Sustainable consumption

Sustainable consumption (sometimes abbreviated to "SC")^[1] is the use of products and services in ways that minimizes impacts on the environment.

Sustainable consumption can be undertaken in such a way that needs are met for present-day humans and also for future generations.^[2] Sustainable consumption is often paralleled with sustainable production; consumption refers to use and disposal (or recycling) not just by individuals and households, but also by governments, businesses, and other organizations. Sustainable consumption is closely related to sustainable production and sustainable lifestyles. "A sustainable lifestyle minimizes ecological impacts while enabling a flourishing life for individuals, households, communities, and beyond. It is the product of individual and collective decisions about aspirations and about satisfying needs and adopting practices, which are in turn conditioned, facilitated, and constrained by societal norms, political institutions, public policies, infrastructures, markets, and culture."^[3]

The United Nations includes analyses of efficiency, infrastructure, and waste, as well as access to basic services, green and decent jobs, and a better quality of life for all within the concept of sustainable consumption.^[4] Sustainable consumption shares a number of common features and is closely linked to sustainable production and sustainable development. Sustainable consumption, as part of sustainable development, is part of the worldwide struggle against sustainability challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, famines, and environmental pollution.

Sustainable development as well as sustainable consumption rely on certain premises such as:

Effective use of resources, and minimization of waste and pollution
Use of renewable resources within their capacity for renewal
The reuse and upcycling of product life-cycles so that consumer items are utilized to maximum potential
Intergenerational and intragenerational equity

Goal 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals seeks to "ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns".^[5]

^ Consumer Council (Hong Kong), Sustainable Consumption for a Better Future – A Study on Consumer Behaviour and Business Reporting, published 22 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2020
^ World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192820808. OCLC 15489268.
^ Vergragt, P.J. et al (2016) Fostering and Communicating Sustainable Lifestyles: Principles and Emerging Practices, UNEP– Sustainable Lifestyles, Cities and Industry Branch, http://www.oneearthweb.org/communicating-sustainable-lifestyles-report.html, page 6.
^ "Sustainable consumption and production". United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
^ "Goal 12: Responsible consumption, production". UNDP. Retrieved 12 March 2018.

[1] Consumer Council (Hong Kong), Sustainable Consumption for a Better Future – A Study on Consumer Behaviour and Business Reporting, published 22 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2020

[2] World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192820808. OCLC 15489268.

[3] Vergragt, P.J. et al (2016) Fostering and Communicating Sustainable Lifestyles: Principles and Emerging Practices, UNEP– Sustainable Lifestyles, Cities and Industry Branch, http://www.oneearthweb.org/communicating-sustainable-lifestyles-report.html, page 6.

[4] "Sustainable consumption and production". United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved 2018-08-15.

[5] "Goal 12: Responsible consumption, production". UNDP. Retrieved 12 March 2018.

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