Sustainable consumption and production

Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is at the core of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically addressed by SDG 12. This goal aims to "ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns," acting as a cross-cutting theme that feeds into other SDGs such as those related to climate change, poverty, health, and sustainable cities.

SCP involves using services and products in a way that minimizes environmental damage, preserves natural resources, and promotes social equity. The purpose is to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, which means pursuing economic development in a way that can be sustained by the planet over the long term. SCP requires changes at all levels of society, from individuals to businesses to governments.

At the individual level, SCP implies making lifestyle choices that reduce environmental impact. This might include reducing, reusing, and recycling waste, choosing products with less packaging, and opting for more sustainable forms of transport like cycling or public transport.

For businesses, SCP entails adopting sustainable business models and practices. This could include improving resource efficiency, investing in renewable energy, designing products that are durable and recyclable, and ensuring fair labor practices.

At the government level, SCP involves implementing policies that support sustainable business practices and incentivize sustainable consumer behavior. This might involve regulations to reduce pollution, subsidies for renewable energy, and campaigns to raise awareness about sustainable consumption.

SCP also plays a role in several other SDGs. For example, sustainable production practices can help mitigate climate change (SDG 13) by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, by reducing the pressure on natural resources, SCP supports the goals related to life below water (SDG 14) and life on land (SDG 15).

While progress has been made in certain areas, challenges remain in achieving the shift towards SCP. These include existing patterns of overconsumption, limited awareness about the impacts of consumption, and the need for technological innovation to enable more sustainable production.

This chapter aligns with Goals 3 and 12 by emphasizing the development of sustainable materials and bio-inks, as well as 3D printing applications in medicine, food, and environmental science.
In this episode of the "World We Want" podcast, Márcia Balisciano and David Emmett, from the Biodiversity Partnerships team at the Hempel Foundation, engage in a deep conversation. They discuss the importance of biodiversity conservation, and how our efforts toward preserving wildlife species should not ignore the human communities that surround and rely on them.
This chapter advances UN SDG goal 7 and 13 by supporting clean, affordable energy for transition, focusing on affordability and impacts on energy transition and climate change.
This chapter aligns with goals 6 and 9 by highlighting improved sustainability practices in terms of preparation, lifecycle, and application of bionanocomposites, including their application in wastewater remediation, biomedicine, and agriculture.
Elsevier,

Manzoor Qadir, Christopher A. Scott, Trade-offs of wastewater irrigation, Editor(s): Michael J. Goss, Margaret Oliver, Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment (Second Edition), Academic Press, 2023, Pages 277-287, ISBN 9780323951333, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822974-3.00018-5.

This chapter aligns with Goal 11 and 6 by analysing the use of wastewater for irrigation, balancing positive outcomes and trade-offs. There is a large variation between developed and developing countries as well as among countries within different economic groups regarding safe management of wastewater.
The short comment supports SDGs 12 and 13 and advocates the concept of LIFE that focusses on an individual's responsibility to utilise resources mindfully and contribute their share to saving the planet. This concept was introduced by the Indian government at COP 26
This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 and 13 by providing an overview and introduction to NETs
This chapter advances UN SDG goals 12 and 13 by providing a historical perspective of the warming effect of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, describes our growing understanding of climate change, the parallel development of Earth-system modeling capabilities, the Paris Agreement and the need to transition to nonfossil energy and the decarbonization of the global economy
This article describes the effects of climate and environmental change on viticulture in heroic & steep slope settings
Elsevier, Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management, Volume 11, June 2023
World Intellectual Property Day 2024 is highlighting the critical importance of intellectual property (IP) in catalyzing the human innovation and creativity needed for achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper integrates innovation research with intellectual property law to explore how such a systemic collaboration for sustainable innovation should be characterised, and how the intellectual property rights (IPR) system could be shaped to support it. The paper highlights that reaching sustainability objectives depends on system-level innovations; system-level innovation for sustainability calls for new forms of collaboration; current IPR regime limits systemic collaborations for sustainable innovations and new IPR system and tools are needed to facilitate systemic collaboration.

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