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

European Producers of Sack Kraft Paper and Kraft Paper

CEPI Eurokraft Stockholm Sweden E t

European Producers of Specialty Aluminas

EPSA 2012 Brussels Belgium E

European Pulp Industry Sector

EPIS Helsinki Finland E t

European Reconditioners of Industrial Packaging

1975 Harrogate UK D t

European Recycling Industries' Confederation

EuRIC 2014 Brussels Belgium D yt

European Recycling Platform

ERP 2002 Paris France F

European Refractories Producers Federation

1953 Brussels Belgium D t

European Refurbishment Association

EUREFAS Brussels Belgium D t

European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources

ERFP 2001 Paris France E

European Research Centre for Book and Paper Conservation-Restoration

ERC 2010 Krems Austria D

European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises

EURICSE Trento Italy G j

European Research into Consumer Affairs

ERICA 1973 Bicester UK F

European Responsible Investment Network

ERIN 2016 London UK J y

European Retail Academy

ERA 2005 Rösrath Germany E

European Road Profile Users' Group

ERPUG 2012 F

European Round Table for Industry

ERT 1983 Brussels Belgium F vt

European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production Society

ERSCP Society 1994 E c

European Route of Industrial Heritage

ERIH 1999 Meerbusch Germany F

European Rural Development Network

ERDN 2002 F

European Safety Federation

ESF 1992 Harelbeke Belgium D

European Sales and Marketing Association

ESMA 1977 Clane Ireland D

European Salt Producers Association

EUsalt 1958 Brussels Belgium D t

European Savings and Retail Banking Group

ESBG 1963 Brussels Belgium E

European Science-Industry Consortium for Biomaterials and Health Care

EUROBIOMATEX J t

European Semiconductor Industry Association

ESIA Brussels Belgium E t

European Sensory Network

ESN 1989 Vienna Austria F y

European Ship Suppliers Organization

OCEAN 1976 Brussels Belgium D t

European Shipyards' and Maritime Equipment Association

SEA Europe 2012 Brussels Belgium D t

European Social Franchising Network

ESFN Gothenburg Sweden F

European Society for Alternatives to Animal Testing

EUSAAT 1991 Vienna Austria D

European Society for Literature, Science and the Arts

SLSAeu Basel Switzerland D

European Society for Soil Conservation

ESSC 1988 Palermo Italy D v

European Society for Sonochemistry

ESS 1990 Milan Italy D

European Society of Concurrent Enterprising Network

ESoCE-NET 1991 Rome Italy D

European Society of Protective Clothing

ESPC 1997 Vila Nova de Famalicão Portugal D

European Soda Ash Producers Association

ESAPA Brussels Belgium E

European Solid-State Electronics Research Conference

ESSERC 1975 S c

European Solvents Industry Group

ESIG 1996 Brussels Belgium E t

European Southern Observatory

ESO 1962 Garching Germany D g

European Spirits Companies Liaison Group

ESCLG Brussels Belgium E

European Spring Federation

ESF 1989 Hagen Germany D t

European Standard International Association

ESIA Brussels Belgium J

European Structured Investment Products Association

EUSIPA 2008 Brussels Belgium D t

European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management

ESTIEM 1990 Eindhoven Netherlands D t

European Suppliers of Waste to Energy Technology

ESWET 2004 Brussels Belgium D t

European Supply Chain Forum

eSCF Eindhoven Netherlands N

European Synthetic Biology Society

EUSynBioS 2014 Paris France D

European Tax Adviser Federation

ETAF 2015 Brussels Belgium D

European Technical Contractors Committee for the Construction Industry

1976 Zoetermeer Netherlands E t

European Technology Chamber

EUTEC Brussels Belgium J

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