Not another SDG 12 booklet

The "Not Another SDG 12 booklet" discusses the scope of SDG 12 – Sustainable consumption and production- by reflecting on the systemic and behavioural changes needed to enable its achievement. It advocates for acknowledging the multifaceted impacts of human activity at the global-local scale as a pivotal step to rectify our societies' trajectory. Critical interlinkages between SDG 12 and other Goals are presented, as well as some of the essential issues that affect communities, including consumerism as a metric of success, vulnerability to global problems, and the impacts of overconsumption. Both UN and EU monitoring approaches are introduced, stressing the need to ensure a disaggregation that mirrors the complexity of the Goal and reflects the specific analytical objectives. The booklet also discusses EU policy initiatives, barriers, and challenges to achieving SDG 12, including promoting globalization instead of local adaptation, confusing norms and regulations, and programmed obsolescence. It outlines practical actions by local governments and communities to stimulate the uptake of the circular economy, support fair-trade practices, educate on sustainable consumption, and ingrain reuse in local behaviours. The booklet critically assesses Europe's slow progress towards SDG 12, calling for accelerated action to meet 2030 targets. It closes with a vision beyond 2030, imagining a society founded on respecting the planet's biophysical limits and the principle of social justice. In this society, economies are redesigned according to regeneration and preservation principles, considering local and global impacts and resource reuse is a generalized practice. The booklet approaches the multifaceted nature of SDG 12 by building a comprehensive perspective and identifying the main levers that can lead to its achievement.