Sustainable consumption and production
Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) refers to the use of services and related products, which respond to the basic needs and bring 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 the future generations.
The SCP concept is about doing more and better with less; decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation; increasing resource efficiency; and promoting sustainable lifestyles. It makes an important contribution to poverty alleviation and the transition towards low-carbon and green economies. It requires building cooperation among different stakeholders as well as across sectors in all countries.
Over the past 30 years, economic development has managed to lift millions out of poverty and expand the number of countries reaching middle-income status. However, it has also been accompanied by a wide array of negative environmental and social impacts, which now threaten to undermine, or even reverse, progress that has been achieved to date.
We are currently consuming more resources than ever, exceeding the capacity of our planet for recovery. In the meantime, waste and pollution are growing, and the gap between rich and poor is getting wider. Health, education, equity and empowerment are all adversely affected. The need for a concerted, cooperative effort to overcome these challenges requires a systemic approach and partnership between governments, international and regional organisations, businesses and industries, consumers, researchers, scientists, the media and others.
Sustainable consumption and production principles
Sustainable consumption and production concept is built around three main objectives:
- Decoupling environmental degradation from economic growth. This is about doing more and better with less, and about increasing net welfare gains from economic activities by reducing resource use, degradation and pollution throughout the whole life cycle while improving quality of life. More is delivered in terms of goods and services, with less impact in terms of resource use, environmental degradation, waste and pollution.
- Applying life cycle thinking. This is about increasing the sustainable management of resources and achieving resource efficiency during both the production and consumption phases of the life cycle, including resource extraction, the production of intermediate inputs, distribution, marketing, use, waste disposal and the reuse of products and services.
- Providing opportunities for the developing countries and “leapfrogging”. The SCP concept contributes to poverty eradication and to the achievement of the UN SDGs. For the developing countries, SCP offers opportunities such as the creation of new markets, green and decent jobs, as well as more efficient welfare-generating natural resources management. It is an opportunity to “leapfrog” to more resource efficient, environmentally sound and competitive technologies, bypassing the inefficient, polluting, and ultimately costly phases of development followed in the past by most developed countries.
