FEM 3335 Sustainable Consumption

1. FEM 3335Sustainable Consumption Assoc Prof Dr Sharifah Norazizan Syed Abd Rashid, APPM Department of Social & Development Science Faculty of Human Ecology Universiti Putra Malaysia sharifah@putra.upm.edu.my

2. Content • Introduction • Standard of Living and Quality of Life (QoL) • Sustainable Consumption - Principles and Definitions • Practice - Sustainable Consumption and Production and how they are related • Minimum Consumption and Optimum Production • Impact of Production Process on man and the environment • New approach for development

3. Changing consumption and productionpatterns is the heart of sustainable development.

4. Standard of Living and Quality of Life Standard of living refers to the consumption of goods and services by an individual. It relates directly to economic development. Economic development refers to the improvement of human living standards by economic growth*. *economic growth refers to the increase in goods and services which requires more producers and consumers (ie population growth and more production and consumption per person); whereas the well-being or quality of life of a population refers to a combination of attributes that provide physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing.

5. Sustainable Growth For growth, we need resources and the rate of depletion of resources cannot be matched with the regenerating capacity of earth, as it is finite, not-growing and materially closed. Therefore, Sustainable growth is an impossible theorem! Sustainable Consumption Sustainable consumption is related to production and distribution, use and disposal of products and services and provides the means to rethink our lifecycle. The aim is to ensure that the basic needs of the entire global community are met, excess is reduced and environmental damage is avoided.

6. “…the use of services and products which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as to not jeopardize the needs of future generations.” UN CSD, 1995 What is Sustainable Consumption?

7. more than “consuming green” meeting basic needs about changing patterns not “doing without” responsible consumption consuming differently, efficiently !! Sustainable Consumption is ....

8. Different consumption what changes in choices and infrastructure will satisfy consumer demand more sustainability? Conscious consumption How can consumers increase their quality of life by “choosing and using” more wisely? Appropriate consumption Are consumption levels sustainable? Is consumption the best way to achieve every type of quality of life? Consumption Optimisation

9. Sustainability Sustainability is the action oriented variant of Sustainable Development. There are some principles of sustainability which include the following : • Protecting Nature • Thinking long-term • Understanding systems within which we live • Recognizing limits • Practicing fairness • Embracing creativity

10. Why The Need For Sustainable Consumption? • Consumption is an integral part of our life. In the course of time we become aware of the negative impact of our consumption patterns on the environment. This allow us to change and join the sustainable development approach. • Consumer patterns change for both micro and macro reasons. At the micro level, changes are attributable to individual consumer's changing tastes. At the macro level, such changes occur because of structural shifts in the environment. This affects our behavior, lifestyle, values and needs which implicate the change of our consumption patterns, which can vary between and within different countries and cultures

11. Why The Need For Sustainable Consumption? • Population growth and economic development are driving consumption around the world and will continue to do so as billions of consumers – especially in China, India and other emerging economies – add to the demand for goods and services. • The market pressure created by competitive spending and conspicuous consumption turn the affluence of some into the exclusion of many. • There will be an estimated 9 billion people in 2050. World population is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050, driven largely by growth in developing countries and countries with lower per-capita incomes.

12. Why The Need For Sustainable Consumption? Recent studies show that we are already exceeding the Earth’s ability to support our lifestyles, and have been doing so for approximately twenty years. (UNDP, Source data from Earth trends, 2008).

13. Driving Forces that Influence Consumption • Economic: economic growth, disposable income and prices, • Demographics: single-person households, longer/healthier lifetimes • Social: lifestyle and cultural tastes for diversity, individualism, working/leisure hours. • Education, Media and Information: environmental awareness. • Existing technology and infrastructure, available products and services. • Policy framework: economic instruments, regulations and social tools.

14. Mixed messages from the consumers I’d like to end poverty, stop violence and racism, and get rid of pollution. Everyone should be equal. I want to dress in the nicest clothes, drive a great car, talk on the latest mobile phone, and watch my brand new DVD

15. Consumption and Wealth: A Culture of Consumerism • Relatively wealthy consumers account for by far the greatest per-capita share of consumption expenditure and environmental footprint. • According to estimates by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), three planets would be required if everyone were to adopt the consumption patterns and lifestyles of the average citizen from the United Kingdom; five planets, if they were to live like the average North American. (WWF, Living Planet Report, 2006). • According to WWF, humanity’s “ecological footprint” (a measure of the pressure on Earth from human consumption of natural resources) has increased to 125% of global carrying capacity and could rise to 170% by 2040.(WWF, Living Planet Report, 2006).

16. Signs of a new “global middle class” with common consumption patterns are emerging. • Globalization and economic integration are giving more consumers access to more products and services. • Local and national boundaries are breaking down in the setting of social standards and aspirations in consumption. • Market research is starting to identify categories of “global middle-class consumers” and “global elites” that share a preference for global brands.

17. Consumer Attitudes & Behaviors • Consumers are increasingly concerned about environmental, social and economic issues, and increasingly willing to act on those concerns; however consumer willingness is not translating into sustainable consumer behavior. • A variety of barriers have been identified, such as availability, affordability, convenience, product performance, conflicting priorities, skepticism and force of habit.

18. The issue at a glance... • Global drivers of consumption Global consumption levels and patterns are driven at the most fundamental level by: • Rapid global population growth – Population of 9 billion expected by 2050 • The rise in global affluence and associated consumption – Global middle class expected to triple by 2030; • A culture of “consumerism” among higher income groups, who account for the greatest per capita share of global consumption

19. 2. Global consumption patterns & impacts Global consumption is putting unsustainable and increasing stress on: • The Earth’s ecosystems – 60% of the Earth’s ecosystem services have been degraded in the past 50 years • The supply of energy and material resources needed for industrial growth – Natural resource consumption is expected to rise to 170% of the Earth’s bio-capacity by 2040 • Human social systems and well-being – Human well-being does not necessarily rely on high levels of consumption

20. 3.The role of the consumer Consumer attitudes and behaviors: • Consumers are increasingly concerned about environmental, social and economic issues, and increasingly willing to act on those concerns • Consumer willingness often does not translate into sustainable consumer behavior because of a variety of factors – such as availability, affordability, convenience, product performance, conflicting priorities, skepticism and force of habit

21. An international agenda • The sustainable consumption challenge emerged as a key issue in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. • Ten years later, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the international community was called upon to improve global living conditions and to “encourage and promote the development of a ten-year framework of programs on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in support of regional and national initiatives to accelerate the shift towards SCP.”

22. Chapter 4 of Agenda 21 • The Chapter 4 of Agenda 21 was dedicated to improving the sustainability of development through more sustainable patterns of consumption and production. • It include two program areas. i. Focus on unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. ii. Developing national policies and strategies to encourage changes in unsustainable consumption patterns.

23. The aim of the strategies is to promote efficiency in production processes and reduce wasteful consumption in the process of economic growth, taking into account the development needs of developing countries. • The last but not least is to develop a domestic policy framework that will encourage a shift to more sustainable patterns of production and consumption and to reinforce both values that encourage sustainable production and consumption patterns and policies that encourage the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries.

24. Towards a Definition of Sustainable Consumption (SC) There are many definitions of SC, but most share the following common features: • Satisfying basic human needs (not the desire for 'wants' and luxuries • Favoring quality of life over material standards of living; • Minimizing resource use, waste and pollution; • Taking a life-cycle perspective in consumer decision-making; life cycle of a product referring to its production, transport and retailing, use and disposal. • Acting with concern for future generations

25. Definition of Sustainable Consumption These five emphases feature in a definition that has come to be seen as one of the most authoritative in recent years. "Sustainable production and consumption is the use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better qualify of life, while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations." Symposium: Sustainable Consumption. Oslo, Norway; 19-20 January 1994.

26. Linking Sustainable Consumption with Sustainable Production This definition is seen as a good one because it links sustainable consumption closely with sustainable production - by dealing with both the production and disposal phases of the product life-cycle as well as the transport, retailing and consumption of goods and services. It also assumes a two-way process of social change through which producers can influence consumption through product designs and marketing with consumers, in turn, influencing production through their market choices.

27. “ Cleaner Production is the continuous application of an integrated environmental strategy to processes, products, and services to increase overall efficiency, and reduce risks to humans and the environment. Cleaner production can be applied to the processes used in any industry, to products themselves and to various services provided in society” http://www.uneptie.org/pc/cp/understanding_cp/home.htm Sustainable Production What is Cleaner Production?

28. Production processes: conserving raw materials, water and energy; eliminating toxic and dangerous raw materials; reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wasters at source during the production process. Products: reducing the environmental, health and safety impacts of products through their entire life cycle, from raw materials extraction, throughout manufacturing and use to the “ultimate” disposal of the product. Services: incorporating environmental concerns into designing and delivering services. What Cleaner Production means for…

29. There is no Sustainable Consumption without Sustainable Production and vice versa

30. “Consumers are increasingly interested in the world that lies behind the products. They want to know how and where and by whom the products have been produced.” “This increasing awareness is a sign of hope. Business and governments must build on that.” Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director Consumption and production: integrated issue

31. Life Cycle Thinking … implies that everyone in the whole chain of a product’s life cycle, from cradle to grave, has a responsibility and a role to play, taking into account all the relevant external effects.” Klaus Toepfer

32. Criticisms of Definition • Too idealistic • It does not emphasize social justice issues sufficiently • It over-emphasizes personal lifestyle choice.

33. A more comprehensive definition of sustainable consumption needs to be grounded in a wider range of environmental, social equity and moral concerns. These are as follows: • Environmental damageThe extraction, production, use and disposal of many goods and services cause serious environmental problems such as resource depletion, energy wastage, pollution of the air, water and land, and growth in the levels of solid, toxic and hazardous wastes. • PovertyWhile many people around the world, especially in the North, live lives of abundance and affluence, over a billion people still lack access to supplies of safe water, adequate sanitation, energy and nutrition.

34. HealthThe production of many consumer goods cause extensive damage to human health through air and water pollution. While pollution is a major cause of premature death in the South, many diseases in the North are now considered 'lifestyle' diseases with people dying from the over-indulgence brought on by affluence. • Economic efficiencyConventional development models have sought to compensate for the above problems by attempting to incorporate more people into consumer economy through economic growth (the proverbial 'bigger cake'). This has often been at the expense of changes in the distribution and pattern of consumption, which can be more cost-effective and resource efficient.

35. Global environmental changeIndustrial, commercial and domestic energy use, especially in the transport sector, is the major source of greenhouse gases while air-conditioning and refrigeration are significant causes of ozone depletion. These global environmental threats can be addressed by changes in the design and construction of buildings and transport systems. • Quality of lifeIncreasing material affluence does not necessarily lead to a better quality of life due to the degradation of the human environment and the erosion of social relationships that it can bring.

36. Taking such principles into account, sustainable consumption can be defined in the following way : Sustainable consumption integrates a range of social, economic and political practices at the individual, household, community, business and government levels that support and encourage:

37. Focusing on unsustainable patterns of production and consumption • Poverty and environmental degradation are closely interrelated. While poverty results in certain kinds of environmental stress, the major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production, particularly in industrialized countries, which is a matter of grave concern, aggravating poverty and imbalances. • Measures to be undertaken at the international level for the protection and enhancement of the environment must take fully into account the current imbalances in the global patterns of consumption and production.

38. Special attention should be paid to the demand for natural resources generated by unsustainable consumption and to the efficient use of those resources consistent with the goal of minimizing depletion and reducing pollution. Although consumption patterns are very high in certain parts of the world, the basic consumer needs of a large section of humanity are not being met. This results in excessive demands and unsustainable lifestyles among the richer segments, which place immense stress on the environment. The poorer segments, meanwhile, are unable to meet food, health care, shelter and educational needs. Changing consumption patterns will require a multipronged strategy focusing on demand, meeting the basic needs of the poor, and reducing wastage and the use of finite resources in the production process.

39. Growing recognition of the importance of addressing consumption has also not yet been matched by an understanding of its implications. Some economists are questioning traditional concepts of economic growth and underlining the importance of pursuing economic objectives that take account of the full value of natural resource capital. More needs to be known about the role of consumption in relation to economic growth and population dynamics in order to formulate coherent international and national policies.

40. A Summary : A Way Forward • Getting the world onto a sustainable consumption course will take decades. Societies are locked into unsustainable patterns of consumption over which individual consumers have little influence. Furthermore, many unsustainable patterns of consumption are deeply rooted in cultural habits, despite increasing evidence that many citizens are now ready to re- examine their lifestyles. As a result, action to develop infrastructures and cultural norms that enable rather than constrain sustainable consumption choices will have to take place gradually, with the full participation of all stakeholders.

41. Sustainable consumption is an umbrella term that brings together a number of key issues, such as meeting needs, enhancing the quality of life, improving resource efficiency, increasing the use of renewable energy sources, minimizing waste, taking a life cycle perspective and taking into account the equity dimension. Integrating these component parts is the central question of how to provide the same or better services to meet the basic requirements of life and the aspirations for improvement for both current and future generations, while continually reducing environmental damage and risks to human health.

42. A key issue is therefore the extent to which necessary improvements in environmental quality can be achieved through the substitution of more efficient and less polluting goods and services (patterns of consumption), rather than through reductions in the volumes of goods and services consumed (levels of consumption). Political reality in democratic societies is such that it will be much easier to change consumption patterns than consumption volumes, although both issues need to be addressed.

43. Changing consumption patterns in the developed world also needs to be managed in ways that increases the opportunities for sustainable development in the developing world. There are numerous products with environmental advantages, which are produced by developing countries and which can improve the added value of production. They can be substituted for environmentally less desirable products, either as inputs to the production process, or as consumption goods. Increased utilization of these products could help to reduce environmental stress without impairing consumer satisfaction, while at the same time increasing the foreign exchange resources of developing countries.

44. Needs : to be able to reach places easily, timely and comfortably Environmental impacts (life-cycle) : land use for road, material use in making automobiles, roads and related facilities, energy consumption and pollution emission, automobile wastes, etc. New approaches: urban planning (location of residents, commercial and leisure services), public transport, cleaner fuels, design for efficiency and recycling, telecommunication (working from home, tele-conferencing, on-line shopping), diversity of leisure activities Actors: government, financial institutes, automobile manufacturers, public transport services, leisure service companies, IT industry, etc. New approach for development Example of mobility

45. Current global consumption patterns are unsustainable. Based on the facts and trends outlined in this Document, it is becoming apparent that efficiency gains and technological advances alone will not be sufficient to bring global consumption to a sustainable level; Changes will also be required to consumer lifestyles, including the ways in which consumers choose and use products and services.

46. Sustainable consumption and production is a common responsibility of Governments, Industry, Consumers and Mass media. Sustainable Consumption and Production: a role for all

47. Encompasses the entire consumption and production system with a life cycle perspective Focuses on minimising impacts of entire system Includes interventions that influence consumption patterns (e.g, PSS, product information and product design) Involves wide range of stakeholders Covers both policy as well as techno-managerial aspects Future directions...

48. Discussion • Define Sustainable Consumption. What would you suggest the best way on getting the world onto a sustainable consumption course.

49. References • Tim Jackson (2006), Sustainable Consumption, The Earthscan Reader on Sustainable Consumption • 1. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Division for Sustainable Development - Agenda 21 Chapter 4 Changing Consumption Patterns http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21chapter4.htm; • Peter D., Sustainable Consumption, http://www.ens.gu.edu.au/aes1161/Topic8R1.htm;

50. Thank You