UNEP Post 2015 Note #2 "Sustainable Consumption and Production and the SDGs"

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Publication Date: 2014

Achieving sustainable consumption and production patterns is not just an environmental issue; it is about maintaining the natural capital and hence productivity and capacity of our planet to meet human needs and sustains economic activities. Natural capital combines finite non-renewable and renewable natural resources, including ecological services and the capacity of biophysical systems to absorb pollution, and underpins human welfare and development. if this capital is eroded not only does productivity decrease, but so also does the potential to lift people out of poverty. By maintaining or even increasing natural capital, a shift to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns creates expanded and even new opportunities for poverty eradication, and for enhancing prosperity for all.