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.

Elsevier,

Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa, Madhu Puttegowda, Jyotishkumar Parameswaranpillai, Suchart Siengchin, Togay Ozbakkaloglu, Hao Wang, Chapter 1 - Introduction to plant fibers and their composites, Editor(s): Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa, Jyotishkumar Parameswaranpillai, Suchart Siengchin, Togay Ozbakkaloglu, Hao Wang, In The Textile Institute Book Series, Plant Fibers, their Composites, and Applications, Woodhead Publishing, 2022, Pages 1-24, ISBN 9780128245286, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-824528-6.00006-0.

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns
The study presents a new approach to analyzing the relations between sustainability indicators, foods, and macronutrients and establishes that proteins, irrespective of the source of protein, are driving dietary environmental and economic impacts.
Elsevier,

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 115, 1 April 2022

The results in this paper have implications for consumers and policy makers, as well as other food system actors. Consumers following individual strategies can make important contributions towards more sustainable food systems. To facilitate this shift, changes in food environments are needed and a coordinated action plan with coherent policies that targets a thorough redesign of the food system, including several of the proposed strategies, is needed to achieve large systemic effects. This could encompass suitable education measures, incentives, as well as rules for production, processing, retail, gastronomy, transport, and consumption.
The goal of global food security will be achieved only by improving the qualitative and quantitative traits of crops through exploitation of metabolic pathways involving advanced analytical tools and technologies.

On April 22 every year, we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement with Earth Day. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, this day has marked global collaboration and awareness of the need to fight for a cleaner and healthier Earth. It all began in 1962 when Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring hit the New York’s bestseller list selling over 500,000 copies in 24 countries.

Elsevier, Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Volume 13, March 2022
Telecommuting has become a dominant professional experience for many Canadian business and workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Telecommuting has several benefits that are separate from COVID-19. Two prevalent changes have been in regard to telecommuting and online food buying habits, both of which impact social wellbeing as a dimension of social sustainability. We discuss two exploratory surveys on the perception of telecommuting and food e-commerce.
World Water Day is on 22 March every year. This year’s theme is ‘groundwater’ and draws attention to the hidden water resource that has always been critically important but not fully recognized in sustainable development policymaking. To raise awareness on sustaining groundwater, Elsevier presents a curated list of publicly available journal articles and book chapters. At Elsevier, we are advancing #SDG6 research and ensuring that #groundwater is sustainably explored, analyzed, and monitored
An Article in support of SDG 2 and 12, providing a comprehensive picture of consumption of total animal-source foods, unprocessed red meat, processed meat, seafood, egg, milk, cheese, and yoghurt consumption in 185 countries among children and adults.
Elsevier,

Plastic Pollution and Marine Conservation: Approaches to Protect Biodiversity and Marine Life, Volume 1, 1 January 2022

This chapter aligns with Goal 14: Life Below Water and Goal 12: Responsible Consumption by providing an overview of marine plastic waste and policy options to promote a circular plastic economy.
This papers demonstrates how simple substitutions can be made in individuals’ diets to substantially reduce their carbon and water scarcity footprints without sacrificing dietary quality. Such substitutions may be easier to promote than complex dietary patterns.

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