The Future of Responsible Consumption and Production: Zero Waste

Decoupling economic growth from resource use is one of the most critical and complex challenges facing humanity today. Doing so effectively will require policies that create a conducive environment for such change, social and physical infrastructure and markets, and a profound transformation of business practices along global value chains.

Sustainable consumption and production involve using resources efficiently, taking account of ecosystem services that are key to making a living, and reducing the impact of dangerous chemicals. This not only means environmental benefits but also social and economic benefits such as increased competitiveness, business sector development in a global market, increased employment and improved health, and consequently reduced poverty. Sustainable consumption and production patterns are therefore a prerequisite for the transition to a green economy and sustainable development.

The Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved unless we address the ever-growing problem of waste. Current linear economy model fa­vours a ‘take-make-and-dispose’ model of production and consumption, which is no longer possible. We need a fundamental change which will focus not on improving waste management but preventing the generation of waste altogether.

Zero waste  approaches:

-eliminate rather than deal with managing waste
-reduce the environmental impact associated with waste disposal
-reinvent the current one-way industrial system into a circular system modeled on nature (bio-mimicry)
-drive innovation in product design (eco-design and cradle-to-cradle approach)
-help communities achieve a local economy that sustains good jobs and provides some self-sufficiency

Fully adopting this philosophy requires profound socioeconomic changes and fundamentally different approach not only to resources and production but also to consumption, which is especially hard in today’s society.

In addition to encouraging customers to reduce the amount of packaging they use, we need to teach consumers to buy exactly what they need, without promotional offers such as “buy one, get one free”, “three for the price of two” and other marketing techniques used to lure customers into buying more than they need.

Access to basic needs locally is not only beneficial for the local economy, since money stays within the community, but it also reduces the carbon footprint  since it doesn’t have to travel long distances. It allows for diversified land use instead of monocultures, which is much better for the land and its ecosystems. All this helps build a local economy that sustains good jobs, good relationships that grow when people buy from people they know and a more self-sufficient community.

Sustainable consumption and production is a cross-cutting issue that complements other goals. The transition to sustainable consumption and production patterns requires a range of tools and measures at various levels that must be implemented by various actors.

Education is an important cornerstone. Through education, people can acquire the values, knowledge and skills to enable them to contribute to sustainable development. Another cornerstone is information. Clear and easily accessible information in the form of environmental labelling, consumer information services, product information in shops and online information, etc. enables consumers and other actors to make responsible and sustainable choices of products and services, and to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.

We must all commit ourselves to fostering ecosystem-based solutions to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, so that the ecosystem’s regenerative capacity is not exceeded. We also need to commit ourselves to promoting sustainable land use, combining urban extensions with adequate densities and compactness to prevent and contain urban sprawl, as well as preventing unnecessary land-use change and the loss of productive land and fragile and important ecosystems.

Finally, we all need to encourage the redesign of resource life cycles so that all materials are reused, with no waste left to be sent to landfills. Zero-waste strategy is all about creating a low-carbon, resource efficient, resilient and socially inclusive economy that respects the diversity of ecosystems and promotes biodiversity, which is reflected in all seventeen of the Sustainable Development Goals. #ZeroWaste #SustainableConsumption #SDG12 #SustainableProduction