By Alessandra Tarantino March 2021

Over the years the United Nations has sought to maintain world peace and security by fostering cooperation among nations to resolve social, cultural, economic and, international humanitarian problems. In 2015, the UN Summit held in New York officially launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its aims to fight all forms of poverty, emphasize the responsibilities of all states to respect and protect and promote human rights. If one were to take a closer look at the SDGs, a strong emphasis on sustainability is clear. The SDGs, according to some, are a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) established following the UN Millennium Summit in 2000. The SDGs altogether is a more integrated system than the MDGs, which may enable policy integration across many areas. Originally there were eight MDGs between 2000-2015 which were considered limited, while the 17 SDGs are believed to be more comprehensive. The new 17 SDGs go beyond the eight Millennial Goals that focused on issues of peace, stability, human rights, and good governance. Furthermore, the new SDGs are more inclusive, complex, and of course much more ambitious to achieve.

Thanks to implemented policies and development initiatives, citizens can achieve prosperity. These 17 Sustainable Development Goals are the world’s new action plan for the next fifteen years, seeking to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, fight for equality, and tackle climate change. We are obliged to respect the biophysical boundaries of the planet, in order to guarantee sustainable consumption and production practices. Secondly, it is of fundamental importance to limit the current levels of global consumption with the intention to respect the biophysical ability to create ecosystem services and benefits. The SDGs are universal and recognize the global challenges that affect everyone around the world. The latest 17 Goals put forth by the UN are truly compact because they incorporate economic development, social progress, and environmental protection. Its ultimate hope is to achieve sustainable development for all, but the real question is, can we responsibly respond to this challenge?

Sustainability meets all areas of society, whether that be food, water, energy, ecology, or waste. Businesses across the globe are taking major steps in creating a more functional and prosperous society with sustainability in mind. Sustainability is most often defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It consists of three main pillars: economic, environmental, and social, also known as people, planet, and profits. The Sustainable Development Goals are a part of the 2030 Agenda in which the universal promise is to leave no one behind. Certainly, ambitious and revolutionary, these new goals apply to all countries: from the richest to the poorest. Eventually leading to fully ensure women’s rights, they wish to overcome inequality and protect the environment. Work has already begun, but considering the length of this list, the time frame seems to be limited. The SDG Report demonstrates that the rate of progress in many areas is slower than needed in order to meet the expected target date of 2030. In fact, there are still 767 million people who live on less than $ 1.90 a day and 793 million people who regularly face hunger.

The 12th Sustainable Development Goal strives to promote sustainable consumption and production, in addition to promoting resource and energy efficiency. It is simply not enough to endorse these goals lightly, but it is also important to promote energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure as well as resource promotion. Additionally, the advancement of basic services, suitable and environmentally friendly jobs will further establish a higher quality of life. Consumption and production of goods are both directly and indirectly united with one another. Production creates a material object for consumption and consumption carry’s out production. Universally, there needs to be a reduction of food wasted by producers, retailers, and consumers. Sustainable resource management will lead to cleaner production and resource efficiency. One way of doing this is by eco-labeling, certification, and utilizing sustainable marketing. The implementation of responsible consumption and production helps reach these goals, lower unnecessary spending, protect the environment, reduce poverty and improve the economy.

Goal 12 fully covers areas such as food, energy, and the environment. One of the targets this SDG concentrates on, is to noticeably reduce waste by means of prevention, recycling, reuse, and reduction by the year 2030. It also entails the encouragement of companies to adopt ways of integrating sustainable information into their reporting methods. Consumption and production are ever-increasing in modern society, especially in areas like Eastern Asia. As of today, society should learn to support responsible consumption and production campaigns by reducing resource use, degradation, and pollution, which will improve the quality of life in the future. Such ambitions will become effective once full cooperation and implementation come together. It is absurd to think that in such a modernized world, with access to wealth, so many people go hungry and that there are excessive amounts of waste. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to execute responsibility, reduce consumption, resource use, pollution, and degradation, which will surely improve the quality of life for the years to come.

The 2030 Agenda wishes to care for every person around the world, from the developed countries to underdeveloped ones. The elaborate list of 17 Goals promotes human development goals to fight poverty, inequality, injustice, and the environment. On a global scale, these are objectives that involve substantial cooperation from governments, world leaders, and international organizations. Even though this may seem beyond our reach, our contribution can still make a difference to these global improvements. On a daily basis, for example, we are called to use electricity wisely by turning off the light when we leave a room. This can begin even from an early age, by teaching children and students an intelligent use of resources. Other models could be recycling and reducing the use of paper, perhaps by relying on e-banking or mobile banking. Bringing grocery bags and even your personal containers to the store can reduce plastic waste and help protect the environment. I believe a global reduction in plastic consumption can also be resolved by refilling water bottles, rather than purchasing plastic ones. Intelligent use of carbon emissions would also improve air quality and the environment. Lastly, we can all try to use ‘green’ public transportation and bicycles more, as to reduce pollution produced by vehicles. Ultimately, citizens around the world keep informed about the global developments of the United Nations and attempt to make little changes that will make an overall difference.

Similar to the United Nations, the European Union has also taken environmental issues a closer look. EU environmental policies and legislation seek to protect natural habitats, ensure proper waste disposal, keep air and water clean, improve knowledge about toxic chemicals and assist businesses in their shift towards a sustainable economy. The European Union has decided to follow in the same footsteps with the implementation of the European Green Deal, which seeks to make European Climate-neutral by 2050. This new Action plan concentrates on promoting eco-design, limiting single-use products, prohibiting the destruction of unsold durable goods, integrating the circular economy into Best Available Technologies and Green Public Procurement. It also focuses on the promotion of industrial symbiosis and the bio-economy, to reduce waste and cut in half the amount of residual municipal non-recycled waste by the year 2030, to harmonize separate collections, to reduce hazardous substances and microplastics, and finally, to develop the Managed Print Services Market. (IED Contribution to the Circular Economy)

Thanks to the effort of SDG implementation, many countries are fostering policies that promote sustainable consumption and production. These mechanisms are key in improving living standards without reaching unnecessary compromises, which damage future generations. About 108 countries have implemented national strategies or other initiatives related to sustainability. Europe, for example, has paved the way by setting up close to half of the identified policy mechanisms. (UN Statistics) Reaching economic growth and sustainable development requires that we immediately change the way we produce and consume goods and resources, by reducing ecological footprints and pollution and supporting companies’ transitions into green infrastructures and practices. Once this is accomplished, we will be able to see significant changes in food security and move society towards a more resourceful and efficient economy. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the global economy has grown nearly fivefold in the past 50 years, but at a colossal cost to the environment. Therefore, we must try to ensure efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, fight pollution, reduce overall waste and improve the management of chemical and toxic wastes. How incredible would it be if future generations will be able to say they found a better world, a world that puts sustainable development and production first. After all, without sustainable consumption and production, there is no sustainable development.