Consumption and the environment (SOER2010) - European ...

Thematic assessment | Consumption and the environment
Stewardship Council, recent draft legislation to prevent
illegally‐logged timber and timber‐based products
from entering the EU market, and other supply‐chain
initiatives.
In Chapter 2, it was shown that the environmental
pressures and material resource intensities per euro
spent varied considerably for different consumption
categories. Consumption of food and drink, mobility and
housing have the highest pressures and material resource
use per euro spent. Since these consumption categories
also make up considerable parts of overall European
consumption, they are the areas with the highest
potential in terms of reducing environmental pressures
caused by consumption patterns.
8.3 Consumption and
integration of environmental
considerations across policy
domains
The SOER 2010 synthesis (EEA, 2010a) concludes
that where environmental pressures correspond to
multiple sources and economic activities — including
consumption — there is a need to ensure coherence
in the way we tackle the challenges. It identifies
consumption, in particular housing, food and mobility
as significant areas to address. The other clusters are
territorial cohesion, resource efficiency and ecosystem
management; agriculture, forestry, maritime and green
infrastructure; and sustainable production, intellectual
property rights, trade and aid.
Research into innovative approaches to SCP
policy‐making has shown the emergence in European
academic and policy circles of new systems thinking
about the dynamics of innovation and entrepreneurship
for sustainable consumption and production. At the
heart of this is a recognition of the systemic nature of
new, long‐term, global sustainability challenges such
as climate change, which in turn require transitions in
the systems that fulfil key societal needs like mobility,
shelter, food and energy (Geels et al., 2008; Tukker et al.,
2008). However, innovative system‐oriented policy
instruments do not fit easily into existing institutional
and departmental frameworks.
Sustainable consumption is, by its nature, a broad
field touching policy areas such as environment,
climate change, energy, economy, industry, agriculture,
transport, education and health. Tackling unsustainable
consumption will require cooperation across these
areas to deliver coherent, cost‐effective sustainable
consumption policies. Examples of policy fields relevant
to achieving more sustainable consumption, which
could benefit from a close cooperation across traditional
policy domains, include sustainable transport policy,
policies to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR),
integration of sustainable consumption in education
at all levels, agri‐environmental policy, and spatial
planning.
Many sustainable consumption policies are fully
coherent with targets and policies in other areas. For
example, the EU Energy Label Directives and the
Eco‐design Directive contribute directly to meeting
EU climate change and energy targets. And policies to
limit fuel use in cars and encourage a shift to public
transport contribute to reducing our dependence on
fossil fuels and meeting climate change and air pollution
objectives and targets.
However, there are also cases where policies in
specific sectors are not fully coherent with sustainable
consumption policies or objectives. One example is the
Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which has been found to
cause significant negative environmental impacts.
In the future, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that
policies addressing sustainable consumption and policies
in other areas are coherent and mutually supportive.
Measuring progress is key to achieving a successful
transition to more sustainable consumption. The EEA and
its European Topic Centre for Sustainable Consumption
and Production (ETC/SCP) have developed a framework
of indicators for reporting on progress in SCP in Europe
(ETC/SCP, 2010).
8.4 The role of consumption in
greening the economy
As consumption and production are the two main
pillars of the economy, making consumption more
environmentally friendly is vital if we are to move the
economy on to a more sustainable footing. An integrated
approach that targets both the supply and the demand
side, should be taken in policy interventions.
The United Kingdom's Sustainable Consumption
Roundtable (2006) suggests that there is a need for a
mix of complementary policy responses that enable,
encourage, exemplify and engage people, businesses and
public authorities in what they call the 4 Es:
• encourages, including through the tax system, reward
schemes, penalties and enforcement;
• enables, for example through giving information,
education, providing facilities and infrastructures and
removing barriers;
• engages, through community action, media
campaigns, networks, etc.;
The European environment | State and outlook 2010
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