IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v6y2014i2p513-529d32447.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Making Sustainable Consumption and Production the Core of Sustainable Development Goals

Author

Listed:
  • Lewis Akenji

    (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0115, Japan)

  • Magnus Bengtsson

    (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0115, Japan)

Abstract

This paper argues that sustainable consumption and production (SCP) should play a prominent role in the formulation and implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and discusses how this could be practically done. Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production have been declared the primary cause of environmental deterioration. This was clearly recognized already at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (or the Rio Summit) in 1992; and this recognition has been reconfirmed in all high-level sustainability meetings since then. SCP aims to change these patterns; it is a policy agenda for addressing the root causes of our ecological predicament, while, at the same time, providing for human wellbeing and prosperity. Drawing from international agreements, practical policy experience and research from a range of disciplines, the paper provides a clarifying framework for scientifically robust, policy-relevant and practical goal-setting for SCP within the SDGs. Special attention is given to how SCP in the SDGs can create synergies with other international policy initiatives. The paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of two possible options for reflecting SCP in the SDGs framework: (i) SCP as a stand-alone goal; and (ii) SCP as a cross-cutting objective, embedded within relevant goals. While these two options are not necessarily mutually exclusive, given the competing number of issues for prioritization and the fact that a 10-Year Framework of Programs on SCP has also recently been established, it is hardly foreseeable that both options can be realized. The paper further proposes a set of basic principles for SCP at the global level and makes recommendations towards the formulation of indicators supporting SCP objectives in the SDGs.

Suggested Citation

  • Lewis Akenji & Magnus Bengtsson, 2014. "Making Sustainable Consumption and Production the Core of Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-17, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:2:p:513-529:d:32447
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/2/513/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/2/513/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Griggs & Mark Stafford-Smith & Owen Gaffney & Johan Rockström & Marcus C. Öhman & Priya Shyamsundar & Will Steffen & Gisbert Glaser & Norichika Kanie & Ian Noble, 2013. "Sustainable development goals for people and planet," Nature, Nature, vol. 495(7441), pages 305-307, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gyula Dörgő & Viktor Sebestyén & János Abonyi, 2018. "Evaluating the Interconnectedness of the Sustainable Development Goals Based on the Causality Analysis of Sustainability Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-26, October.
    2. Ingrid Boas & Frank Biermann & Norichika Kanie, 2016. "Cross-sectoral strategies in global sustainability governance: towards a nexus approach," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 449-464, June.
    3. Indra de Soysa, 2022. "Economic freedom vs. egalitarianism: An empirical test of weak & strong sustainability, 1970–2017," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 236-268, May.
    4. Martinico-Perez, Marianne Faith G. & Schandl, Heinz & Fishman, Tomer & Tanikawa, Hiroki, 2018. "The Socio-Economic Metabolism of an Emerging Economy: Monitoring Progress of Decoupling of Economic Growth and Environmental Pressures in the Philippines," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 155-166.
    5. Makarenko, Inna & Serpeninova, Yulia & Pogorila, Kateryna, 2018. "Інституційне Забезпечення Фінансування Сталого Розвитку У Світлі Мультистейкхолдерського Підходу," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 4(2), June.
    6. Edgar Cambaza & Shigenobu Koseki & Shuso Kawamura, 2018. "Aflatoxins in Mozambique: Impact and Potential for Intervention," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-11, July.
    7. Vincenzo Formisano & Bernardino Quattrociocchi & Maria Fedele & Mario Calabrese, 2018. "From Viability to Sustainability: The Contribution of the Viable Systems Approach (VSA)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-17, March.
    8. Zhijiang Li & Decai Tang & Mang Han & Brandon J. Bethel, 2018. "Comprehensive Evaluation of Regional Sustainable Development Based on Data Envelopment Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-18, October.
    9. Jakob Keller & Martin Jung & Rainer Lasch, 2022. "Sustainability Governance: Insights from a Cocoa Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-23, August.
    10. Steve O’Hern & Roni Utriainen & Hanne Tiikkaja & Markus Pöllänen & Niina Sihvola, 2021. "Exploratory Analysis of Pedestrian Road Trauma in Finland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-14, June.
    11. Carmen Ruiz-Puente & Daniel Jato-Espino, 2020. "Systemic Analysis of the Contributions of Co-Located Industrial Symbiosis to Achieve Sustainable Development in an Industrial Park in Northern Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-28, July.
    12. Rositsa T. Ilieva, 2017. "Urban Food Systems Strategies: A Promising Tool for Implementing the SDGs in Practice †," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-35, September.
    13. SIngh Verma, Juhee & Sharma, Pritee, 2019. "Potential of Organic Farming to Mitigate Climate Change and Increase Small Farmers’ Welfare," MPRA Paper 99994, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Giorgio Mion & Angela Broglia & Angelo Bonfanti, 2019. "Do Codes of Ethics Reveal a University’s Commitment to Sustainable Development? Evidence from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    15. Mark G. Edwards, 2021. "The growth paradox, sustainable development, and business strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3079-3094, November.
    16. Xiaoli Zhao & Pavel Castka & Cory Searcy, 2020. "ISO Standards: A Platform for Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-19, November.
    17. Henrik Barth & Per-Ola Ulvenblad & Pia Ulvenblad, 2017. "Towards a Conceptual Framework of Sustainable Business Model Innovation in the Agri-Food Sector: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-15, September.
    18. Shizuki Fukuda & Michio Murakami & Keigo Noda & Taikan Oki, 2016. "How Achieving the Millennium Development Goals Increases Subjective Well-Being in Developing Nations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-19, February.
    19. Marco Filippo Torchio & Umberto Lucia & Giulia Grisolia, 2020. "Economic and Human Features for Energy and Environmental Indicators: A Tool to Assess Countries’ Progress towards Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-19, November.
    20. Lijuan Du & Li Xu & Yanping Li & Changshun Liu & Zhenhua Li & Jefferson S. Wong & Bo Lei, 2019. "China’s Agricultural Irrigation and Water Conservancy Projects: A Policy Synthesis and Discussion of Emerging Issues," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-20, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:2:p:513-529:d:32447. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.