SDG 12: Sustainable Development
By Georgi Stanev
The Context
The twelfth sustainable development goal is concerned with Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. As such it covers a broad range of topics that can be boiled down to promoting a greater efficiency in the utilization of resources and energy. Those efficiency gains would then facilitate access to services, decent green jobs and an overall improvement of the quality of life for all (1). Through meeting this goal our society would be able to “do more and better with less” (2).
Therefore, we need to address our consumption patterns, especially in industrialized countries, and we need to engage not only the producers & distributors making up the supply chain, but put a great emphasis on the end consumers as well. Having established the scope of SDG 12, below are the 11 targets set within it:
12.1 — Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programs on sustainable consumption and production (10YFP), all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries
12.2 — By 2030, achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
12.3 — By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and reduce food losses along production and supply chains including post-harvest losses
12.4 — By 2020, achieve 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 to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
12.5 — By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse
12.6 — Encourage companies, especially large and trans-national companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
12.7 — Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable in accordance with national policies and priorities
12.8 — By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
12.9 — Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacities to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production
12.10 — Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism which creates jobs, promotes local culture and products
12.11 — 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
The Challenge
The main challenge arises from socioeconomic and demographic changes around the globe, which result in more people joining the middle class, a trend which is not expected to slow over the next couple of decades (2). While this fact can and should be celebrated as an overwhelming positive for individuals, it will prove a massive strain on our natural resources. If the global population exceeds 9 billion people by 2050, as is currently predicted, we will have to face the massive precipice of our planet’s ecological limits. That precipice is so massive, in fact, that we would not be able to continue sustaining our established lifestyle and consumption practices (3). In the past, technological breakthroughs in our production methodologies and supply chain have been enough to meet the ever increasing demand. But we have reached a point where that will no longer be enough.
This dangerous trend, driven by our ever increasing consumer culture has been tracked by the United Nations for years, and has been visualized in ‘Material Footprint per Capital’ figure below (4). Whilst there is no specific target figure for our material footprint, one thing is for certain- our initial goal should be to reduce the yearly increase before settling on a sustainable number.
A further challenge arises when considering the inequalities between the West and developing nations across Africa and South America. For example, the European Union has passed legislation in order to address the 11 targets of SDG 12 (5), but a number of developing nations still have fossil fuel subsidies in place, ranging from 2–15% of their GDP as of 2015 (6).
Fossil fuels represent an engine for economic growth, and the west has to the come to terms with the morality of imposing demands that would disenfranchise people in the developing world and limit their access to energy and electricity.
Progress made and next steps
And it must be said that western nations, and the EU in specific, have made great progress in supporting African and Asian developing nations towards achieving an inclusive economic system that is firmly based on sustainable consumptions and production. The ‘Swtich2Green’ initiative has been the flagship project that aims to aid the private sector transition towards environmentally friendly business practices while reducing poverty (7).
Speaking of the private sector, we have also been observing companies start to take an increasing activist role when it comes to consumptions patterns. Patagonia is a great example of this with their ‘Buy Less, Demand More’ campaign that raises awareness of the impact that the clothing industry as a whole has on the climate crisis- it contributes to 10% of all pollution (8). The campaign goes further by educating the end-customer on the importance of organic raw materials and traceable, fair trade production.
And that could be the key towards achieving SDG 12. For all the policy and legislation that governments pass, it all comes down to you- the individual. How will you use your purchasing power as a consumer? Will you try and make your consumption patterns sustainable?
SDG 12 is a long term goal that will only be achieved if we take responsibility as individuals today, tomorrow and every day after that.
References
1. Tracker, SDG. Responsible Consumption and Production. [Online] https://sdg-tracker.org/sustainable-consumption-production.
2. Compass, SDG. SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. [Online] https://sdgcompass.org/sdgs/sdg-12/.
3. Nations, United. SDG 12. [Online] https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12.
4. Division, United Nations Statistics. Material footprint per capita, by type of raw material (tonnes). [Online] 02 12, 2018. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/database/.
5. Commission, The European. [Online] https://ec.europa.eu/sustainable-development/goal12_en#target-12-5.
6. Division, United Nations Statistics. Fossil-fuel pre-tax subsidies (consumption and production) as a proportion of total GDP (%). [Online] 10 2018, 16. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/database/.
7. Switch2Green. SWITCH Africa Green. [Online] http://www.switchtogreen.eu/?page_id=2412.
8. [Online] https://www.patagonia.com/buy-less-demand-more/.
9. India, United Nations. SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption And Production. [Online] https://in.one.un.org/page/sustainable-development-goals/sdg-12/.
