SPAC at a glance
2009
13TH EUROPEAN ROUNDTABLE ON SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
June 10, 2009, Aalborg, Denmark. As part of the Joint Actions on Climate Change Conference, the ERSCP, Greening of Industry Network, SCORE and others organized two days of events focused particularly on consumption and production.
FINDING THE PATH OF TRANSITION: EEB & SCORE LAUNCH EUROPEAN "BLUEPRINT"
May 27, 2009, Brussels, Belgium. In the wake of the EU's Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and Sustainable Consumption Research Exchange (SCORE!) released their joint report noting that 20th century economic expansion is no longer acceptable or possible, yet governmental policies promoting SCP have "not yet addressed this reality." The "Blueprint for European Sustainable Consumption and Production: Finding the Path of Transition to a Sustainable Society" calls for three blocks of activities: (1) establish a basic institutional framework in which action can take place; (2) lead change that can be realized now within existing structures and mindsets; and (3) develop inspiring approaches that can foster change in the future that is not feasible now. More.
GREENDEX SURVEY NOTES U.S. AND CANADA LAST IN SUSTAINABILITY
May 23, 2009, Washington, D.C. In their second survey of environmental sustainability among consumers in 17 different countries, National Geographic and GlobeScan have again partnered to present "Greendex 2009: Consumer Choice and the Environment -- A Worldwide Tracking Survey." Clearly the global economic downturn has affected consumer behavior to the advantage of the environment, as high gas prices have changed many people's attitudes about their transportation choices -- especially in the less industrialized countries. As with the previous year, consumers in the United States and Canada score the lowest on environmental sustainability, in contrast to consumers in India, Brazil and China.
CIVIL SOCIETY PLATFORM ON SCP 
March 16-18, 2009, Wuppertal, Germany. The Civil Society Platform on SCP is an EU project sponsored within the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission. The purpose is to give civil society organizations (CSOs) "space to influence political decisions, find funding opportunities, explore creative tools and identify research needs." This meeting was the second of three events, with the intention of collecting project concepts from civil society organizations. This meeting is to be followed by a third event in December.
BUSINESS LEADERS DISCUSS SUSTAINABILITY AS BUSINESS MODEL
Feb. 17--18, 2009, Nuremburg, Germany. Considering the future of producing and marketing sustainable products and services, this event brought together product managers, trade promoters, researchers and CSR managers to discuss "Sustainable Production, Trade, Consumption and Lifestyle." The meeting slogan was "where business meets verified sustainability!"
2008
WBCSD RELEASES REPORT ON SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION "FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE"
December 17, 2008, Geneva. Acknowledging that "efficiency gains and technological advances alone will not be sufficient to bring global consumption to a sustainable level," the report highlights the need for changes in consumer lifestyles. More.
SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING SUMMIT EUROPE
November 19-21, 2008, Brussels, Belgium. The subtitle of this event is "Towards Sustainable Consumption and Production in European Manufacturing." This event aims to address "the challenge faced by regulators and manufacturers" in "how to integrate sustainability into industrial policy and practice." Speaking to this aim will be "politicians, regulators, and practitioners who aim to create an industrial environment that reinforces both economic growth and environmental protection." More.
NORTH AMERICA HOLDS ITS FIRST REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON SCP
November 6-7, 2008, Washington, DC, USA. After several years of waiting, the US and Canadian governments held their first regional consultation on sustainable production and consumption. The workshop explored the ideas and needs in developing a regional policy approach towards changing production and consumption patterns, as well as ideas on how best contribute to the Marrakech Process discussion within the UN community and CSD sessions being held 2010-11.
2ND EUROPEAN REGIONAL MEETING IN PRAGUE
October 30-31, 2008, Prague, Czech Republic. The aim of this meeting was to "contribute to implementing the Johannesburg commitments on SCP, to formulate European regional contributions to the 10YFP, to discuss the EU SCP Action Plan and to share information and best practices." More.
UNEP/INDUSTRY FORUM DISCUSSES MARRAKECH PRIORITIES
October 23-24, 2008, Paris. UNEP's annual Business & Industry Global Dialogue, co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will "focus on business perspectives and mutual expectations" on "the form of engagement and content of the Marrakech Process and its Task Forces." More. Agenda.[pdf]
EUROPEAN REGIONAL MEETING
October 30-31, 2008, Prague. Organized by the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic and the European Commission, the gathering aims to "contribute to implementing the Johannesburg commitments on SCP, to formulate European regional contributions to the 10YFP, to discuss the EU SCP Action Plan and to share information and best practices." Doreen Fedrigo of the European Environmental Bureau will speak on the role of NGOs in advancing SCP in the European region. More.
UNEP/INDUSTRY FORUM DISCUSSES MARRAKECH PRIORITIES
October 23-24, 2008, Paris. UNEP's annual Business & Industry Global Dialogue, co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will "focus on business perspectives and mutual expectations" on "the form of engagement and content of the Marrakech Process and its Task Forces." More. Agenda.[pdf]
CIVIL SOCIETY PLATFORM
October 13-14, 2008, Szentendre, Hungary. Organized by UNEP/Wuppertal Institute, and others, the meeting represents "the first event of the EU FP-7 project named the Civil Society Platform on Sustainable Consumption and Production (DelibProcessSCP)." The meeting "invites participants from organisations engaged with civil society" to discuss the three topics of housing, food/drink and mobility and related "policies and actions which respond to the needs of civil society." More.
SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION IN CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE
October 8, 2008, Budapest, Hungary. Organized by Corvinus University, Association of Conscious Consumers, and others, this conference focuses on research on sustainable consumption in the region, and hopes "to create an informal network of scientists" working in the field of sustainable consumption. More.
12TH EUROPEAN ROUNDTABLE ON SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION & PRODUCTION
September 23-25, 2008, Berlin. An international "interface of science, industry, public authorities and politics" with the goal to "facilitate innovations" and promote sustainable consumption and production by "challenging participants' projects, ideas and approaches...and stimulating debate." Some key issues discussed: housing and construction, supply chain management, resource efficiency, and energy supply and consumption. More.
FIRST DISCUSSION DRAFT OF 10YFP PAPER OUT
September 22 , 2008. The first draft of the UNEP/UNDESA discussion paper, "Proposed input to CSD on a 10 year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production" is now available for public review and comment between now and December. In addition, a draft "background document to the draft 10YFP" is also available for comment. These are to be posted on the UN Marrakech Process website. Those interested in sharing and exchanging their opinions and comments on this topic as well as the papers should visit the Marrakech NGO Forum blog and website.
8th ASIA PACIFIC ROUNDTABLE HELD IN CEBU
September 18-20, 2008, Cebu, Philippines. This session of the roundtable adopted the theme "SCP and Green Growth for Climate Action." More.
EU ADOPTS ACTION PLAN ON SCP
July 16, 2008, Brussels, Belgium. In their communication to the European Council, following their mandate of the Community Lisbon Program of 2008-2010 to integrate sustainable production and consumption into EU industrial policy, and after a process of research, public consultation and experts meetings, the European Commission announced its adoption of their Sustainable Consumptoin and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan. The core of the plan is "a dynamic framework to improve the energy and environmental performance of products and foster their uptake by consumers. This includes setting ambitious standards throughout the Internal Market, ensuring that products are improved using a systemic approach to incentives and procurement, and reinforcing information to consumers through a more coherent and simplified labelling framework, so that demand can underpin this policy." The approach targets in particular those products with the most potential to reduce environmental impacts. Progress on implementation of this plan will be reviewed by the Commission in 2012. More.
SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND ALTERNATIVE AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS
May 27-30, 2008, Belgium. This conference of social researchers, many working with alternative agrifood networks, focused on research addressing the resistence of these networks to the "consumer/producer relations that are imposed on society by conventional agri-food systems," as well as ways in which consumers act within the system.
MARRAKECH NEWSLETTER LAUNCHED
April 10, 2008. UNEP and DESA have released the first (March 2008) issue of their new Marrakech Process newsletter, which will be available on the UNEP website. You can download a PDF copy here.
MARRAKECH NGO FORUM LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
January 25, 2008. Last June, at the 3rd Internationl Experts Meeting in Stockholm, two new elements of the Marrakech Process were created: a Business Forum and an NGO Forum, organized to encourage greater participation and input from these two communities. As part of the follow-up and further outreach initiatied by the 40+ NGOs involved in the Stockholm meeting, a new Marrakech NGO Forum website recently launched.
2007
MARRAKECH PROCESS ANNOUNCES TIMELINE
December 17, 2007. The UNEP/UNDESA team has released its "Outline and timeline for the development of the 10 year framework of programmes on sustdainable consumption and production." Here we now have a clear set of targets and timelines for developing and submitting the long-awaited framework of programmes mandated in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustdainable Development. Many have been getting impatient as the years have rolled by, wondering when this "10 year framework" to support national and regional SPAC efforts would ever get beyond talking about it. Finally we now have a set date for the framework to be finalized and submitted to the UN, which will be the 2010-11 session of the Commission on Sustainable Development. If the member governments adopt the proposal, it will finally go into effect in 2012.
MARRAKECH NGO Forum outreach
September 2007. Through the benefit of internet, the NGOs participating in the June Marakech Experts Meeting in Stockholm have continued their exchanges by internet and discussing ways to involve other NGOs around the world involved in sustaonable consumption and/or production activities, and to develop a consultative, collective deicion-making process to help identify and advocate ccommon priorities and recommendations for the Marrakech Process. One discussion such discussion is about who and how an NGO representative can best be chosen for the Marrakech Advisory Committee.
TIME FOR ACTION: DEVELOPING THE EU SCP ACTION PLAN
September 26-29, 2007. Ljublhana, Slovenia. As the public online consultations close giving input on the EU's regional action plans on SCP, an experts meeting convenes here to further develop ideas and strategies for making this plan a reality. The Slovenian Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning has set up a website on the Time for Action meeting, with links to discussion papers.
3RD INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS MEETING ON 10-YEAR FRAMEWORK
June 26-29, 2007. Stockholm. Coordinated by UNEP and UNDESA, the third international gathering of experts known as "the Marrakech Process" will again meet to review progress and plans in developing the "10-year framework of programmes in support of regional and national initiatives to accelerate the shift towaards sustainable consumption and production." Information on the agenda and papers for the meeting and other details can be found on the UN Marrakech Process website. There will also be an NGO Forum held the morning of Tuesday, June 26.
SPACES: LINKING KNOWLEGE AND ACTION
Jan. 23-27, 2007. Chiang Mai, Thailand. The SPACES Working Group, based at the University of Chiang Mai, organized this International Dialogue among researchers and activists on "Linking Knowledge and Action for Sustainable Production and Consumption Systems."
SCORE LAUNCHES IN GERMANY
Nov. 23-25, 2006: In Wuppertal, Germany, the Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges (SCORE) celebrated its official launch with their conference, "Sustainable Consumption and Production: Opportunities and Challenges." This new EU-funded network was created to support development of the UN Ten-Year Framework on Sustainable Consumption and Production.
10-YEAR AFRICAN FRAMEWORK
May 29-31, 2006: In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the 4th African Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production was held, sponsored by UNEP. The main objective of the conference was to provide input into the further development and implementation of the 10-Year African Framework on Sustainable Consumption and Production [pdf]at the sub-regional and national levels
CSD-14 REVIEWS ENERGY POLICY & PRACTICES
May 1-12, 2006: The 14th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development took place in New York, focusing on a review of past policies and practices addressing energy, atmosphere, climate change, and industrial development. Several events took place reporting on the Marrakech Process and progress in developing the 10-Year Framework on SCP.
NORDIC ROUNDTABLE PREPARES FOR CSD-14
March 9-10, 2006: In Stockholm, Sweden, theNordic Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production met to prepare its inputs for the upcoming 14th Session of the CSD. The eventexamined the role of SCP in developed and developing countries, the contribution of business and development agencies to SCP, among others.
ASIA-PACIFIC ECO FOOTPRINT REPORT
Dec.
2005: The WWF report Asia
Pacific 2005: Ecological Footprint and Ecological Wealth shows that
the region has tripled its consumption of resources over the last 40
years, and is consuming at a rate which is nearly twice what the region
can support. At the same time, the footprint is 7 times smaller than
that of a North American and 3 times smaller than the average European.
Press
release
NEED
PRACTICAL INCENTIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Dec. 2005: Research done by the UK based Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC) demonstrates that sustainable consumption tools
and policies like eco-taxes and information campaigns have a very limited
impact on the purchasing patterns of the public. Consumers need practical
incentives to buy "green" and a very clear signal that the
government is putting its own house in order.
Read
press release
Research
project: Towards a social psychology of sustainable consumption
THEMATIC
STRATEGY ON THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Dec . 2005: The European Commission has proposed a strategy
to govern the use of natural resources in the region and to reduce the
negative environmental impacts associated with resource use. Titled
the thematic
strategy on the sustainable use of natural resources, the strategy
aims at "ensuring that the consumption of resources and their associated
impacts do not exceed the carrying capacity of the environment and breaking
the linkages between economic growth and resource use".
COSTA
RICA REPORT
Oct. 2005: The
report from the 2nd International Expert Meeting on the 10-Year Framework
of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production is available
here. Presentations and
meeting documents, including the discussion paper will also be made
available on the official Marrakech
process website.
SPAC
AT MDG + 5 SUMMIT
Sep. 2005: World
leaders gathered at New York for the 2005 Millennium Summit reaffirmed
their commitment to sustainable development - including changing unsustainable
patterns of production and consumption. They stated that developed countries
would take the lead and supported "developing countries in their
efforts to promote a recycling economy".
2005 World
Summit Outcome
1ST ARAB EXPERT MEETING ON SCP
Sep.15-16, 2005: In Beirut, Lebanon, the first official Arab Expert Meeting on Sustainable Consumption and Production took place. the meeting was organized by the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs (DESA) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
2ND
INT'L EXPERT MEETING ON SCP
Sep. 5-8 2005: The 2nd International Expert meeting on Sustainable Consumption
and Production, part of the Marrakech process, was held in Costa Rica
on September 5 - 8 2005. Some highlights of the meeting include the
setting up of several taskforces to aid implementation, and the inclusion
of global development assistance agencies as stakeholders in the process
to help in obtaining funding for SCP projects.
ISF's meeting report
IISD's
reports from the meeting
UNEP/ DESA webpage on the Marrakech Process
FINNISH
PROGRAMME FOR SCP
Jun. 2005: The
Ministry of the Environment, Finland is collecting detailled proposals
for a national programme for sustainable consumption and production.
These proposals have been received from the KULTU Committee appointed
for this purpose in 2003.
Details
VITAL
SIGNS 2005
May 2005: Growing
patterns of production and consumption in China "drove up consumption
of natural resources, increased the prices of raw materials, and pushed
up pollution levels" around the world. This is one of the conclusions
of Vital Signs 2005,
from Worldwatch Institute.
DETAILS
ABOUT MARRAKECH + 2
Apr. 2005:
During a side event at CSD-13, the government of Costa Rica announced
that the 2nd International Expert Meeting on Sustainable Consumption
and Production would take place at San Jose, Costa Rica from September
5 - 8 2005.
SPAC
AT CSD-13
Apr. 2005: A
short report about the discussions and deliberations on sustainable
production and consumption during CSD-13 is available here.
The report includes details about SPAC in the CSD-13 decision, the 2nd
International meeting in the Marrakech Process etc.
VICTORIA'S
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
Apr. 2005: EPA
Victoria, Australia has released information that states that four planet
earths are needed to sustain the region's standard of living. The webpage
and the information
bulletin on this topic, put out by the EPA, are indications about
the growing acceptance of the Ecological Footprint by governmental authorities
around the world.
SUSTAINABILITY
E-JOURNAL & SC
Apr. 2005:
The newly released "peer-reviewed, open access" electronic
journal: Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy, features
a symposium on sustainable consumption in its inaugural
issue.
NORDIC
ROUNDTABLE ON BUSINESS & SCP
Mar. 2005:
The Nordic Roundtable on Business Relations and Sustainable Consumption
and Production in a North / South Perspective was held in Oslo from
9-10 March 2005. Organized by the Nordic Ad Hoc group on Sustainable
Consumption and Production, in cooperation with GRIP, the Norwegian
Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production, and the Nordic Partnership,
the roundtable focused on how business relations in a North/South perspective
can contribute to more sustainable production and consumption patterns
and what governments and business should do to promote necessary changes.
Read IISD's coverage
Organizer's website
MCED-5
Mar. 2005: The
5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development (MCED-5),
held on March 28 - 29 in Seoul, Korea adopted the Ministerial Declaration
on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific.The declaration
acknowledged that "increasing consumption and production resulting
from unsustainable economic growth is placing increasing stress on the
carrying capacity of the region, as well as elsewhere in the world,"
The 2005 Civil Society Forum, held parallel to the Ministerial Sessions,
focused on "Sustainable Consumption and Production and the role
of Civil Society: Achieving Environmentally Sustainable Development".
Read more.
Read article
from the Korea Times.
Read Press
Release from the ESCAP News Service.
SC
MEETING IN MANILA
Mar. 2005: As
a part of its SC.Net project, the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) is organizing an international meeting in Manila in order to
review ways and means to reduce the impacts of growing unsustainable
patterns of consumption in Asia on one hand, and ensuring that the region's
poor have access to goods and services on the other. More details are
available here.
Read UNEP's report of the meeting in SC.Net
UK
SD STRATEGY
Mar. 2005: The
UK government has launched a new Sustainable Development Strategy titled
"Securing
the Future". The new strategy, which takes into account the
developments since the 1999 strategy emphasizes "sustainable consumption
and production" as a key priority area.
SPAC
AT CSD IPM
Mar. 2005: A
report on sustainable production and consumption (SPAC) issues, as was
discussed in the CSD Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting is available
here.
SCP
CONFERENCE IN NAIROBI
Feb. 2005:
The Second African Expert Meeting, held in Nairobi, Kenya, (17-18 February) identified the priorities and concrete activities that have
been and could be carried out in the region in the area of water, energy,
urban environment, and renewable resource based industries.
Read UNEP's report
of the meeting in SC.Net