For most people, life can now be defined by pre and post-coronavirus.
Consumers have changed their
shopping habits faster than companies and brands have been able to accommodate. Now the customer
is digital by default and practices responsible consumption.
How can consumption be made more sustainable? What can be done to make it easier for consumers to
make climate-smart choices? These are some of the questions in focus in the Government’s strategy for
sustainable consumption. The aim is for the strategy to contribute to environmentally, socially and
economically sustainable consumption.
Many of today’s environmental problems are linked to our private consumption. To reduce
consumption’s negative climate and environmental impact, we must change how and what we
consume. The Government’s strategy for sustainable consumption focuses on what the State can do,
together with municipalities, the business sector and civil society, to make it easier for consumers to act
sustainably.
Focus are
Increasing knowledge and deepening cooperatio
Knowledge about the impact of consumption on the environment needs to be enhanced and
cooperation deepened at different levels in society.
Forum on eco-smart consumption
The Government wants to establish a new forum to bring together actors who, in various ways, can
contribute to more eco-smart consumption and lifestyles. The forum aims to spread examples of good
practice and create solutions for more sustainable consumption.
Environmental focus in schools
Schools play an important role in increasing children’s and young people’s knowledge about
consumption and the environment.
Encouraging sustainable ways of consuming
As consumers, we can contribute to environmentally sustainable consumption by changing our
behaviours. But many of us often experience obstacles, such as a lack of information. Often costs, habits,
lack of time and influence from our surroundings also underlie our purchasing decisions and other
behaviour patterns.
Eco-smart behaviour patterns
The Government proposes that the Swedish Consumer Agency be tasked with a special assignment to
actively promote more eco-smart consumption and lifestyles.
Positive developments in the sharing economy
The sharing economy, which involves goods and services being shared in various ways, can provide
increased freedom of choice and lower prices, contributing to greater opportunities to consume
sustainably.
More effective ecolabelling
For ecolabelling to have a strong impact, in addition to gaining consumer confidence, it is essential that
it keeps up to date with developments on the market.
Streamlining resource use
Reusing goods instead of buying new ones contributes to a more sustainable lifestyle and leads to major
benefits for the environment.
Goods that last longer
To encourage the recycling of goods
Circular economy
The Government is working in various ways to facilitate the development of a circular economy.
Sustainable waste management
Waste prevention efforts focus on food, textiles, electronic products and construction materials.
Improving information on companies’ sustainability efforts
Through demand and engagement, consumers can influence companies in a more sustainable direction.
But this necessitates clear information about companies’ sustainability efforts, including the
consideration they take of the environment.
Phasing out harmful chemicals
The Government’s environmental efforts include measures to ensure a toxin-free environment and
reduce the risks associated with chemicals in our everyday lives. Children are particularly vulnerable to
hazardous chemicals and are therefore given special priority.
Improving security for all consumers
Strengthening social sustainability involves paying attention to consumers’ different circumstances, for
example based on financial situation, age, gender, disability or other personal circumstances.
Sustainable growth and development requires minimizing the natural resources and toxic materials
used, and the waste and pollutants generated, throughout the entire production and consumption
process. Sustainable Development Goal 12 encourages more sustainable consumption and production
patterns through various measures, including specific policies and international agreements on the
management of materials that are toxic to the environment.
For most people, life can now be defined by pre and post-coronavirus. Consumers have changed their
shopping habits faster than companies and brands have been able to accommodate. Now the customer
is digital by default and practices responsible consumption.
Why We Need a “New Normal” for Production and Consumption
Story highlights
Our population is growing but our natural resources are not.
As we meet our needs for food, fibers, fodder, and other benefits, we are contributing to land
degradation.
There are ways to improve production and consumption to make them more sustainable.
People are consuming more than ever. Our choices are having an unprecedented impact on the
environment. The jeans, skirts or suits we wear, the pharmaceuticals and cosmetics we use, the food
and drink we consume – all of these products have an impact, to varying degrees, on the environment.
We need to think carefully about how we can meet our daily needs more efficiently and we need to
provide the answers quickly.
We all depend to some extent on trees, forests, and other land resources for goods and services that
help to make our lives easier. But these benefits can come at a high price if they are not sustainably
sourced.
By 2030, the fashion industry alone is expected to use 35 percent more land than it does now – more
than 115 million hectares, equivalent to the size of Colombia. By the same year, food production will
require an additional 300 million hectares of land.
The 17 June Global Observance of Desertification and Drought Day, as designated by the UN, is a
reminder that the leading driver of desertification and land degradation is human production and
consumption. The current system is not sustainable, not with a global population that is expected to
reach nearly 10 billion people by the year 2050.
More than 70 percent of the world’s natural ecosystems – from rainforests to prairies to coastal zones –
have been converted in some way to human use. Today, more than two billion hectares of previously
productive land is degraded, with consequences like soil erosion, build-up of salts or acidification, and
the loss of biodiversity. At the same time, climate change is increasing the odds of worsening drought
and water scarcity in many parts of the world.
These trends show how urgently we need to strike a better balance between the ways in which we use
land and the measures we take to protect and restore it. New challenges brought on by the COVID-19
pandemic have added to the economic pressures facing vulnerable populations, many of whom rely
directly on livelihoods linked to agriculture and other land use. It is vitally important to help the 1.3
billion vulnerable people, many of whom are trapped in difficult circumstances by degraded land, to
conserve and restore resources on which we all vitally depend.
Restoring the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land would speed achievement of multiple
SDGs, including those on poverty reduction (SDG 1); food, nutrition, and water security (SDGs 2 and 6);
climate adaptation and mitigation (SDG 13); biodiversity conservation (SDGs 14 and 15); and the
enhanced resilience of communities and ecosystems (SDGs 11, 14, and 15).
Fortunately, there are people in numerous countries who already know what to do and who are trying
to do what is needed. One approach that is working is Action Against Desertification (AAD), a
programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), carried out in line with the aims
of the internationally agreed UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Action Against Desertification monitors land changes and carries out restoration on a large scale, tying
into the Great Green Wall initiative in Africa, which is bringing health and moisture back to degraded
landscapes in more than 20 countries. In just five years, AAD, also active in the Caribbean and the
Pacific, planted over 60,000 hectares of degraded agro-sylvo-pastoral lands and supported sustainable
production, agricultural education, and income generation in other ways.
UN
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns:
One of the greatest global challenges is to integrate environmental sustainability with economic growth
and welfare by decoupling environmental degradation from economic growth and doing more with less.
Resource decoupling and impact decoupling are needed to promote sustainable consumption and
production patterns and to make the transition towards a greener and more socially inclusive global
economy.
To ensure sustainable consumption and production practices necessarily entails to respect the
biophysical boundaries of the planet and to reduce current global consumption rates in order to fit with
the biophysical capacity to produce ecosystem services and benefits.
Sustainable growth and development requires minimizing the natural resources and toxic materials
used, and the waste and pollutants generated, throughout the entire production and consumption
process. Sustainable Development Goal 12 encourages more sustainable consumption and production
patterns through various measures, including specific policies and international agreements on the
management of materials that are toxic to the environment.
We live in a fast-paced world where things change rapidly, goods are designed to become obsolete so
that they will be replaced sooner, thus putting more pressure on resources like energy, water, land and
the natural environment. This is at the heart of global warming. Climate change is a symptom of a
deeper modern-day problem of overconsumption which demands more mining of natural resources,
manufacturing of goods and greater offerings of services to the modern society we live in. The sectors
that contribute mostly to greenhouse gas emissions include transport, energy, industrial production,
services, construction and agriculture. At the heart of these highly polluting and climate unfriendly
sectors lie human beings who demand cars, airplanes, electricity, large offices and homes,
telecommunication services, technologies, entertainment, fast food and so on. These consumption-
related carbon emissions are fueled by a growing consumerism culture. However, carbon emissions are
seen as produced by industries without recognizing the role that people make in driving production
through consumer patterns. This also results in a missed opportunity to challenge consumers to demand
sustainably produced goods and services that will require industries to relook at their production
processes and make them less carbon-intensive.
Why is Sustainable Consumption key to fighting climate change?
The United Nations Environment defines sustainable consumption as the use of material products,
energy and immaterial services in such a way that it minimizes the impact on the environment, so that
human needs can be met not only in the present but also for future generations. This is crucial in order
for sustainable development to be achieved and as a result, the United Nations hasGoal Number 12 that
deals with sustainable consumption and production. This goal requires consumers to rethink their
individual consumption patterns and assess the environmental impact of everything that they are
consuming. Consumers should be making consumption choices based on how much water, energy, land
and raw materials the products and services they are acquiring have used. This will mean, for instance,
deciding to eat less processed food and red meat, driving and flying less, buying less clothes, toys,
gadgets and other unnecessary good and services
What fuels Over-Consumption?
Throw-away mentalit
This modern society is characterized by overconsumption and excessive production resulting in a flood
of convenient, disposable, throw-away products made out of plastic that release greenhouse gases and
toxins, both during production and when disposed-off. This throw-away society no longer sees value in
durable, repairable products that could last forever but prefer to buy mass produced, cheap products
that are discarded with little regard for where they end u
“Microwave” culture.
Overconsumption is driven by the need to “want and get everything right now”! Consumers don’t want
to wait for anything in these modern days. This has been exacerbated by a flood of technologies like
microwaves, machine machines, hair dryers, toasters, cellular phones, computers and so on that make
society believe that everything must be readily available at their fingertips. Even though technology has
increased efficiency and production practices have improved, many of these products are made out of
disposable material that is not easily repaired, resulting in heaps of plastic and electronic-waste filling up
landfills and toxins leaching into the soil.
What is required for Sustainable Consumption to be achieved?
Behavioral Change
We cannot solve the problem with the same mindset that created it in the first place. Overconsumption
has been a key cause of the global climate change challenge but change in consumers’ patterns are not
apparent
Transformational action
Sustainable consumption requires transformational action on the part of the consumer that will result in
a fundamental change in the way that goods and services are produced and consumed. Consumers
cannot continue with the usual “not-in-my-backyard” attitude where their waste is thrown into the bin
to be disposed-off in a place far away from them and perhaps close to informal housing areas emitting a
foul smell. It is incumbent upon society itself to look for new and transformative ways in which
consumers think more carefully about the materials that are used to make products, where these
products were made, how they were made, packaged, transported; how they are prepared, how they
are consumed and dispose of them. The life-cycle analysis of products is a very key issue.
Producer responsibility
Producers have a huge responsibility to ensure that their products are sustainably produced, durable
and long lasting. Nowadays, consumers are bombarded by a flood of cheaply produced and available
products, made out of petroleum-based materials that cannot be reused, repaired or fixed. Many of
these products cannot even be recycled or upcycled for other uses. Landfills around the world are
overflowing with products that continue to use up the limited vacant land needed for housing and food
production. Industries must consider cradle-to-grave practices where their products do not end up in
landfills but can be reclaimed back into their production processes.
Consumer Education and Awareness
Consumer education is critical to ensure sustainable consumption. Producers should be obliged to make
information about their products public so that the consumers can make responsible choices.
Nowadays, responsible and conscious consumers want to know about production processes, origins of
the products, materials used, farming practices and so on. Having this information enables the consumer
to make responsible choices and enable them to use their buying power to influence the way products
are made. This would make producers rethink their ethical production practices and introduce these
practices into their branding.
In Conclusion
Consumers are not expected to ensure that industries are producing environmentally friendly goods and
services, but they should acknowledge that they have an important role to play. They can only do this if
suppliers of goods and services are required to provide information on all the products that they sell
into the market. This needs a collective effort where consumers can start to make conscious and
environmentally friendly choices and use their collective buying power to demand sustainably produced
goods.
Climate change demands society dig deep and go the root of the problem, dealing decisively with the
wrongs perpetuated by overconsumption. This starts with the individual changing his/her unsustainable
consumption patterns and if done collectively by the entire society will pressurise businesses and
industries to produce environmentally-friendly products. In this way we can make progress towards
preserving this planet, the only home to humans and all species – the only one for the future
generations to come!
Why We Need a “New Normal” for Production and Consumption
Story highlights
Our population is growing but our natural resources are not.
As we meet our needs for food, fibers, fodder, and other benefits, we are contributing to land
degradation.
There are ways to improve production and consumption to make them more sustainable.
People are consuming more than ever. Our choices are having an unprecedented impact on the
environment. The jeans, skirts or suits we wear, the pharmaceuticals and cosmetics we use, the food
and drink we consume – all of these products have an impact, to varying degrees, on the environment.
We need to think carefully about how we can meet our daily needs more efficiently and we need to
provide the answers quickly.
We all depend to some extent on trees, forests, and other land resources for goods and services that
help to make our lives easier. But these benefits can come at a high price if they are not sustainably
sourced.
By 2030, the fashion industry alone is expected to use 35 percent more land than it does now – more
than 115 million hectares, equivalent to the size of Colombia. By the same year, food production will
require an additional 300 million hectares of land.
The 17 June Global Observance of Desertification and Drought Day, as designated by the UN, is a
reminder that the leading driver of desertification and land degradation is human production and
consumption. The current system is not sustainable, not with a global population that is expected to
reach nearly 10 billion people by the year 2050.
More than 70 percent of the world’s natural ecosystems – from rainforests to prairies to coastal zones –
have been converted in some way to human use. Today, more than two billion hectares of previously
productive land is degraded, with consequences like soil erosion, build-up of salts or acidification, and
the loss of biodiversity. At the same time, climate change is increasing the odds of worsening drought
and water scarcity in many parts of the world.
These trends show how urgently we need to strike a better balance between the ways in which we use
land and the measures we take to protect and restore it. New challenges brought on by the COVID-19
pandemic have added to the economic pressures facing vulnerable populations, many of whom rely
directly on livelihoods linked to agriculture and other land use. It is vitally important to help the 1.3
billion vulnerable people, many of whom are trapped in difficult circumstances by degraded land, to
conserve and restore resources on which we all vitally depend.
Restoring the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land would speed achievement of multiple
SDGs, including those on poverty reduction (SDG 1); food, nutrition, and water security (SDGs 2 and 6);
climate adaptation and mitigation (SDG 13); biodiversity conservation (SDGs 14 and 15); and the
enhanced resilience of communities and ecosystems (SDGs 11, 14, and 15).
Fortunately, there are people in numerous countries who already know what to do and who are trying
to do what is needed. One approach that is working is Action Against Desertification (AAD), a
programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), carried out in line with the aims
of the internationally agreed UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Action Against Desertification monitors land changes and carries out restoration on a large scale, tying
into the Great Green Wall initiative in Africa, which is bringing health and moisture back to degraded
landscapes in more than 20 countries. In just five years, AAD, also active in the Caribbean and the
Pacific, planted over 60,000 hectares of degraded agro-sylvo-pastoral lands and supported sustainable
production, agricultural education, and income generation in other ways.
The programme supports approaches like sustainable production of seeds and animal fodder, improved
production of non-timber products like tree oils and gum Arabic, the digging of water-retaining trenches
in Niger, and the conservation and incorporation of forest cover in agriculture (agroforestry) in Ethiopia.
The programme also helps farmers to improve their knowledge of plant species, cultivation, and
business marketing, reaching more than 700,000 producers, pastoralists, and herders in rural
communities.
Overall, the prospects for increasing land restoration actions globally are promising. There are signs of
international support in forward-looking initiatives like the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration (2021-
2030) and the European Green Deal (2021-2050).
Aiming for zero land degradation is an ambitious task but one which is achievable through policy
commitments, problem solving, strong community, and individual involvement and cooperation at all
levels. COVID-19 is a stark reminder of how fragile our food systems are – and a tremendous
opportunity to reset food systems by changing the way we have come to produce, process, and
consume food.
This article was written by Moctar Sacande, International Project Coordinator, Action Against
Desertification, FAO, and Tiina Vähänen, Chief, Forestry, Policy and Resources Division, FAO.
