United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 focuses on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, which are essential for sustaining the livelihoods of present and future generations. It recognizes that the way societies consume resources and produce goods has a direct impact on the health of the planet and the well-being of people. Unsustainable consumption and production patterns are widely identified as the root causes of the triple planetary crises—climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
These interconnected crises are accelerating environmental degradation, placing increasing pressure on natural resources, ecosystems, and public health, and threatening progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Addressing these challenges requires a fundamental shift in how economies function and how resources are used. Therefore, governments, businesses, and citizens must work together to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste and pollution, promote responsible production and consumption practices, and accelerate the transition toward a circular economy that supports long-term sustainability and inclusive growth.
In high-income countries, the per capita material footprint is reported to be nearly ten times higher than that of low-income countries. The world is also significantly off track in its efforts to halve per capita global food waste and losses by 2030. Global crises have led to a resurgence of fossil fuel subsidies, which nearly doubled between 2020 and 2021. While reporting on corporate sustainability and public procurement policies has increased, monitoring of sustainable consumption and sustainable tourism has declined.
Experts believe that responsible consumption and production must be integral to post-pandemic recovery efforts and to accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. Implementing policies that support a shift toward sustainable practices and decouple economic growth from resource use is essential for long-term sustainability.
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