perspective” as a means of
increasing the sustainable management of resources and achieving
resource efficiency in all stages of the value chain. SCP paves the way
to accelerating the transition to an eco-efficient economy, while
turning environmental and social challenges into business and employment
opportunities.
Definition
Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is about "the use of
services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a
better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and
toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over
the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the
needs of further generations"
(Oslo Symposium, Norway. 19 - 20 January 1994)
"Sustainable
production and consumption involves business, government, communities and
households contributing to environmental quality through the efficient
production and use of natural resources, the minimization of wastes, and the
optimization of products and services."
- Edwin G. Falkman, Waste
Management International. Sustainable Production
and Consumption: A Business Perspective. WBCSD, n.d.
"The
emphasis of sustainable production is on the supply side of the equation,
focusing on improving environmental performance in key economic sectors, such
as agriculture, energy, industry, tourism and transport. Sustainable
consumption addresses the demand side, looking at how the goods and services
required to meet basic needs and improve quality of life - such as food and
health, shelter, clothing, leisure and mobility - can be delivered in ways that
reduce the burden on the Earth's carrying capacity."
- Nick Robins and Sarah
Roberts, Changing Consumption and
Production Patterns: Unlocking Trade Opportunities. International Institute
for Environment and Development and UN Department of Policy
Coordination and Sustainable Development, 1997.
"Sustainable
consumption implies that the consumption of current generations as well as
future generations improves in quality. Such a concept of consumption requires
the optimalization of consumption subject to maintaining services and quality
of resources and the environment over time."
- Dr. Emil Salim, The challenge of
sustainable consumption as seen from the South. In Symposium:
Sustainable Consumption. Oslo, Norway; 19-20
January 1994.
Sustainable
consumption, therefore, is an umbrella term that brings together a number of key issues,
such as meeting needs, enhancing the quality of life, improving resource
efficiency, increasing the use of renewable energy sources, minimising waste,
taking a life cycle perspective and taking into account the equity dimension.
Integrating these component parts is the central question of how to provide the
same or better services to meet the basic requirements of life and the
aspirations for improvement for both current and future generations, while
continually reducing environmental damage and risks to human health. A key
issue is therefore the extent to which necessary improvements in environmental
quality can be achieved through the substitution of more efficient and less
polluting goods and services (patterns of consumption), rather than through
reductions in the volumes of goods and services consumed (levels of
consumption). Political reality in democratic societies is such that it will be
much easier to change consumption patterns than consumption volumes, although
both issues need to be addressed.
Underlying the
current debate on sustainable consumption is a growing awareness that reforms
in national economic policies are required to ensure that goods and services
reflect environmental costs and so stimulate more sustainable production and
consumption patterns. At the same time, countries are continuing to increase
their income and gross national product. It is possible to increase incomes
while reducing resource use. However, the risk remains that an increasing
volume of consumption will more than outweigh improvements in energy and
resource efficiencies. There will be occasions when opportunities for economic
growth conflict with moves towards sustainable consumption. All actors need to
be aware of such possible conflicts. If sustainable consumption is to be
achieved, then it will become increasingly necessary in such situations to put
sustainability first. This will not necessarily require economic sacrifices:
indeed welfare and employment may be increased.
Sustainable Consumption and Production Cycle
Concept
The concept of sustainable consumption and production is recognized in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation adopted in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). It was acknowledged that sustainable consumption and production forms one of the three overarching objectives of, and essential requirements for, sustainable development, together with poverty eradication and the management of natural resources in order to foster economic and social development. It was recognized that fundamental changes in the way societies produce and consume are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development. It called for all countries to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, with the developed countries taking the lead and with all countries benefiting from the process, taking into account the Rio principles, including, inter alia, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as set out in Principle 7 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. It also called for governments, relevant international organizations, the private sector and all major groups to play an active role in changing unsustainable consumption and production patterns.
The Marrakech Process*,
co-led by UN DESA and UNEP, was a global multi-stakeholder process to
support the elaboration of a 10-Year Framework of Programs (10YFP) on
sustainable consumption and production, as called for by the WSSD
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
The 10YFP on sustainable consumption and production patterns has been adopted at the Rio+20 Conference (paragraph 226), as contained in document A.CONF.216/5. It was highlighted that the programmes included in the 10YFP are voluntary.
UNEP has been requested to serve as the 10YFP Secretariat and to
establish and administer a Trust Fund to support SCP implementation in
developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
(A/C.2/67/L.45).
The UN General Assembly Second Committee has adopted the decision to
nominate ECOSOC as the interim reporting body, expected to be replaced
by the High Level Political Forum and decided to establish a 10-member
board consisting of two members of each UN regional group.
An Inter-Agency Coordination Group has been established among relevant
United Nations bodies, including UN DESA, UNIDO, UNCTAD, UNDP, FAO, ILO,
UN Habitat, UNICEF, UNESCO, ITC, UNOPS, UNU, UN Women, UNWFP, UNWTO, as
well as the regional entities and commissions. The group has two
co-chairs: UNEP, as the 10YFP Secretariat, and the second co-chair to be
selected by the members on a two-year rotational basis. UN DESA has
been invited to co-chair the group for the first 2-year cycle.
Terminology Associated with SCP Concept
Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals of a defined species that a given environment can support over the long term. The notion of limits is fundamental to the concept of carrying capacity. However, our limited understanding of complex, non-linear systems leads to uncertainty in calculating carrying capacity in relation to humans. Some argue that the concept is meaningless as free market conditions and technological innovation can extend limits indefinitely.
The steady state economy is a human economy characterized by constant population, capital stocks and rate of material/energy throughput such that there is sustainable equilibrium between human activities and the environment. While these elements are constant, "cultural capital" can change; thus a distinction is made between growth (quantitative) and development (qualitative).
Environmental utilization space or ecospace is the capacity of the environment to support human activities by regenerating renewable resources and absorbing waste. The boundaries of environmental utilization space are determined by the patterns and level of economic activity. A distributional element can be added by allocating ecospace at a national or per capita level, and is thus useful in illustrating present inequities.
Ecological footprint is the area of land and water required to support a defined economy or population at a specified standard of living. Industrialized economies are considered to require far more land than they have, thus, through trade, impacting on resources in other countries. Also known as 'appropriated carrying capacity', this concept also incorporates the distributional aspects of sustainable production and consumption.
Ecological rucksack is the total weight of material flow 'carried by' an item of consumption in the course of its life cycle. Like the ecological footprint, the ecological rucksack concept deals with displaced environmental impacts but has a more technical focus. It is concerned with reducing material intensity and resource inefficiency.
Eco-efficiency is the more efficient use of materials and energy in order to reduce economic costs and environmental impacts. This is widely considered a pragmatic approach, particularly among business, but it has been noted that improved unit efficiency does not necessarily lead to lower consumption levels. Economic output may rise with constant or reduced resource inputs.
MIPS (material intensity per service unit) is an indicator based on the material flow and the number of services or utilizations provided. Reducing the MIPS of a product is equivalent to increasing resource productivity.
Factor Four is the idea that resource productivity should be quadrupled so that wealth is doubled, and resource use is halved. The concept has been summed up as "doing more with less". It is argued that this would result in substantial macro-economic gains.
Factor Ten is the idea that per capita material flows caused by OECD countries should be reduced by a factor of ten. Globally, claim proponents, material turnover should be reduced by 50%, but because OECD countries are responsible for material flows five times as high as developing countries, and world population is inevitably increasing, the OECD has to set long-term targets well beyond the more conservative Factor Four target.
Natural capital is an extension of the economic notion of capital (manufactured means of production) to environmental 'goods and services'. It refers to a stock (e.g., a forest) which produces a flow of goods (e.g., new trees) and services (e.g., carbon sequestration, erosion control, habitat). Natural capital can be divided into renewable and non-renewable; the level of flow of non-renewable resources (e.g. fossil fuels) is determined politically.
Natural resource accounting and green GDP are alternative systems of national accounting and performance measures, which incorporate ecological and human welfare considerations. They are a way of better understanding the implications of economic activity for environmental integrity and human well-being. However, placing a monetary value on pollution and resource extraction is controversial and presents methodological difficulties.
Environmental debt is the cost of restoring previous environmental damage as well as the cost of recurring restoration measures. Unless measures are taken to alleviate environmental degradation, environmental debt continues to rise and the burden is transferred to future generations. However, some environmental damage such as species extinction is not restorable, and therefore cannot be included in the environmental debt.
Industrial ecology uses the metaphor of metabolism to analyze production and consumption by industry, government, organizations and consumers, and the interactions between them. It involves tracking energy and material flows through industrial systems, e.g. a plant, region, or national or global economy.
Inter-generational equity is the principle of equity between people alive today and future generations. The implication is that unsustainable production and consumption by today's society will degrade the ecological, social, and economic basis for tomorrow's society, whereas sustainability involves ensuring that future generations will have the means to achieve a quality of life equal to or better than today's.
Intra-generational equity is the principle of equity between different groups of people alive today. Similarly to inter-generational equity, intra-generational equity implies that consumption and production in one community should not undermine the ecological, social, and economic basis for other communities to maintain or improve their quality of life.
Note :
Principle 7 : Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992
States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem.
In view of the different contributions to global environmental
degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities.
*For further reading on The Marrakech Process please refer to : http://www.unep.org/sun/
Source :
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development
- http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Sustainable_development_-_consumption_and_production
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