Sustainable Consumption & Production

Sustainable consumption and production, as defined by the Oslo Symposium in 1994, refers to “the use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations.” Humans are currently consuming more resources than ever, exceeding the planet’s capacity for generation. In the meantime, waste and pollution grow, and the gap between rich and poor is widening. Thus, sustainable consumption and production is about doing more and better with less. It is about systemic change, decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, and applying a life cycle thinking approach.

Events and Articles

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Planet Budapest 2021 Sustainability Expo and Summit

The event aimed to answer what role the four Visegrád countries—the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia—can play on climate change, water security, sustainable transport, and the circular economy.
Event 30 November 2021 - 2 December 2021

Satoyama Initiative: Healthy Planet, Healthy People

This HLPF side event shared how the Satoyama Initiative teaches that living in harmony with nature requires communities to consider issues of biodiversity, climate change, and zoonotics simultaneously.
Event 9 July 2021

Berlin Forum on Chemicals and Sustainability

Many participants raised the need for a science-policy interface (SPI) on chemicals and wastes—noting any such body should be global, authoritative, “horizon scanning,” prestigious, independent and inclusive.
Event 7 July 2021 - 8 July 2021

Sustainable Fashion Hard Talk

Organized by the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, this HLPF side event aimed to spark discussion on turning fashion into a driver of sustainable development and pandemic recovery and provide countries guidance to achieve this.
Event 7 July 2021

2021 P4G Seoul Summit

Over the course of the two-day Summit, participants explored how these sectors of society can partner together to reach the twin goals of an inclusive green recovery and carbon neutrality by 2050. 
Event 30 May 2021 - 31 May 2021

Green Future Week

Options to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, avoiding future pandemics, and strategic spending of pandemic recovery packages featured prominently in a week that emphasized, "Partnership is the new leadership."
Event 24 May 2021 - 29 May 2021

UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment (2021)

Delegates from the private sector, civil society, and government met to address issues such as artificial intelligence for environmental action, pollution prevention and management, and integrated solutions for low-carbon, resource-efficient, inclusive societies. The outcomes will inform discussions at UNEA-5.
Event 18 February 2021 - 20 February 2021