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Towards Sustainable Towards Sustainable Consumption in Latin Consumption in Latin America and the America and the CaribbeanCaribbean

Programa de las Naciones Unidaspara el Medio Ambiente

Programme des Nations Unies pour l’EnvironnementUnited Nations Environment ProgrammePrograma das Naçoes Unidas o Meio Ambiente

Oficina Regional para América Latina y el CaribeOficina Regional para América Latina y el CaribeRegional Office for Latin America and the CaribbeanRegional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Brazil, November 2001Brazil, November 2001

Dr. Diego Masera

Regional Co-ordinator of the Industry Programme

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Report StructureReport Structure

• Part I: Sustainable Consumption – What it means– 1.1 Population, Consumption and the Environment– 1.2 Inter and Intra-generational Equity– 1.3 Equity in Consumption

• Part II: Current Consumption Patterns– 2.1 The Globalisation Process – 2.2 Changes in Consumption Patterns– 2.3 Unequal Benefits

• Part III: Sustainable Consumption - The task ahead– 3.1 Obligations of Governments– 3.2           Obligations of Industry – 3.3           Obligations of Consumers– 3.4           Sustainable Product Development– 3.5           New Paradigms

• Conclusions

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BackgroundBackground

• Rio Declaration Principle 8:“…states should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.“

• Agenda 21 Chapter 4:“...the major cause of continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production…”

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Sustainable ConsumptionSustainable Consumption

• “the use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and brings a better quality of life, while minimising the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations.” (CSD III)

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Population, Consumption and the Environment

Population, Consumption and the Environment

• "Overpopulation is not determined by numbers alone, but rather by numbers times the per capita consumption...

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Inter and Intra-generational Equity

Inter and Intra-generational Equity

• Inter-generational equity: the earth is passed to us by our ancestors, to be enjoyed and passed to our descendants in the same or better conditions in which we received it.

• Itra-generational equity: refers to differences within different segments of the same generation.

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Equity in Consumption Equity in Consumption

• The foremost concern of any consumption policy must surely be meeting the consumption needs of the current poor – feeding, clothing, housing, educating, and healing the ill among the poverty stricken of the world.

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LAC Economic and Social Situation in 2001

LAC Economic and Social Situation in 2001

- In México, is $160 billion dollars- In Central America is $17 billion dollars

•Economic growth of 3.2% annually• Poverty Growth: 224 million of persons in 1999 (12%)• Increased inequity: 20% > income 20% < income• Increased unemployment• Lower salary value• 500,000 professionals left the region• Increased External Debt

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Inequalities in ConsumptionInequalities in Consumption

• 1.3 billion people live on less than 1 US dollar a day.     

• The overall consumption of the richest fifth of the world’s population is 16 times that of the poorest fifth;

• Nearly 160 million children are malnourished.     

• More than 880 million people lack access to health services ·    

• 1.5 billion lack access to sanitation and clean water.

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The Globalisation Process The Globalisation Process

• The degree to which external liberalisation and reliance on the marketplace are to occur are matters of choice that individuals, firms, governments and NGOs make.

• The critical challenge for the near future will be to ‘domesticate’ the globalisation process, to model and steer the process for the benefit of the majority of the population.

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Changes in Consumption Patterns

Changes in Consumption Patterns

• The Rio +5 conference reinforced the need to develop more sustainable patterns of consumption and production.

• Achieving a factor 10 level of productivity improvement in the long term with a factor 4 increase among industrialized countries in 20-30 years starting from 1997.

• The new goal is to create more wealth while consuming considerably fewer resources

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ObstaclesObstacles

• The existing economic system does not take into account the wider environmental, ethical and social factors of both consumption and production. There is therefore a need for a more holistic and inclusive costing mechanism.

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ToolsTools

• The key tools will be cultural values that are appealing to people who will apply them in order to increase their own quality of life.

• Information plays a central role in changing consumption patterns.

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Sustainable Consumption: the task ahead

Sustainable Consumption: the task ahead

• “….for developing countries sustainable consumption does not mean not consuming. It means achieving a better quality of life for all, it means sharing between the rich and the poor…. Industries fear losing markets. In reality, sustainable consumption will bring new business opportunities”.

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Obligations of Governments Obligations of Governments

• Minimising resource utilisation: by increasing efficiency in the use of energy and resources, by minimising waste generation.

• Exercising leadership: by ensuring sustainable government procurement policies, and by sectoral policies in such areas as land use, transport, energy and housing.

• Reinforcing values: by education and information programmes

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Obligations of GovernmentsObligations of Governments

• One industrial reform which governments can enact, using both legislative and economic approaches, is internalisation of costs –making the producer pay for the full price of production (with environmental and social costs included).

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Industry ObligationsIndustry Obligations

• Develop technological and social innovations to improve quality of life and tackle depletion of resources;

• Practice eco-efficiency; • Build alliances ;• Provide and inform consumer

choice; • Improve market conditions; • Establish the worth of the Earth; • Make the market work for

everyone.

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New MethodologiesNew Methodologies

• In Product Efficiency and beyond ‘end-of-pipe’:– Sustainable Product Development.– LCA (Life-Cycle Assessment).– EPR (Extended Producer

Responsibility).– IPP (Integrated Product Policy).

• On Process Efficiency of the entire industry production cycle: – Cleaner Production.– Eco-Efficiency.

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Sustainable Product Development

Sustainable Product Development

SPD is the process of planning and designing that integrates the following elements into a product:

• Resource-use Efficiency• Product Quality• Production Organisation and Efficiency• Local Culture and Capacities  • The Market, and • ‘End of life’ issues

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Obligations of Consumers Obligations of Consumers

• Consumer groups of the LAC have to make a greater commitment to the sustainable consumption drive.

• Consumer conscience has to be sufficiently modified such as to effect changes in behaviour.

• Consumers have to be convinced that when they vote with their pocket they are in fact exercising a social, moral and political responsibility.

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New Paradigms New Paradigms

• Need for a suitable and acceptable replacement for the current consumption model

• It should bring improved quality of life all

• Allow for greater time for family and community life, more involvement in cultural practice and development.

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Selling Performance Instead of Goods’

Selling Performance Instead of Goods’

• Focuses on de-materialization• Higher level of resource productivity

(factor 10) achieved through a service economy that employs ‘utilization value’ as its central notion of economic value and measures its success in terms of asset management by revalorising the existing stock of goods and optimising their utilization

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A new industrial modelA new industrial model

• Value social and environmental gains as much or more than economic gains:

• Introduces no hazardous materials into the air, water and soil;

• Measures prosperity by how much natural capital can be accrue in productive ways;

• Measures productivity by how many people are gainfully and meaningfully employed;

• Measures progress by how many buildings have no smoke stakes or dangerous effluents;

• Produces nothing that will require future generations to maintain vigilance over;

• Celebrates the abundance of biological and cultural diversity and solar income.

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‘Integrated Product Policy’‘Integrated Product Policy’

• The IPP proposes to remedy the current unsustainable situation by applying a range of policy instruments in a coordinated, integrated and complementary manner.

• It is based in the fact that there is no single solution that will apply to all cases and therefore, it proposes a series of instruments that will be used on a case-by-case basis.

• Instruments range from voluntary agreements to direct legislation

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Conclusions Conclusions

• The current state of the environment and the characteristics of the industrial sector in LAC shows very little improvements in relation to ten years ago and limited progress in the promotion and introduction of sustainable consumption patterns.

• Need to encourage, promote and incorporate sustainable consumption in its policies and development plans,

• ‘Domesticate’ the globalization process

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ConclusionsConclusions

• MSEs need to be actively involved in the process.

• SPD and cleaner production need to be widely disseminated.

• Need for international and bi-lateral cooperation programmes on sustainable consumption

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ConclusionsConclusions

• Finally, sustainable consumption is a common and shared responsibility of Governments, civil society and industry which need to work together to promote new approaches and look towards a sustainable future in the region.

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