Oslo Rountable on Sustainable Production and Consumption
Part 2 SHARING RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
2.1 - Civil Society

Citizens can help change consumption patterns in their multiple roles as consumers, householders, workers and voters. Women have a particularly powerful role in influencing sustainable consumption decisions. The challenge is to find ways to empower citizens to take effective environmental actions in their homes, communities and workplaces. A starting point is for citizens to take account of information on the environmental impact of goods and services in their consumption choices.

Environment, development, consumer, women`s and community-based organisations have undertaken a wide range activities to support individual and household efforts to achieve sustainable lifestyles. These efforts could be strengthened by further work to:

Improving Understanding and Analysis

• - Undertake research to develop sustainable lifestyle strategies for consumers.
• - Critically review life cycle assessments and monitor environmental claims in advertising and marketing statements.
• - Form partnerships with business, governments and other groups to examine jointly how to improve consumption and production patterns, and meet basic human needs around the world.

Applying Tools for Modifying Behaviour

• - Develop community-based strategies to enable citizens to move to sustainable consumption patterns, and help people to maintain and develop their cultural identity in the face of pressures to adopt unsustainable lifestyles.
• - Raise public awareness through product information campaigns and highlighting the relationship between quality of life and consumption patterns.
• - Operate information clearing houses to facilitate the sharing of lessons learned through consumer campaigns, research and actions of communities, governments and industry (for example, to ensure a rapid dissemination of information on environmental harmful production methods).
• - Publish action alerts and sustain local and international campaigns to obtain environmentally sound products and production. When needed, NGOs will also work for boycotts and banning of environmentally harmful products and production.
• - Influence and press governments and business to implement concrete actions to promote sustainable consumption.

Monitoring, Evaluating and Reviewing Performance

- Monitor and evaluate progress of local, national and international authorities, institutions and industry for action on: green tax reform, land use patterns, the phase-out of toxic chemicals, reducing energy and material consumption, the need for transport (especially in the industrialised countries), and promoting the “right to know”.

DOCUMENT WINDOW - COMMUNITY INITIATIVES TO SUPPORT CITIZEN ACTION [Go to start of Document]