| Twenty-second session of the Governing Council/ Global Ministerial Environment Forum Nairobi , 3-7 February 2003 Item 6 of the provisional agenda∗ Outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development Discussion paper presented by the Executive Director Addendum Promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns The present document is a background paper intended to stimulate discussion and identify questions of concern to Governments to be addressed by ministers and heads of delegation during their ministerial-level consultations at the twenty-second session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum of the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) . Global challenges call for integrated responses … Global environment trends continue to pose grave challenges and threats , as underscored by figures recently reported in UNEP 's third Global Environment Outlook report . For instance , concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide continue to climb ; just under a third of the world 's fish stocks are now ranked as depleted , over-exploited or recovering ; and the world 's forest cover has declined by 2.4 per cent since 1990. On the social front , some important indicators have improved in recent years , such as school enrolment and literacy rates , but other threats worsened substantially , such as the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( HIV/AIDS ) epidemic . Overall , poverty rates remain high , with 2.8 billion people—nearly half of humanity—living on less than $2 per day . Both the millennium development goals1 adopted by nearly 200 heads of State in 2000 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation2 call for decisive action to improve these critical social and environmental trends . Doing so will require addressing underlying unsustainable patterns of consumption and production , as recognized in the World Summit Plan of Implementation . The third chapter of the Plan ( Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production ) notes that " Fundamental changes in the way societies produce and consume are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development , " and calls for the development of a 10-year framework of programmes in support of regional and national initiatives to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns that will " promote social and economic development within the carrying capacity of ecosystems . ” UNEP played an active role in the preparatory process for the World Summit on this issue , and will now concentrate on launching the programmes and initiatives called for in the Plan of Implementation . Current consumption and production trends threaten people and planet … The last half-century has been a time of unprecedented expansion in the global economy . The gross world product has expanded nearly seven-fold since 1950 , reaching $46 trillion in 2001 , while the number of people on the planet has more than doubled , rising to 6.2 billion in 2001. These underlying trends have led to rapid increases in the production and consumption of energy , materials and a broad range of consumer goods . For example , global oil consumption and paper production have both more than tripled since the early 1960s , while aluminium production has climbed more than five-fold . Without a dramatic change in existing patters , and their environmental and social consequences , consumption trends are expected to accelerate rapidly in coming decades , adding to the burdens on the environment ( see box below ) . These trends pose great challenges and opportunities for all countries . In the North , consumption patterns are clearly unsustainable , but tremendous intellectual and technological resources are available to change consumption and production patterns without reducing quality of life . In many parts of the South , there needs to be rapid and widespread increases in access to crucial goods and services in order to lift people out of poverty and improve human welfare . But these increases can and indeed must occur in a way that does not irrevocably damage the ecological health of the planet . The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development , for one , recently noted that China 's remarkably low per capita consumption pattern was an opportunity to avoid the mistakes of many other countries that have developed very high levels of material and energy consumption , and pointed out that moving towards more sustainable consumption patterns could lead to more competitive domestic enterprises and greater access to international markets . Similar opportunities await other countries that move towards more environmentally and socially sustainable patterns of consumption and production . Facing the facts The money spent on overall household consumption worldwide increased 68 per cent between 1980 and 1998. 80 per cent of the total of $19.3 trillion in household consumption in 1998 took place in high-income countries , while low-income countries accounted for only 4 per cent of all private consumption . 200 million vehicles will be added to the global car fleet if car ownership in China , India , and Indonesia reaches the current world average of 90 vehicles per 1,000 people , roughly double the number of cars in the United States of America today . World energy production rose 42 per cent between 1980 and 2000 , and is projected under status quo conditions to grow 150-230 per cent by 2050. 70 per cent of all freshwater withdrawal is for use in agriculture , where inefficiency abounds ; over half of the water drawn for agriculture is lost to leakage and evaporation . A single semi-conductor plant uses between 500 and 1,000 different chemicals , and a computer monitor can contain 1.8 to 3.6 kilograms of lead , a heavy metal that damages the nervous system and poisons blood cell development . Television ownership increased five-fold in the East Asia and Pacific region between 1985 and 1997. The number of Internet host computers has exploded from 213 in 1991 to 147 million in 2001. The average citizen of the industrial world consumes 9 times as much paper as the average citizen of the developing world , although consumption is rising fast in many developing countries . Municipal solid-waste generation in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD ) countries grew from 320 kilograms per capita annually in 1980 to more than 420 kilograms per capita in 1995. Packaging accounts for between 25 and 50 per cent of urban wastes in developing countries . The challenge is to increase efficiency in energy and water uses , reduce waste , stimulate the life-cycle economy and decrease externalization of cost , put into practice the polluter-pays principle , and inform and educate the consumers of today and tomorrow . Progress has been made … UNEP has been a leader in sustainable consumption and production efforts for many years . When its cleaner production programme was launched in 1989 , the challenge at the time was to build awareness of the concept of cleaner production , demonstrate its benefits , and strengthen institutional capacities to deliver it . Today , cleaner production is a flagship project not only for UNEP , but for many other businesses and organizations as well . Efforts have also been made to more fully integrate social issues such as labour conditions into cleaner production activities , in close cooperation with the International Labour Organization ( ILO ) . Significant results have been achieved . For example , over 150 cleaner production centres have been created , 23 of them national centres established jointly with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization ( UNIDO ) , and more than 1,000 demonstration projects have been launched . These and other similar initiatives are beginning to yield on-the-ground results . In Denmark , for example , five plants on an industrial estate have cooperated with one another , with local authorities and with local farms to utilize each other 's wastes , leading to savings in energy and water worth $12-15 million a year . And in Brazil , liquid effluent per ton of production from one particular factory is now less than 5 per cent of what it was in 1990—a 20-fold improvement . UNEP launched its programme on sustainable consumption in 1999 , addressing the demand side of the economy and responding to increasing awareness by consumers worldwide about “ the world behind the product . ” It also initiated work with the advertising and retail sectors , and with youth and consumer groups , and it has continued to work with a broad range of other important actors , including the financial sector . In 2002 , UNEP launched a new life-cycle initiative that is bringing together industry leaders , academics and policy makers to encourage the development and dissemination of practical tools for evaluating opportunities , risks and trade-offs associated with products over their entire lives . Governments , industries , consumers and other actors have experimented with many new strategies and initiatives over the last few decades ( see box below ) . These include preventive efforts such as cleaner production assessment , eco-efficiency , green productivity , reuse and recycling , and eco-design ; as well as awareness-raising campaigns and product testing by consumer groups and end-of-pipeline control strategies , such as waste treatment and disposal and emissions permits . New tools have been introduced , including life-cycle approaches , environmental management systems , eco-design , green supply chains , sustainable procurement and environmental reporting . The field of industrial ecology has begun to take hold , in which industrial production is designed as a closed loop , where the waste from one activity is used as input into another . Several countries have introduced requirements for extended producer responsibility , in which producers are required to take back packaging and sometimes also entire products such as automobiles and electronic equipment , creating a strong incentive to minimize waste generation . Some countries have also begun to introduce environmentally sensitive fiscal policies , including eco-taxation and subsidy reform . Signs of hope More than 80 per cent of Governments surveyed found the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection useful , and the same number have initiated information campaigns related to sustainable consumption . Mauritius has launched awareness-raising campaigns on solar energy , paper reuse and prudent use of plastics . As at late 2001 , the Forest Stewardship Council had certified over 25 million hectares of commercial forest in 54 countries as meeting their standards for sustainable forestry , more than double the area in 1998. The global retail market for organic produce climbed from $10 billion in 1997 to $17.5 billion in 2000 , and an estimated 17 million hectares of agricultural land are now managed organically worldwide . At least 29 countries , 20 in Europe and 8 in Asia , have instituted “ take-back ” laws requiring companies to recycle or reuse packaging discarded by consumers . Carbon dioxide emissions in China fell by 6-14 per cent between 1996 and 1999 owing to improved energy efficiency and reduced coal use , while its economy grew by 22-27 per cent . In the United States , the Energy Star label for energy efficient products has helped save enough energy to power 10 million homes , and has reduced air pollution by an amount equivalent to taking 10 million cars off the roads . World wind energy generating capacity grew more than 37 per cent in 2001 , and production of photovoltaic solar cells climbed 36 per cent . Thai consumers have used information from an appliance-labelling programme to increase the market share of energy efficient , single-door refrigerators from 12 per cent in 1996 to 96 per cent in 1998. Another development of recent years has been the rise of consumer power as a powerful force for change , with eco-labelling and certification initiatives proliferating at a rapid rate . These initiatives aim to use consumer pressure to encourage producers to switch to more sustainable methods and practices . Many Governments have catalysed the development of labelling programmes at the national and regional level in recent years , including Germany , India , Singapore , and the Nordic countries . A wide range of international labelling initiatives also exist , including those of the Forest Stewardship Council , the Marine Stewardship Council , and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements . All told , there are now hundreds of different labelling systems covering a broad range of products , including laundry detergents , paints and varnishes , sanitary items , wood , textiles , energy production and tourism . Although the rapid growth in eco-labelling programmes is in many ways a promising sign , the impact of these initiatives on environmental quality and international trade has yet to be fully assessed . But new challenges are emerging … Despite these successes , many large challenges remain . While cleaner production techniques and greener products are increasingly widespread , they are far from being universally implemented and adopted . Barriers to broader dissemination include ingrained resistance to change , difficulties in convincing financiers that cleaner production programmes generate rapid financial returns , weak capacities among some environmental managers to identify and implement cleaner production alternatives , and the danger that obsolete , second-hand technologies and products will be exported to the developing world . On the consumer side , while eco-labels hold great promise for providing purchasers with the information they need to shift their behaviour , rules on misleading and ambiguous claims are needed to ensure that labelling initiatives provide clear , transparent and reliable information on the environmental impacts of products and services . There is a need for non-legally binding guidelines for eco-labelling . Relationship trade should be considered in addressing these issues . It is also becoming more and more clear that environmental gains in production are increasingly being offset by rising resource consumption in response to a combination of population growth and economic expansion to alleviate poverty , improve living standards and satisfy growing consumer demand for goods and services . For example , the energy used to produce a ton of metallurgical alumina fell by 10 per cent globally between 1991 to 2000 , but total production increased by over 40 per cent over the same period , meaning that the total energy used for producing alumina has continued to increase . Similar trends prevail in other sectors . In addition , newly emerging or rapidly developing economic sectors pose new environmental threats that are not yet being effectively controlled , such as the growing problem of electronic wastes . Increasing quality of life , globalization and higher purchasing power have led to rapid increases in resource-intensive economic activities such as tourism and aviation , and technological innovations have brought about the development of new business sectors , such as computer manufacturing and mobile telephone production . The relationship between sports and the environment is another example of such issues to be addressed . Many of these new developments contribute greatly to communication and economic development , but they have also brought with them substantial environmental challenges . A fundamental underlying problem is the continuing failure to integrate environmental concerns sufficiently into economic and social decision-making , and vice versa . Governments continue to pursue economic and social development with a short-term perspective that fails to give due consideration to environmental problems . For example , a Government may decide to develop a tourist destination to attract foreign direct investment and increase employment , which may have serious long-term impacts on the ecosystem and the prevailing social structure . The same can be said for some environmental conservation programmes that try to stop logging in forests without implementing alternatives for local economic development . Similar challenges face other sectors of society . Businesses , for instance , do not always adequately factor in the environmental and social impacts of their production decisions . And consumers , particularly those in wealthy societies , do not always know or consider the environmental and social impacts of their consumption choices . One reason that efforts to date to redirect patterns of consumption and production in a more environmentally sustainable direction have been only partially successful is that they have often failed to address issues and challenges in a holistic manner . This compartmentalization has sometimes led to counterproductive results , such as environmental liabilities being shifted from one segment of the product chain to another , rather than being truly solved or consumers being asked to purchase environmentally friendly products before alternatives are widely available at competitive prices . Calling for new and innovative strategies and approaches … Achieving lasting success in redirecting consumption and production patterns in support of sustainability will require new and innovative approaches . An important step that UNEP has taken in recent years is to address cleaner production techniques and more sustainable consumption patterns in an integrated way . At first glance , cleaner production and sustainable consumption activities may appear to have little in common , except their shared goal of promoting sustainable development . However , a closer look reveals that the approaches are closely interrelated . The overall goal of cleaner production techniques is to manufacture products or provide services with minimum environmental impact . Sustainable consumption activities , on the other hand , aim to make possible the most efficient use of a product or service , thus combining the maximum satisfaction of consumer need with the least environmental impact . The two approaches thus converge on the same target , the product , but from opposite directions . UNEP is helping to build a framework for action in which producers and consumers can move together along the road to sustainable development , as called for in the World Summit on Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation . Embracing this new approach will require transcending traditional sectoral lines and engaging a broad range of stakeholders in the search for solutions . UNEP thus plans to build broad-based alliances for the shift to more sustainable patterns of production and consumption , including by helping to build capacity among key decision makers in developing countries . UNEP also intends to continue to work to improve production processes ; to accelerate innovations in product design ; to promote science-based , reliable tools for assessing the environmental impacts of products throughout their life-cycles ; and to encourage environmentally and socially sensitive purchasing decisions by individuals , industries and public institutions . To accomplish these goals , UNEP plans to shift its focus away from specific products and industrial sectors towards a more integrated approach that focuses on meeting human needs for critical services and fulfilling key functions , such as providing nutrition , shelter , clothes , health , knowledge , mobility , leisure and security . The World Summit Plan of Implementation details a number of specific areas where action is needed under the broader rubric of 10-year initiatives at the regional and national level to change unsustainable patterns of consumption and production . These specific initiatives include life-cycle analysis , awareness-raising programmes , increased investments in cleaner production and eco-efficiency , and providing training programmes to small and medium-sized enterprises ( see box below ) . Chapter III of the Plan of Implementation ( Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production ) also discusses ways to enhance corporate environmental and social responsibility , to encourage relevant authorities to integrate sustainable development goals into their decision-making , to promote energy and transport for sustainable development , and to encourage sound management of chemicals throughout their life cycle . UNEP is strengthening its efforts to support these initiatives at the regional and national levels in cooperation with other agencies and actors . Key elements of the World Summit on Sustainable Development 's Plan of Implementation on changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production A 10-year framework of programmes in support of regional and national initiatives to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production to promote social and economic development within the carrying capacity of ecosystems . Adopt monitoring and assessment mechanisms , including , where appropriate , life-cycle analysis and national indicators for measuring progress . Apply polluter-pays principle . Improve the products and services provided , while reducing environmental and health impacts using , where appropriate , science-based approaches , such as life-cycle analysis . Develop awareness-raising programmes , particularly among youth and the relevant segments in all countries , through education , public and consumer information , advertising and other media , taking into account local , national and regional cultural values . Develop and adopt on a voluntary basis effective , transparent , verifiable , non-misleading and non-discriminatory consumer information tools . Provide financial support for capacity-building , technology transfer and exchange of technology . Increase investment in cleaner production and eco-efficiency , through incentives , support schemes and policies directed at establishing appropriate regulatory , financial and legal frameworks . Establish and support cleaner production programmes and centres . Provide incentives for investment in cleaner production and eco-efficiency . Collect and disseminate information on cleaner production and eco-efficiency , and promote the exchange of best practices and know-how on environmentally sound technologies . Provide training programmes to small and medium-sized enterprises on the use of information and communication technologies . Integrate the issue of production and consumption patterns into sustainable development policies , including into poverty reduction strategies . Enhance corporate environmental and social responsibility and accountability through voluntary initiatives , environmental management systems , codes of conduct , certification and public reporting . Encourage relevant authorities at all levels to take sustainable development considerations into account in decision-making , including on national and local development planning , business development and public procurement . Promote internalization of environmental costs , and the use of economic instruments . The Governing council may wish to consider the following questions : ( a ) What policies have been most effective to date in encouraging more sustainable patterns of consumption and production ? ( b ) How can the polluter-pays principle and other approaches be better utilized to ensure that prices of products reflect the full environmental costs of their production and use ? ( c ) How can we stimulate the development of new technologies that are far more efficient in their use of energy , water and materials and that minimize the creation of waste ? ( d ) How can we ensure that the shift to more sustainable patterns of consumption and production also contributes to poverty eradication and social progress ? ( e ) What should UNEP 's role be in the development of the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production ? For example , how can UNEP contribute to awareness raising activities , to the preparation of guidelines on eco-labelling and other consumer information tools , and to the establishment of regional programmes aimed at identifying priorities and promoting action ? The Governing council may wish to consider the following recommendations : ( a ) The Executive Director should strengthen UNEP 's sustainable consumption and production activities as part of the overall framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production patterns in support of regional and national initiatives ; ( b ) The Executive Director should strengthen the existing Life-Cycle Initiative to identify life-cycle based policies and tools , including by preparing guidelines on establishing clear and reliable consumer information tools , thereby avoiding non-tariff trade barriers and encouraging the transfer of environmentally sound technologies ; ( c ) The Executive Director , in pursuing these recommendations , should take fully into account the regional characteristics , and in particular the situation in developing countries and countries with economies in transition , so that all countries can benefit from the process , by setting up or contributing to regional programmes , building upon existing networks and activities ; ( d ) The work should involve experts of Governments and local authorities , other United Nations organizations , multilateral environmental agreement secretariats , business and industry , civil society partners and in particular consumer organizations , workers and trade unions and environmental non-governmental organizations , to identify actions currently undertaken or planned and identify gaps to be addressed in the work programme ; ( e ) The Executive Director should regularly report to the Commission on Sustainable Development on the progress of the work done to implement the decisions related to changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production taken at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg ; ( f ) The Executive Director should report to the next session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum , in 2004 , on progress made in implementing the present recommendations . Key sources Consumers International and UNEP , Tracking progress : Implementing sustainable consumption policies - A global review of implementation of the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection , May 2002 United Nations Development Programme , Human Development Report , 1998 UNEP , “ A function-based approach to sustainable consumption and production , ” discussion paper , December 2002 UNEP , Industry as a Partner for Sustainable Development - 10 years after Rio : the UNEP assessment , 2002 UNEP , Global Status 2002 : Sustainable consumption and cleaner production World Resources Institute , UNEP and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development , Tomorrow 's markets : Global trends and their implications for business , 2002 Worldwatch Institute , Vital signs 2002 , in cooperation with UNEP , and State of the World 2002 World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF ) , in collaboration with UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre ( WCMC ) , and Redefining Progress , Living planet report , 2000 and 2002 UNEP/GC.22/8/Add.2 UNEP/GC.22/8/Add.2 1 See General Assembly resolution 55/2 . 2 Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development , Johannesburg , South Africa , 26 August - 4 September 2002 ( United Nations publication Sales No. E.03 . II . A.1 , chap . I , resolution 2 , annex . |