Towards a More Resource Efficient World

A roadmap for sustainable consumption and production in Asia and the Pacific – the first of its kind across the world – was launched in Jakarta late April on the fringes of the ASEAN Forum on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). It follows hot on the heels of the new global programme, launched in New York on 1 April 2014 to harness the power of the trillions of dollars that governments spend on public procurement each year towards a shift to a more resource-efficient world. The Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) Programme aims to assist governments to redirect public spending into goods and services that bring significant environmental and social benefits. Read More

Roadmap for Unprecedented Shift Towards Sustainable

Consumption and Production Launches in Asia and the Pacific

Jakarta/Bangkok, 28 April 2014 – A roadmap to press forward the shift to sustainable consumption and production in Asia and the Pacific – the first of its kind across the world – was launched in Jakarta today on the fringes of the ASEAN Forum on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP).

The Asia Pacific region is the first in the world to develop such a roadmap, complete with indicators and comprehensive outputs to mainstream SCP in different sectors such tourism, buildings and construction, public procurement, product sustainability information, lifestyles and education for sustainable consumption.

The 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, or “10 YFP”, as it is known, is a global framework of action to enhance international cooperation to accelerate the shift towards SCP in both developed and developing countries.

“The 10YFP Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific will provide a clear blueprint for the region in shifting towards more resource efficient and sustainable production and consumption patterns for the coming years,” said Yong-Joo Kim, President of the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute and member of the 10YFP Board.

“The Republic of Korea wishes to support putting in place the roadmap and making an economic case for SCP. As a co-lead of the 10YFP Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) Programme, we also hope to create synergies between the global SPP programme and Asian regional activities under the Roadmap,” he added.

10YFP was established after Heads of State at the 2012 Rio+20 meeting agreed that SCP is a cornerstone of sustainable development and an important contributor to poverty alleviation and the transition to low-carbon and green economies.

UNEP host the Secretariat of the 10 FYP.

The 10YFP Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific was developed through consultations that began November last year and concluded last week. More than 100 Government officials, civil society, academia and businesses along with experts from 25 countries in the region have contributed to the Roadmap. The development of the Roadmap has been technically and financially supported by the European Union via the Regional Policy Support Component of the SWITCH-Asia Programme.

“Indonesia welcomes and celebrates the launching of the roadmap today. This roadmap will embrace and unite the region as a big family in its journey towards Sustainable Development, with support from the UN system and international partners,” said Henry Bastaman, Deputy Minister for Development of Technical Infrastructure and Capacity Building of the Indonesian Ministry of the Environment, and Co-Chair of the UN 10YFP Board.

“At the national level, Indonesia is implementing its 10-Year National Framework Programme on SCP Implementation, launched on 5 June 2013. At the international level, Indonesia is committed to serve co-leadership with Mexico in the UN 10YFP Board, coleadership with Korea in the Asia and the Pacific Region, and leadership in the ASEAN Forum on SCP,” he said.

“At the Rio Summit in 2013 Heads of State recognized that urgent action on unsustainable patterns of production and consumption is fundamental in addressing environmental sustainability and promoting sustained, inclusive and equitable global growth.,” said Kaveh  Zahedi, Director of the UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. “The Asia Pacific region has turned this vision into a clear action agenda to decouple growth from resource use and environmental degradation and benefit the economies, people and countries across this region.”

Source: www.unep.org/10yfp/

New York, 1 April 2014 – A new global programme, launched Tuesday, will harness the power of the trillions of dollars that governments spend on public procurement each year towards a shift to a more resource-efficient world.

The Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) Programme – the first action to get underway as part of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP) – will assist governments to redirect public spending into goods and services that bring significant environmental and social benefits.

“The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development nations spent an average 13 per cent of Gross Domestic Product on public procurement in 2011, while in some developing nations this can hit 20 per cent. This adds up to trillions of dollars globally, demonstrating the scale of the opportunity ahead,” said Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director. “Governments can use this potential to lead markets onto a sustainable path by demanding goods and services that conserve natural resources, create decent green jobs, and improve livelihoods around the globe.”

The SPP Programme – co-led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, and the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) – will enable this shift by improving knowledge of sustainable procurement’s benefits and supporting implementation through access to experts and tools.

Existing initiatives from around the globe prove that sustainable procurement transforms markets, boosts eco-industries, saves money, conserves natural resources and fosters job creation. For example:

Indian Railways replaced more than one million incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient fluorescent lamps in 400,000 employees’ homes, saving more than 100,000MWh of energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 90,000 tonnes each year.

In Brazil, the Foundation for Education Development saved 8,800 cubic metres of water and 1,750 tonnes of waste by using notebooks made from recycled paper in Sao Paulo schools.

In France, a contract for the purchase of toner cartridges was awarded to an organization that, between 2009 and 2011, recovered 11,500 kilogrammes of waste, saved the government 30 per cent in costs and created nine full-time jobs for disabled people.

Many other nations, including the Republic of Korea, have created sustainable public procurement policies that will bring further such benefits in the near future.

In the United States – where the federal government procures more than US$500 billion a year in goods and services – the Federal Government has incorporated sustainability requirements into purchasing regulations. Additionally, an Executive Order stipulates that 95 per cent of all new contracts use products and services that are energy- and water-efficient, environmentally preferable, non-ozone depleting, and contain recycled content.

Chile’s public procurement and contracting bureau set a target of 15 per cent of procurement orders meeting sustainability targets by 2012. This goal was fulfilled a year ahead of schedule: 17.2 per cent of orders included sustainability criteria by the end of 2011. The bureau oversees US$8 billion in transactions, accounting for more than 3.2 per cent of GDP.

In Japan – where a 2010 study found that government bodies spent US$672 billion (17.6 per cent of GDP)- green purchasing laws now require ministries, provisional governments and an increasing number of cities to make 95 per cent of their purchases from designated “green product” categories.

The programme, by working to ensure such purchasing decisions are the norm rather than the exception, aims to play a vital role in transitioning the globe to an inclusive Green Economy.

The launch comes just a few months ahead of the first United Nations Environment Assembly, when the world’s environment ministers will meet to discuss the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, with a special focus on sustainable consumption and production.

“A rapid transformation, which will support the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, is eminently possible,” said Mr. Steiner. “Governments from across the globe signed up to the UNEP-led Sustainable Public Procurement Initiative at Rio+20, and are backing this commitment with action. This demonstrates that the political will is already in place.”

The programme is also supported by the European Commission, the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, the China Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Republic of Korea, ISEAL Alliance, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Swedish Ministry of the Environment, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Source: www.unep.org