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The Alliance of Northern People for Environment and Development (ANPED) is a network of environment, development, solidarity, women's and other citizen's organizations in Europe and North America. The key aims of ANPED is to link activities, enhance mutua l learning and promote debates on environment, sustainable development, and participatory democracy with a focus on the North. Changes towards sustainable consumption and production patterns is now the leading working theme of ANPED. The asset of ANPED i s substantial participation of groups from Central and Eastern Europe as well as composition out of diversity of groups working on different themes (environment, solidarity, development, peace, women, energy) and different levels of work, from community b ased organizations to national NGO platforms for sustainable development.
In 1992 ANPED members established a working group on changing consumption and production patterns (ANPED WG CAP). The aim of the working group is to link practical groundwork initiatives in sustainability, to exchange and spread knowledge and convincing a lternatives and to build up movement for sustainable consumption and production patterns, and to promote dialogue on these issue both within ANPED as well as with other organizations and institutions. At their annual meeting in 1994 the members decided to focus thematic work on greening the industry, impacts of commercial advertising and women and sustainable consumption.
As of October 1993 this working group has a permanent secretariat in Amsterdam, currently hosted by Netherlands Commitee for IUCN. The secretariat is publishing an interactive bi-monthly newsletter for changing consumption and production patterns, 'CAP', 'Groundwork Series' with inspiring articles, relevant statements, policy analysis and workshop reports as well as ANPED quarterly, 'Northern Lights'. The secretariat is also involved in coordinating input and lobbying at international meetings (CSD, Envir onment for Europe, Oslo process), faciliates information exchange with relevant institutions (OECD, European Commission, etc.) other organizations and NGO networks, carries out fundraising for substantive work, and organizes general and thematic meetings of the working group.
The meetings organized so far: NGO strategy meetings on sustainable consumption, together with WISE, Amsterdam, March 1994; 'Greening the Industry', with NC-IUCN, 30 September, 1994, Madrid; On Spanish NGO work for changing consumption and production patt erns, 'Stories from the Ground', Madrid 1 October, 1994; workshop on women, commercial advertising and sustainable consumption, together with 'Women of Europe for Our Common Future', 14 October, 1994, Vienna; NGO Strategy Roundtable on Assesssment of NGO initiatives for Sustainable Consumption and Production, 10 - 11 December, 1994, Amsterdam; Panel on Sustainable Consumption and Production, at CSD, 20 April, 1995, New York; On Challenges and Obstacles in Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production i n Central and Eastern Europe, Sofia, 23 October, 1995; On Instruments for Transition to Sustainable Consumption and Production, together with Greanpeace, Sofia, 23 October, 1995; On Environment, Employment and Ecotax, together with Aktie Strohalm, Sofia 2 4 October, 1995.
The current contact points of the working group are: Sacha Kranendonk, Wuppertal Institute, Corne van Dooren and Monique Wijn, Alternative Consumer Association, Netherlands; Angela Mawle, (formerly with) Women's Environmental Network, UK, Etienne Vernet, ECOROPA, France; Tord Bjork, Miljoforbundet, Sweden; Sylvia Lorek, Forum on Environment and Development, Germany; Anna Syomina, Mama '86, Ukraine, Darek Szwed, Green Federation Krakow; Poland; Steve Graham, Aedenat, Spain; Sae Kubo, People's Forum 2001; J effrey Barber, Intergative Strategies Forum, USA. The coordinator is Ewa Charkiewicz.
Planned activities:
The biggest project under preparation now is Sustainable Product Campaign. The life cycle, or cradle to grave stories of environmental and health impacts of 2-3 selected every day life products will be used to stimulate change in consumer behaviour and to raise their environmental awareness. The stories of products will also be used as a starting point of discussion what policy change is needed to achieve transition to sustainable consumption and production and in particular greening the economy. The camp aign will be carried out simutaneously in 6 countries in Europe: Polanmd, Hungary, Ukraine, Netherlands, Spain and UK, with international and scientific coordination from Wuppertal Insitute.
Next meeting: early April 1996; in Brussels theme: Greening the Industry. What NGOs can do about it.
Publications available from ANPED
Groundwork Series:
ANPED Secretariat ANPED WG CAP
c/o NC for IUCN
Postbus 18185
NL-1001 ZB Amsterdam
tel./fax. + 31 70 3520 289
tel. + 31 20 626 17 32
fax. + 31 20 627 93 49
iucnnethcomm@gn.apc.org