Asia-Pacific Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production

APRSCP came into being after a regional meeting on cleaner production in Thailand with the support from United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and other partners. Since then, seven more meetings, where up to 400 professionals joined together, were held to discuss the latest issues and trends. Known then as Asia Pacific Roundtable on Cleaner Production (APRCP), these meetings confirmed the importance of a forum to discuss and promote cleaner production and resource efficiency. Along the way, Cleaner Production has changed into the more challenging agenda of Sustainable Production and Consumption (SCP). With a global shift to include sustainable consumption, the forum was renamed to APRSCP, weaving SCP into broader policy platforms on sustainable development. The APRSCP has been fostering dialogue and partnerships between industry, governments, academia and non-governmental organizations in the region in sharing and promoting best practices, programs, local initiatives, policies and lessons learned on SCP related projects in Asia and the Pacific region. The roundtable has been held every 18 to 24 months since being founded, working to facilitate uptake of SCP research, policy and practice. To date, the APRSCP has held 11 roundtables within the region and has built up a strong network covering the entire Asia Pacific region. These roundtables were hosted by member countries in the Region co-organized by the Board of Trustees of the APRSCP and supporting partners such UNEP and UNIDO, GIZ, and the EU. APRSCP outputs have been used as major inputs in global decision-making processes, such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the 18th and 19th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development. The declaration on the implementation of SCP in Asia and the Pacific Region, a key output in the 10th APRSCP in Yogyakarta, Indonesia last November 9 to 11, 2011, was submitted in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 (Rio 20). This declaration was instrumental in the adoption of the “10-Year Framework of Programmes (10 YFP) on SCP” in Rio 20. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in November 16, 2012 by UNEP and APRSCP, both parties agreed to cooperate in fostering regional collaboration to further their shared goals and objectives in promoting sustainable consumption and production and green economy activities in the Asia-Pacific region. The APRSCP drew from the results and recommendations of important events organized by UNEP, as part of the programme of work of the EU SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component (PSC), with the main objective to support regional and sub-regional SCP strategies and initiatives through the development and implementation of the 10YFP. The APRSCP network has grown and matured over the years with its board members and partners involved in providing their expertise in the drafting and implementing of the Asia Pacific Roadmap for the Implementation of the 10YFP 2014-2105.