To ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) is about Responsible Consumption and Production. The official wording of SDG 12 is: “To ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”. Worldwide consumption and production – a driving force of the global economy – rest on the use of the natural environment and resources in a way that continues to have destructive impacts on the planet.

Economic and social progress over the last century has been accompanied by environmental degradation that is endangering the very systems on which our future development – indeed, our very survival – depends. Our planet has provided us with an abundance of natural resources, but we have not utilized them responsibly and currently consume far beyond what our planet can provide. We must learn how to use and produce in sustainable ways that will reverse the harm that we have inflicted on the planet.

Sustainable consumption and production is about doing more and better with less. It is also about decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, increasing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable lifestyles. Sustainable consumption and production can also contribute substantially to poverty alleviation and the transition towards low-carbon and green economies.

According to latest projections, the global population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050. The equivalent of almost three planets could be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles.

Less than 3 per cent of the world’s water is fresh (drinkable), of which 2.5 per cent is frozen in the Antarctica, Arctic and glaciers. Humanity must therefore rely on 0.5 per cent for all of man’s ecosystem’s and freshwater needs.
Humankind is polluting water in rivers and lakes faster than nature can recycle and purify.
More than 1 billion people still do not have access to fresh water.
Excessive use of water contributes to the global water stress.
Water is free from nature, but the infrastructure needed to deliver it is expensive.
Water use has been increasing worldwide by about 1per cent per year since the 1980s.
Agriculture (including irrigation, livestock and aquaculture) is by far the largest water consumer, accounting for 69 per cent of annual water withdrawals globally. Industry (including power generation) accounts for 19 per cent and households for 12 per cent.
Over 2 billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress.
Over the period 1995-2015, floods accounted for 43 per cent of all documented natural disasters, affecting 2.3 billion people, killing 157,000 more and causing US$662 billion in damage.
Three out of ten people (2.1 billion people, or 29 per cent of the global population) did not use a safely managed drinking water service in 2015, whereas 844 million people still lacked even a basic drinking water service.

Food

Each year, an estimated 1/3 of all food produced – equivalent to 1.3 billion tons worth around $1 trillion – ends up rotting in the bins of consumers and retailers, or spoiling due to poor transportation and harvesting practices.
Land degradation, declining soil fertility, unsustainable water use, overfishing and marine environment degradation are all lessening the ability of the natural resource base to supply food.
The food sector accounts for around 30 per cent of the world’s total energy consumption and accounts for around 22 per cent of total Greenhouse Gas emissions.

Energy

If people worldwide switched to energy efficient lightbulbs, the world would save US$120 billion annually.
Despite technological advances that have promoted energy efficiency gains, energy use in OECD countries will continue to grow another 35 per cent by 2020. Commercial and residential energy use is the second most rapidly growing area of global energy use after transport.
Households consume 29 per cent of global energy and consequently contribute to 21 per cent of resultant CO2 emissions.

Target 12.1 Implement the 10-years sustainable consumption and production framework

Implement the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries.

Target 12.2 Sustainable management and use of natural resources

By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

Target 12.3 Halve global per capita food waste

By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.

Target 12.4 Responsible management of chemicals and waste

By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

Target 12.5 Substantially reduce waste generation

By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.

Target 12.6 Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and sustainability reporting

Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle.

Target 12.7 Promote sustainable public procurement practices

Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities.

Target 12.8 Promote universal understanding of sustainable lifestyles

By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.

Target 12.A Support developing countries’ scientific and technological capacity for sustainable consumption and production

Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production.

Target 12.B Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable tourism

Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.

Target 12.C Remove market distortions that encourage wasteful consumption

Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities.

Challenge: every year about one third of all food produced – equivalent to 1.3 billion tones – is wasted while 1 billion people remain undernourished and another 1 billion go to bed hungry;
Solution: reduce the food wasted by producers, retailers and consumers.

Challenge: households consume 29% of global energy contributing to 21% of CO2 emissions;
Solution: switch to energy efficient lightning to save $ 120 billion every year and prevent 16 billion tons of carbon emissions over the next 25 years.

Challenge: the world’s fresh water supply such as rivers and lakes are polluted at much faster rate than nature can recycle and purify;
Solution: reduce the release of chemicals and waste into the air, water and soil.

What can we do to help achieving SDG 12? Economic and social progress over the last century has been accompanied by environmental degradation that is endangering the very systems on which our future development and very survival depend. It’s in businesses’ interest to find new solutions that enable sustainable consumption and production patterns. A better understanding of environmental and social impacts of products and services is needed, both of product life cycles and how these are affected by use within lifestyles. Innovation and design solutions can both enable and inspire individuals to lead more sustainable life-styles, reducing impacts and improving well-being. There are two main ways to help: 1. Reducing your waste and 2. Being thoughtful about what you buy and choosing a sustainable option when-ever possible.

What can I do?

…ensure you don’t throw away food.
…reduce your consumption of plastic – one of the main pollutants of the ocean.
…carrying a reusable bag, refusing to use plastic straws.
…recycling plastic bottles are good ways to do your part every day.
…making informed purchases: if you can buy from sustainable and local sources you can make a difference as well as exercising pressure on businesses to adopt sustainable practices.

These are only few suggestions!