Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Responsible Consumption & Production


Goal 12 is about ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, which is key to sustain the livelihoods of current and future generations.

Our planet is running out of resources, but populations are continuing to grow. If the global population reaches 9.8 billion by 2050, the equivalent of almost three planets will be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles.

We need to change our consumption habits, and shifting our energy supplies to more sustainable ones are one of the main changes we must make if we are going to reduce our consumption levels. However, global crises triggered a resurgence in fossil fuel subsidies, nearly doubling from 2020 to 2021.

We are seeing promising changes in industries, including the trend towards sustainability reporting being on the rise, almost tripling the amount of published sustainability over just a few years, showing increased levels of commitment and awareness that sustainability should be at the core of business practices.

Food waste is another sign of over consumption, and tackling food loss is urgent and requires dedicated policies, informed by data, as well as investments in technologies, infrastructure, education and monitoring. A staggering 931 million tons of food is wasted a year, despite a huge number of the global population going hungry.

Name Acronym Founded City HQ Country/Territory HQ Type I Type II

World Federation of Building Service Contractors

WFBSC 1979 Chicago IL USA C y

World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry

WFCCI 1991 Beijing China D t

World Federation of Diamond Bourses

WFDB 1947 Antwerp Belgium D

World Federation of Direct Selling Associations

WFDSA 1972 Washington DC USA C

World Federation of Engineering Organizations

WFEO 1968 Paris France A y

World Federation of Exchanges

WFE 1961 London UK C

World Federation of Master Tailors

WFMT 1910 Drottningholm Sweden C

World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Associations

World OKTA 1981 Goyang Korea Rep D t

World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry

WFSGI 1978 Itingen Switzerland C t

World Federation of United Nations Associations

WFUNA 1946 New York NY USA E

World Fish Migration Foundation

Groningen Netherlands G f

World for World Organization

WFWO 2001 Rome Italy G

World Forum for Alternatives

WFA 1997 Dakar Senegal F y

World Health Innovation Summit

WHIS Carlisle UK J

World Health Organization

WHO 1946 Geneva Switzerland B g

World Healthcare Forum Foundation

2012 The Hague Netherlands J f

World Heritage Centre

WHC 1992 Paris France E g

World Heritage Committee

1976 Paris France E g

World Human Accountability Organization

WHAO 2016 New York NY USA G

World Information Transfer

WIT 1986 New York NY USA F

World Institute of Science

WIS 1991 Villeneuve-l'Archevêque France F j

World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research

WINIR 2013 Coventry UK F

World Iodine Association

WIA Brussels Belgium D yt

World Land Trust

WLT 1989 Halesworth UK G

World Master Chefs Society

1947 Grays UK D

World Mountain People Association

WMPA 2001 Paris France C

World Naked Bike Ride

WNBR N

World Natural Health Organization

WNHO 1983 Burlington WA USA G

World Organization of the Scout Movement

WOSM 1907 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia B

World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies

WOCAT 1992 Bern Switzerland K

World Packaging Organisation

WPO 1968 Vienna Austria C y

World Paint and Coatings Industry Association

WPCIA 1976 J t

World PCO Alliance

2009 Tokyo Japan D

World Pheasant Association

WPA 1975 Hexham UK E v

World Plastics Council

WPC 2014 Washington DC USA C y

World Resources Forum Association

WRFA 2012 St Gallen Switzerland E y

World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association

WR3A 2004 Middlebury VT USA N

World Sailing

1907 London UK B y

World Savings Banks Institute

WSBI 1994 Brussels Belgium F jy

World Seabird Union

WSU 2010 Clemson SC USA C y

World Shiology Forum

WSF 2017 Beijing China J

World Society for Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products

WSMBMP 1994 Shanghai China C v

world stainless association

worldstainless 1995 Brussels Belgium F y

World Steel Association

worldsteel 1967 Brussels Belgium C t

World Sturgeon Conservation Society

WSCS 2003 Neu Wulmstorf Germany D

World Taxpayers Associations

WTA 1988 London UK B

World Tort Law Society

WTLS 2012 Vienna Austria C

World Trade Point Federation

WTPF 2000 D t

World Union of Small and Medium Enterprises

WUSME 2010 San Marino San Marino C

World Union of Wholesale Markets

WUWM 1958 The Hague Netherlands E

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