REALISING SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION IN EUROPE

The topic of sustainable consumption and production is rising to the top of many political agendas. However there remain many unanswered questions, such as how to best promote sustainable lifestyles, how to involve the retail sector, and how to extend options for sustainable product and service design, among many others. Discussing how Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) can become a reality was the focus of the international conference “Time for Action – Towards Sustainable Consumption and Production in Europe” held on 27-28 September, 2007, in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Some 100 experts from the government, research, NGO and business communities gathered to exchange information, experiences and provide suggestions on different approaches to SCP with a particular focus on informing the EU Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production.

Sharing progress and ideas on SCP

Conference participants identified three top priority recommendations for the EU Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production. First the plan should identify clear sustainability targets and elaborate concrete steps to internalise environmental costs into prices in addition to recommending an EU Directive on green public procurement. Discussions focused around the three consumption areas of housing, food and drink, and mobility which have been identified as having the greatest lifecycle environmental impacts. Second, it was recommended that priority action be taken at the national level to internalize environmental costs through environmental economic reform, to identify “beacons” of sustainable living and to develop a long-term vision of sustainable consumption and production. Finally, participants recommended that the United Nations process to develop a 10-year framework of programmes on SCP - the so-called Marrakech process - should encourage national governments to integrate SCP objectives into ministries beyond environment. Further the Marrakech process should develop communications strategies and campaigns with national organisations to encourage action among consumers and to engage financial institutions.

Background

The conference was organised by the European Environment Agency, the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning of the Republic of Slovenia and the CSCP.