Making Sustainable Consumption and Production the Core of the Sustainable Development Goals

This paper argues that SCP should be reflected in the formulation and implementation of the SDGs. Drawing from international agreements, practical policy experience, and research from a range of disciplines, the intention of this paper is to provide a clarifying framework for scientifically robust, policy relevant and practical goal-setting for SCP within the SDGs. Special attention is given to how SCP in the SDGs can create synergies with other international policy initiatives. The paper highlights two possible options: i) SCP as a standalone goal, and ii) SCP as a cross-cutting objective embedded within relevant goals. While the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive, given the competing number of issues for prioritization and the fact that there is also a 10-Year Framework of Programmes on SCP, it is hardly foreseeable that both options can be reflected. Thus the advantages and disadvantages of each of the two options are analysed and discussed. Some basic principles for SCP at a global level are presented, and some recommendations are provided towards the formulation of indicators supporting SCP objectives in the SDGs.