SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production

On the eve of the (virtual) United Nations 75th anniversary event and the Global Goals Week authors presented this year's global civil society report Spotlight on Sustainable Development.

 

If you missed the virtual launching event you can watch the recording here.

Find the report & further information here.

 

Global Civil Society Report on the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs

New York, 18 September 

The COVID-19 crisis and the worldwide measures to tackle it have deeply affected communities, societies and economies around the globe. The implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been put at high risk in many countries. COVID-19 is a global wake-up call for enhanced international cooperation and solidarity.

But calls for “building back better” by just pushing the reset button will not change the game. We need structural changes [...]

Global civil society report assesses structural obstacles and institutional gaps in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda

New York, 8 July 2019: “The world is off-track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Most governments have failed to turn the transformational vision of the 2030 Agenda into real transformational policies. Even worse, xenophobia and authoritarianism are on the rise in a growing number of countries.”

“The implementation of the 2030 Agenda is not just a matter of better policies. It requires more holistic and more sweeping shifts in how power is vested, including through institutional and governance [...]

By Larissa Copello de Souza, Zero Waste Europe

The way we currently produce and consume plastics is not sustainable. The massive production and consumption of plastics, especially single use plastic products, have contributed greatly to the plastic pollution crisis. Plastic pollution impacts our ecosystems, endangers animal lives and also threatens human health. There is just too much plastic to be managed, and recycling itself is not enough. Plastic pollution is a multidimensional problem that requires a holistic approach. Tackling this [...]

By Marisa Macari, Alejandro Calvillo and Fiorella Espinosa, El Poder del Consumidor

The consumption of ultra-processed food and drink products (UPPs) has quickly transformed our food systems. [fn] Monteiro et al. (2013). [/fn] UPPs are high in added sugar, salt, saturated and trans-fat and additives and have little nutritional value. They are hyperpalatable, convenient, ubiquitous, heavily marketed and highly profitable for food and beverage corporations. The consumption of these foods is replacing the consumption of unprocessed/minimally processed foods which has [...]

Civil Society activists critique first week of deliberations at High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

New York City, 14 July 2017: With the first week of deliberations at the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development coming to a close this Friday at the UN in New York, civil society activists are criticizing a piecemeal approach to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Especially worrisome to activists is a growing gap between aspirational goals and a lack of proper and comprehensive means of implementation.

On many occasions – during side-events as well [...]

Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017

New York, 10 July 2017: A global coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions presents today the report Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017. It is published on the opening day of the High Level Political Forum at the United Nations in New York. The report provides the most comprehensive independent assessment of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

By Volker Lehmann and Lennart Inklaar, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung New York Office

While the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs recognize the need to use natural resources in a sustainable manner, [fn]A/RES/70/1, Preamble, which makes reference to “all natural resources – from air to land, from rivers, lakes and aquifers to oceans and seas” (para 9), and SDG 12.2: “By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.” [/fn] there is no specific reference to the use of non-renewable resources [...]

By Jens Martens and Karolin Seitz, Global Policy Forum

The transformation of our world, as proclaimed in the title of the 2030 Agenda, requires fundamental changes in the way that our societies produce and consume goods and services. The private sector has a particular role to play in this regard. But far too often there is a considerable gap between the social and environmental commitments companies make and the actual effects of their activities on people and the environment. At [...]

By Anita Pleumarom (Tourism Investigation and Monitoring Team) and Chee Yoke Ling (Third World Network)

Despite pronouncements of tourism being a positive force for economic development and poverty eradication, tourism is inept at meeting the challenge of implementing the SDGs. Like no other industry, tourism promotes – and glamorizes – a hyper-mobile and hyper-consumeristic lifestyle, rendering sustainability elusive. In fact, tourism development is fraught with negatives including inequality, social and cultural erosion, environmental degradation and climate pollution.

Recent research is [...]