Brussels, 23/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - Two months before the UN sustainable development conference (Rio+20, 20-22 June), a global outlook report on efforts in promoting sustainable consumption and production has come at precisely the right time to guide decision-makers in how to do better. The report, published on Monday 23 April by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the European Commission, presents promising examples of effective policies and encourages decision-makers to take action that will be followed up in the years to come. Among the report's many recommendations are: - integration of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) into policy frameworks and strategic plans; - collection of more SCP data to measure policy effectiveness and track progress; - learning from experience to develop an optimal policy mix; - providing enabling policy frameworks to encourage business investments on SCP; - adopting and applying alternative measures of progress beyond GDP; - placing more emphasis to the demand side to promote sustainable lifestyles; - enhancing responsible marketing and media through policies and campaigns; - and drawing on and further developing partnerships among all actors and regions.
“This report will be a great tool to replicate sustainable best practices globally and I hope it will encourage fruitful partnerships worldwide”, said Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik. Recent crises linked to finance, fuel, food and the environment are linked to unsustainable patterns of consumption and production. UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner stated that “Rio+20 offers the opportunity to accelerate and scale-up these policies and projects in order to secure the prospects and prosperity of seven billion people, rising to over nine billion by 2050”. The report includes 56 case studies of successful initiatives, like support for composting in Surabaya, Indonesia, commercial production of medicinal plants by a community forest conservation group in Kenya, the spread of the “Ecolabel” to help consumers choose environmentally-friendly products in Europe, and regional sustainable public procurement initiatives introduced by the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD). It was presented at Stockholm+40, an event marking the 40th anniversary of the UN Conference on the Human Environment. (AN/transl.rt)