Sustainable Consumption and Production: Exploring the Links with Resources Productivity in the EU-28

Structural model for sustainable consumption and production adoption—A grey-DEMATEL based approach

The rising problem of severe resource scarcity, environmental pollution and ecological degradation has become a great constraint on economic development in China. Sustainable consumption and production (SCP), as a primary way to decouple economic development from environmental degradation, has been undertaken via various energy-saving and environmental protection policies in China. The main practices for SCP in China, including the adjustment of the industry structure, the promotion of a circular economy and cleaner production, the Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Project, green procurement, and progress in waste management are discussed. Though China has made some achievements in SCP, it is still facing serious challenges. The extensive economic growth model, strengthened by local governments with the incentive of the expectation of promotion and financial reward, aggravates the problems of resources and the environment. The imbalanced development in China, including uneven development among regions, imbalanced expenditure structure between consumption and investment, and the rising inequality in income resulting in imbalanced consumption with insufficient consumption accompanied by overconsumption, is challenging the coordination of development and protection. The weak capacity for scientific and technological innovation and the underdevelopment of non-governmental organizations in China leave the government as the main player in SCP, and this is inefficient for the development of SCP. It is suggested that SCP should be put forward as a development strategy and be conducted more systematically using existing policies in China so as to promote SCP more efficiently. China’s further reform is expected to lift the institutional barriers to SCP and promote economic transformation, balanced development and social equity. In addition, the long-term capacity for SCP calls for the improvement of independent technical innovation in enterprises and extensive social participation.

With a rapidly growing world population and the need to address the issue of consumption of global resource and its associated environmental impacts and other social and economic issues, the demand for a responsible consumption, production and prevention of waste generation become increasingly crucial. With this broad characterization of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), businesses based on circular economy should become the norm. With this goal in mind, an online questionnaire survey was performed on a nationwide scale, to explore consumers’ behaviors and attitudes. It was distributed in all four of Romania’s macro-regions and reached 642 respondents. The purpose of the study has been to better understand consumers’ behavior regarding sustainable consumption and production and examine whether generations play a role in responsible consumer attitudes toward the products. Three generations (X, Y, and Z) have been examined and compared. The results show that what extent those three generation agree with the environment and the benefits of reducing resource consumption, also waste generation, selective collection, recycling and reuse. However, most of them have not adopted and do not intend to adopt consumer patterns based on the circular economy. The findings provide empirical evidence and directions that could help marketers identify their consumer’s characteristics and market segments and develop consumer empowerment strategies on the Romanian market.

Since 2015, the international policy community has started to agree on international agreements with ambitious middle-term and long-term goals, highly relevant to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) such as those seen in the Paris Agreement, SDGs, and the plastic-related agreements at the G7 and G20 processes. Along with this trend, there has been growing attention given to socio-technical system change or “transition”. Policy debate is putting more focus on the need to change consumption and production patterns and deal with various ecological consequences within planetary boundaries such as decarbonization, absolute reduction in material throughput, or creation of a plastic-free society. This paper examines the expansion of the policy domain of SCP in three phases; SCP focusing on pollution control and cleaner production (SCP 1.0), SCP from the perspective of product lifecycle (SCP 2.0), and SCP focusing on systematic changes in socio-technical systems driving consumption and production (SCP 3.0). The potential impact of a wider SCP policy domain can be comparable to the historical shift in discourse related to ecological modernization theory from pollution prevention to efficiency. This emerging trend corresponds to the need for a fresh approach to policy design which can facilitate transition to sustainability.

Realising sustainable consumption and production in companies: the SUstainable and RESponsible COMpany (SURESCOM) model

Ensuring sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns is an important task for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 12 by 2030. To facilitate international and domestic collaboration toward regional SCP, we developed a collaborative workshop method to generate and structure ideas about consumption and production (CP) patterns and employed the procedures for emerging Southeast Asian countries at workshops in Japan and Thailand. The main focus was on Bangkok, and the goal was to identify the implications of SCP policies. The structuring of seventeen SCP patterns chosen from 525 CP patterns generated at the workshops helped to identify the important influential factors, policy interventions, and features of probable SCP patterns. The main conclusions were the following: (1) The viewpoints of consumers and providers are important for idea generation. The products and services, as well as the systems of CP patterns, should be targeted; (2) Transition, improvement of the quality of life, and digitalization are also key directions of SCP patterns in Bangkok; (3) Culture, infrastructure, and industry are major considerations for regional SCP policy; and (4) SCP policy instruments are broader than conventional environmental policy instruments, and expanding the scope of SCP policy should be discussed more widely, especially in Asian countries.

This paper argues that sustainable consumption and production (SCP) should play a prominent role in the formulation and implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and discusses how this could be practically done. Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production have been declared the primary cause of environmental deterioration. This was clearly recognized already at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (or the Rio Summit) in 1992; and this recognition has been reconfirmed in all high-level sustainability meetings since then. SCP aims to change these patterns; it is a policy agenda for addressing the root causes of our ecological predicament, while, at the same time, providing for human wellbeing and prosperity. Drawing from international agreements, practical policy experience and research from a range of disciplines, the paper provides a clarifying framework for scientifically robust, policy-relevant and practical goal-setting for SCP within the SDGs. Special attention is given to how SCP in the SDGs can create synergies with other international policy initiatives. The paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of two possible options for reflecting SCP in the SDGs framework: (i) SCP as a stand-alone goal; and (ii) SCP as a cross-cutting objective, embedded within relevant goals. While these two options are not necessarily mutually exclusive, given the competing number of issues for prioritization and the fact that a 10-Year Framework of Programs on SCP has also recently been established, it is hardly foreseeable that both options can be realized. The paper further proposes a set of basic principles for SCP at the global level and makes recommendations towards the formulation of indicators supporting SCP objectives in the SDGs.

Bottom-up participation in sustainability is challenging for improving socio-economic and environmental securities. This research was thus aimed to present evidence-based evaluation of implementing sustainable consumption and production (SCP) for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) water bottle in Thailand, with emphasis on performances of the producers and the consumers in production and consumption life cycle management (LCM). Resource efficiency and impact reduction were the key indicators for evaluating producers’ performances in sustainable production (SP) and consumers’ performances in sustainable consumption (SC). The SP involved bottling system whereas use of the bottle, coupled with disposing of post-used bottle was assigned for the SC. Plant observations and in-depth interviews with survey transcript were conducted for two groups of producer: top brand and house brand, whereas a set of questionnaire was prepared for consumer samples. The top brands’ and house brands’ performances in four categories: corporate social responsibility (CSR), eco-design, 3 R and LCM, were examined to justify the SP. The analytical statistics of one-way ANOVA was used to interpret the SC variables consisting of demographic data, drinking water consumption and consumer’s agreement to the SC practice. The SP and SC results were transformed to a five-point scale for rating the SCP success. Three most prominent findings are that both producers and consumers moderately account for the SP and the SC, are likely to favor the resource efficiency over the impact reduction, and that the production and consumption LCM are highly potential for the SCP success. The research also reveals that the top brands consider CSR more important for the SP. Producers are challenging for improving water efficiency due to the lost-filled water in the open loop with adapting to the closed loop. On SC side, the consumers agree to fulfill the consumption efficiency by drinking up a whole bottle of water and reduce the impact by accompanying post-used bottle for solely disposing of them in a trash bin. The achieving outcomes are listing as (1) Matrix model bottom-up participation in SCP implementation, (2) Evidence-based case of sustainability in both environment and socio-economic development and (3) Good practice for LCM development. Finally, a bottom-up participation in SCP implementation shall be largely developed to ensure sustainability success in Thai context.

This review paper examines the past, present, and future of sustainable consumption and production (SCP). The history of the Sustainable Development Goal No. 12 (i.e., to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns) is presented and analyzed. A definition of the sustainable consumption is given and the role of education is explained. The present status and existing trends of SCP are introduced by analyzing unsustainable behavior and the existing dilemma, namely sustainable growth or degrowth. A very broad range of methods is used for measuring and evaluating SCP within sustainable development. To forecast the future of SCP, important trends are presented. The future development of SCP will follow several megatrends and it will require reduced personal and collective consumption (degrowth). Energy usage in buildings, renewable energy sources, and energy storage will be important in that respect. Transportation emissions will continue to be lowered. Waste, especially food waste, shall be reduced, and consumer products shall become more durable. All waste must be collected and separated to be reused. SPC is elaborated in view of the two approaches—Industry 4.0 (smart factory), and the “Sixth Wave” evolution. Net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, resource efficiency, and zero waste will be at the forefront of future activities. A circular economy requires extension of product lifetimes, and the reuse and recycling of products. Reducing emissions, pollution and specific energy, water, and raw material usage (especially critical raw materials), as well as the role of digitalization, will be important.

This chapter considers the contribution of business to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and the way in which this contribution may be advanced through recognising both the experiences and the drivers of current approaches. It puts forth proposals for innovation and business models contributing to SCP. The chapter grows out of a research strand that I led on business and SCP as part of the EC funded Framework 6 Programme entitled 'Sustainable Consumption Research Exchange' (SCORE), of which I was a coordinating partner. SCORE surveyed the 'state of the art' in SCP through a diverse network of sustainability researchers and expertise from across Europe. A core team of researchers, myself included, brought together understanding from business, design, consumer behaviour and systems innovation policy in the key consumption areas of mobility, food and agriculture, and energy use and housing — responsible for 70% of the life-cycle environmental impacts of Western societies — with the aim of stimulating, fostering or forcing change to SCP theory and practice. The project research was disseminated through the publication of System Innovation for Sustainability, Vols. 1–4. In addition to this chapter, I co-authored the introduction, conclusion and a chapter entitled 'Energy Use in Houses and Buildings and Sustainable Consumption' in System Innovation for Sustainability 4: Case studies in Sustainable Consumption and Production (ed. S. Lahlou, Greenleaf Publishing, 2011).

Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) promotes the coordinated growth of the economy, environment, and society through efficient resource use and minimized pollution. Current research focuses on specific areas; thus, it is essential to comprehensively clarify and integrate its knowledge and trends. This study utilized CiteSpace bibliometric software to analyze publication features, collaboration status, knowledge foundation, and hotspot evolvement in SCP research from 2000 to 2024. Additionally, a multi‐dimensional knowledge framework was constructed to predict future research trends, aiding researchers in understanding the primary concerns within this field. The findings reveal an annual increase in academic output with sustained interest in recent years; key categories include environment, technology, and business. The collaboration focuses on environmental sustainability, exploring various practical approaches throughout all SCP stages. The European Commission is authoritative in SCP; circular economy and sustainable consumer behavior remain critical topics. Furthermore, research hotspots have shifted from basic theory to industry practices, and recent studies emphasize sustainable resource utilization and SCP macro strategies. Future research will likely concentrate on specific industries, emerging economic models, stakeholder interactions, and product‐related aspects. These results assist scholars in quickly grasping the knowledge structure and evolutionary trends within this field while guiding future research endeavors.

Assessing effectiveness of governance approaches for sustainable consumption and production in China

The footwear industry needs a sustainable business environment due to its remarkable contributions to the economic growth of a country. Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) practices in the footwear industry can act as a pivotal driving factor for sustainable development in footwear sector of Bangladesh. The implementation of SCP practices is not an easy task for the footwear industry since there are numerous challenges in the existing supply chain. Meanwhile, the literature reveals that the lack of studies on relevant industry motivates to carry out this research. Therefore, this research focuses on the state-of-the-art literature by identifying and finding interactions among challenges to SCP practices in the footwear supply chain. Five experts from five reputed and export-oriented footwear industries were assigned to find out the challenges regarding the SCP implementation and the most important 10 challenges were identified based on experts’ feedback. To assess the cause–effect relationship among challenges, a decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique, a powerful decision-making tool which can find the interactions among factors, was employed. In this study, results showed that five challenges were identified as causal group challenges and remaining five identified as effect group challenges. The causal challenges are lack of top management commitment, absence of market information of green products, inadequate training facility on SCP, motivational gap among consumers, and lack of rules and regulations on SCP practices. Those challenges have net positive influence on effect group challenges such as poor compliance practices, lack of latest technological facility, lack of acceptance on green products, lack of reverse logistics facility, and poor linkage and coordination among lead firms. These results will assist decision-makers to make strategic policy regarding implementing SCP in the footwear supply chain. This study is the first one which deals with the importance of SCP practices in the context of footwear industry, and it is also important for the sustainable development of footwear sector of Bangladesh.

Sustainable production, consumption, and livelihoods: global and regional research perspectives

Consumer demand and consumption, if shifted to a sustainable pattern, in theory, should influence producers to meet that demand with sustainable production processes, greater choice of green products, and different consumption options, for instance, services instead of products. At the same time, increased choice and expanded consumption options should drive down relative prices, make green goods and services more affordable and accessible, and create a closed cycle leading to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) system. The paper reviews different cases of resource efficient and cleaner production as well as sustainable products and services developed in Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, and Spain. These research cases were selected from the presentations at the second international conference “Sustainable consumption and production: how to make it possible,” held on September 28–30 in Kaunas, Lithuania. An overwhelming message of the review is that the best results could be achieved when all stakeholders work together for a common vision of SCP for current and future generations. Multistakeholder cooperation together with new economics approach is challenging, but essential for the planet currently imperiled by overpopulation and over-consumption and, for the first time in human history, facing the situation of breaching the planetary boundaries.