July - September 1999
Welcome to the Bulletin Board on "Changing Consumption and
Production Patterns"! This page provides selected information on
projects, initiatives, suggestions, and ideas for making consumption and
production patterns more sustainable.
If you have any information on innovative policy instruments, new
publications, meetings, events or websites related to "Changing
Consumption and Production Patterns", a relevant business
initiative, or any other idea or suggestion, do not hesitate to make it
available to us.
If we consider that the information is of general interest, we will
post it on this page, or elsewhere on the Consumption and Production
website. This Bulletin Board will be updated on a bi-monthly basis.
Please send your inputs to Oleg Dzioubinski, Division for Sustainable
Development, United Nations, Two UN Plaza, Room DC2-2284, New York, NY
10017, USA, tel.: +1 212 963 1859, fax: +1 212 963 4260, e-mail: dzioubinski@un.org
Contents of the Issue
Critical Consumption Trends and Implications:
Degrading Earth’s Ecosystems
A report from the World Resources Institute argues that production
and consumption patterns are integrally linked and analyzes the entire
use cycle for three major natural resource-based economic sectors -
food, fiber, and fishery products.
Sustainability Pays Off
A new index from Dow Jones and Sustainable Asset Management indicates
that companies leading in economic, environmental and social
sustainability outperform their peers on the stockmarket.
Potential Impacts of Aggressive Policy against
Global Warming
A study by the Tellus Institute and World Wildlife Fund finds that an
aggressive policy to curb global warming would lead to substantial job
and economic growth throughout the United States.
The World’s Cities: Playing an Important Role
in Sustaining the Environment
A report of the Worldwatch Institute analyzes the global
environmental impact of cities and practical policy measures introduced
by some cities to tackle environmental problems and improve the quality
of life of their residents.
Material Evidence – Recommendations for
National and European Resource Use
A report by the Friends of the Earth Scotland developed a set of
recommendations for improving the sustainability of resource use in
Europe.
Parenting in a Commercial Culture: Public
Opinion Poll and a Free Brochure
A poll conducted by the Center for a New American Dream reveals that
parents are deeply concerned about the effects of excessive
commercialism on children.
Environmental Rating of the Pulp and Paper
Sector in India
The Centre for Science and Environment released the environmental
ratings of 28 pulp and paper mills evaluated by the Green Rating
Project.
Efficient Appliances to Reduce CO2
Emissions
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy makes available
the updated lists of top-rated energy-efficient appliances on its
website.
Environmental Impacts of Food Consumption: An
Assessment Tool for Consumers
A program using a modular Life Cycle Assessment approach offers
consumers the way to calculate the environmental impacts of their
purchases and consumption of meat and vegetables and is available on a
website.
SUV Owners Call for Cleaner Vehicles and Higher
Fuel Efficiency Standards
A survey of light truck owners conducted for the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) indicates that higher gas mileage and lower pollution emissions
from light trucks should be among the top priorities for manufacturers
of these vehicles.
Finance for Sustainable Development: New Policy
Approaches
The Fifth Expert Group Meeting on Financial Issues of Agenda 21 will
provide a general overview of sustainable development finance and a
regional focus on major issues and challenges as they relate to
Sub-Saharan Africa.
July – September Issue
Critical Consumption Trends and Implications:
Degrading Earth’s Ecosystems
A new report from the World Resources Institute argues that
production and consumption patterns are integrally linked - the entire
use cycle must be considered if environmental effects are to be
understood, potential interventions identified, and effective policy
approaches articulated. Thus it takes a different perspective from
studies of consumption issues and their environmental effects that
either separate consumption from production issues or focus exclusively
on lifestyle issues. The report also argues that industrialized and
developing countries have many common or overlapping interests in
reducing the environmental impacts of present production-consumption
patterns. This common interest is especially evident in the examples
examined in this report – food, fiber, and fishery products, the major
natural resource-based economic sectors. Finally, the report suggests
that the urgency of addressing consumption in this systemic fashion
becomes clear when consumption trends are considered. Within a decade,
plausible demand forecasts suggest a marked escalation of environmental
impacts, if present production-consumption patterns are not altered. The
report looks at the possibility of change through policy reform and
indicates solutions that utilize familiar policy concepts and currently
available knowledge and technology.
Copies of the report are available from the World Resources
Institute, website: http://www.wri.org/wri-pubs.html.
For more information, please contact Emily Matthews, Senior Associate,
Information Program, World Resources Institute, 10 G Street N.E., Suite
800, Washington, D.C. 20002, U.S.A., tel.: +1 202 729 7683, fax: +1 202
729 7775, e-mail: emily@wri.org
Back to Contents
Sustainability Pays Off
Companies with an eye on their "triple bottom line" -
economic, environmental and social sustainability - outperform their
less fastidious peers on the stockmarket, according to a new index from
Dow Jones and Sustainable Asset Management (SAM). The world's top 200
sustainable firms, which appear in the index, outperformed the rest of
over 3,000 companies included in the Dow Jones global index,
particularly those in technology and energy.
Among the regions, Europe is the "clear front runner,"
according to Reto Ringger of the Zurich-based SAM Sustainability Group,
which developed the assessment techniques. European companies top nine
of the 18 economic sectors within the index. These firms are paper
products (Finland's StoraEnso), automobiles (Germany's Bayerische
Motorenwerke - BMW), food (Netherlands-based Unilever), banks (Credit
Suisse of Switzerland), insurance (Sweden's Skandia Forsakrings),
conglomerates (Norsk Hydro of Norway), pollution control and waste
management (Tomra Systems, Norway) and semiconductors and telephone
systems (Germany's Deutsche Telekom).
The Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index comprises three regional
indexes covering Europe, America and Asia-Pacific, as well as a separate
USA index. Within each, investors can choose to exclude companies
involved in alcohol, gambling, tobacco or all three activities together.
The yardsticks of sustainability include strategic commitment and
organization at board level, concrete management initiatives and
instruments, use of new technology and a host of industry specific
measures. The rating uses specially developed questionnaires, analysis
of company reports and policies and assessment of stakeholder relations.
Where possible, it incorporates methods already in the market such as
the United Nations Environment Programme core reporting guidelines,
SustainAbility standards for environmental reports, and SA8000 standards
on the social side.
Sources: The Economist, September 11, 1999; Environment News Service
(ENS), September 20, 1999, website: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/sep99/1999L-09-20-01.html
Back to Contents
Potential Impacts of Aggressive Policy
against Global Warming
A comprehensive new study by the Tellus Institute and World Wildlife
Fund finds that an aggressive policy to curb global warming would lead
to substantial job and economic growth throughout the United States. It
could save the country as much as $43 billion a year and create 870,000
new jobs by 2010. The results come from a mix of policies designed to
drive innovation in energy resources and technology, including:
incentives for efficient vehicles and equipment; elimination of
regulatory impediments; new efficiency standards for buildings and cars;
enhanced R&D; and improvements in land use and infrastructure. The
measures also entail tax reform and reductions in subsidies to
polluters. The policies could double the emission cuts specified in the
Kyoto Protocol to 14% below 1990 levels. According to the study, there
will be no need for the United States to shift pollution savings
overseas.
Projected benefits result mostly from savings in energy and
energy-using equipment. Together the policies would reduce overall
energy use by 18 percent, and electricity use by 30 percent, thanks to
efficient technologies - particularly expanded use of
"cogeneration" to recapture vast amounts of energy (for
heating and industrial use, in particular) thrown away as waste heat by
today's aging power plants. The scenario also projects sharp increases
in renewable energy, including wind, solar and biofuels made from
plants, as well as a carbon cap that would reduce the use of polluting
coal. Measures outlined in the report would also bring major cuts in
other pollution, providing substantial positive health impacts. Sulfur
dioxide (an acid rain source) would be cut in half, while smog-producing
nitrogen oxides and lung-clogging particulates would each drop almost 25
percent.
Sources: World Wildlife Fund, SUN DAY Campaign, Sustainable Energy Coalition: "Weekly
Update," August 18, 1999.
For more information, please contact Jon Coifman, Environmental Media
Services, tel.: +1 202 463 6670 or Jennifer Morgan, WWF Climate Policy
Officer, tel.: +1 703 623 2527, e-mail: jennifer.morgan@wwfus.org
Back to Contents
The World’s Cities: Playing an Important
Role in Sustaining the Environment
A recent report of the Worldwatch Institute, "Reinventing Cities
for People and the Planet," analyzes the global environmental
impact of cities. It points out that the world's cities take up just 2
percent of the Earth's surface, yet account for roughly 78 percent of
the carbon emissions from human activities, 76 percent of industrial
wood use, and 60 percent of the water tapped for use by people. As Molly
O'Meara, author of the paper puts it, "Urban systems are
undermining the planet's health and failing to provide decent living
conditions for millions of people." Today, at least 600 million
city dwellers in the developing world do not have adequate shelter and
1.1 billion have to breathe unhealthy air. Polluted air in 36 Indian
cities killed around 52,000 people in 1995, a 28 percent increase from
the early 1990s. China reported at least 3 million deaths from toxic
urban air between 1994 and 1996.
The report states that changes in the areas of water, waste, food,
energy, transportation, and land use are needed to make cities better
for people and the planet. It gives examples of cities that successfully
use planning and fiscal reform to align consumption with realistic
needs, produce more of their own food and energy, and put more of their
waste to use. Among such success stories are Curitiba in Brazil,
Copenhagen in Denmark, and Chattanooga in Tennessee, United States. The
paper analyzes practical policy measures introduced by these and other
cities to tackle environmental problems and improve the quality of life
of their residents. It also argues that local governments are often
better suited to confront problems and find optimal solutions than
national ones.
Source: Worldwatch Institute, http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/990619.html
For more information, please contact Worldwatch Institute, 1776
Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA, tel.: +1 202 452
1999, fax: +1 202 296 7365, e-mail: worldwatch@worldwatch.org.
Website: http://www.worldwatch.org
Back to Contents
Material Evidence – Recommendations for
National and European Resource Use
A new report "Material Evidence – Practical Recommendations
for National and European Resource Use" has recently been produced
as part of the Sustainable Use of Resources in Europe (SURE) project,
which involves seven Friends of the Earth partner groups in Europe (see News
and Trends February-March 1999). Although the research in each
country had a different focus, the partner groups all highlighted that
the monitoring of resource input and waste management, where it exists,
is insufficient. The report comes to the conclusion that without
accurate and publicly available data on material flows, effective
planning for sustainable resource use cannot take place. Based on their
findings, the authors of the report developed a set of recommendations
for improving the sustainability of resource use, including:
- Development by the European Union of a public framework strategy
for sustainable development, including efficient and effective
policies for the conservation of resources and waste management with
defined targets for short, medium and long term planning.
- Monitoring consumption of individual materials (metals, timber,
etc.) on an annual or bi-annual basis.
- Monitoring production of waste and the amount that is reused,
recycled, incinerated and landfilled on an annual basis with
availability of results both on an individual company basis and by
industrial sector.
- Analysis of material streams using data on resource input and
waste output.
- Setting EU and national targets for reduction in resource use.
These targets should aim for reductions in resource use of
approximately 70-80% over the next 50 years.
- Setting clear targets for reducing waste production and increasing
reuse and recycling.
In June 1999 Friends of the Earth Scotland hosted a conference
that was used both to launch the report and to encourage debate on its
recommendations. Proceedings of the conference are currently available
from the address below.
For more information or to order a copy of the report and/or
conference proceedings, please contact Gavin McCall, European Project
Manager, Friends of the Earth Scotland, 72 Newhaven Road, Edinburgh, EH6
5QG, Scotland, UK, tel: +44 131 554 9977, fax: +44 131 554 8656, e-mail:
gmccall@foe-scotland.org.uk.
Back to Contents
Parenting in a Commercial Culture: Public
Opinion Poll and a Free Brochure
A new poll conducted in the United States by the Center for a New
American Dream reveals that parents are deeply concerned about the
effects of excessive commercialism on children. Parents acknowledge that
advertisers and marketers are extremely effective at using the "nag
factor" to get kids to pressure their parents to buy products that
may be bad for them. Moreover, parents are concerned that marketing to
children hurts kids' self-esteem and is bad for their values and world
view. The danger of raising a whole generation of
"hyper-consumers" is real.
The brochure "Tips for Parenting in a Commercial Culture"
analyses the trends in children’s consumption. Children are exhibiting
extraordinary influence over their parents' spending. Fifteen years ago,
children aged four to twelve influenced about $50 billion of their
parents' purchases. By 1997, that figure had more than tripled to $188
billion. Advertisers make their heaviest pitches through TV and public
school venues, because the majority of children spend most of their time
in front of a TV or sitting in a classroom. The publication suggests
ways for parents to teach their children to be responsible consumers. It
also underscores the role and power that parents have to promote a
healthy understanding of spending and the effects of commercialism on
the quality of life and the environment. The brochure is available on
the Center's website at www.newdream.org
or by calling 301-891-3683 or 1-877-68-DREAM.
For more information on Kids and Commercialism, please contact Betsy
Taylor, e-mail: betsy@newdream.org
or visit the website of the Center for a New American Dream at http://www.newdream.org
Back to Contents
Environmental Rating of the Pulp and Paper
Sector in India
The first of its kind in India, the Green Rating Project (GRP),
conducted by the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE),
released the environmental ratings of 28 pulp and paper mills. Supported
by the UNDP and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), the
project took 18 months to complete. The mills were evaluated using over
a hundred green criteria under three broad categories — corporate
environmental policy and management systems, plant-level environmental
performance, and public perceptions of the mill’s environmental
responsibility. The results show that the overall health of the industry
is not very good. Twelve mills were rated poor. CSE’s findings
indicate that good financial and environmental performance goes
hand-in-hand. According to the GRP analysis, there is a 60 percent
likelihood that a mill with sound environment sense performance will be
profitable. For instance, J K Paper Mills (JKPM), which has the highest
score, makes profits of 14 percent on turnover. Amrit and Mukerian
Papers, which received the lowest ratings, are running at a loss of 1.5
percent and 4.5 percent respectively.
Although the pulp and paper sector is plagued by resource
inefficiency, improper sourcing of raw material, outdated technology and
highly wasteful and polluting production process and has to improve
efficiency in the use of water, bleaching chemicals, energy and fiber,
there is hope in sight. One of the good signs is that companies decided
to cooperate on this project after initial hesitation. At the outset of
the project, only one mill had a formal environmental policy, namely,
JKPM, which also has an ISO 14001 certification. By the time the ratings
were finalized, nine companies had an environment policy statement.
CSE had hoped the findings would induce companies to improve
environmental performance. And that is exactly what is happening.
Companies in various sectors, including chemicals, glazed floor and
tiles, textiles, tanneries, electronics, and industrial consultants,
have already approached CSE to carry out an environmental assessment of
their plants. Support on the government side is also present. MEF has
requested CSE to rate the chemicals and automobile sectors. The work on
the automobile sector had already begun.
Source: Down To Earth, Vol. 8, No. 7, August 31, 1999, website: http://www.oneworld.org/cse/html/dte/dte990831/dte_srep.htm
For more information or subscription to "What's new at CSE,"
please contact Vikas Khanna, e-mail: vikas@cseindia.org
Back to Contents
Efficient Appliances to Reduce CO2
Emissions
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) reports
that updated lists of top-rated energy-efficient appliances are now
available on the Internet at http://www.aceee.org/consumerguide/mostenef.htm,
where ACEEE has posted "best of the best" product lists of
top-rated refrigerators, clothes washers, dishwashers, air conditioners,
and heat pumps. List of top-rated furnaces, boilers, and water heaters
will be added this fall. ACEEE notes that a resource-efficient clothes
washer, usually front-loading, will save about 100,000 gallons of water
and $750 - $1200 in energy and water bills during its lifetime.
Similarly, a top-rated central air conditioner consumes one-third less
power than a standard model, saving $100 or more each year in cooling
costs and improving air quality by reducing power plant operation. And
replacing a 15-year-old refrigerator with a top-rated new model will
typically save $50 - $100 in electric bills and cut up to a ton of CO2
emitted by the local utility annually.
ACEEE also publishes guides such as "Consumer Guide to Home
Energy Savings," which shows consumers how to maximize energy
savings and explains how big a difference each of us can make by taking
energy use into account in our household purchasing and maintenance
decisions. For more information on this and other consumer guides please
visit ACEEE website at http://www.aceee.org/consumerguide/
Source: SUN DAY Campaign, Sustainable Energy Coalition: "Weekly
Update," August 18, 1999. For subscription to the "Weekly
Update," please contact Ken Bossong, tel.: +1 301 270 2258, fax: +1
301 891 2866, e-mail: kbossong@cais.com
Back to Contents
Environmental Impacts of Food Consumption: An
Assessment Tool for Consumers
The environmental impacts of food products depend on various factors,
and it is not easy for consumers or even for experts to determine these
impacts. A modular Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach has been
developed to evaluate the impacts from the consumers' point of view.
Separate LCA components were calculated for each particular aspect,
e.g., agricultural practices, geographic origin, packaging material,
type of preservation, and season. The program considers all impacts
related to a particular product characteristic. The combined impacts of
a given vegetable or meat product can vary by a factor of seven
depending on its source and processing. At a recently developed website http://www.ulme.uns.umnw.ethz.ch/
(German language only) consumers can calculate the environmental impacts
of their purchases and consumption of meat and vegetables. Based on the
information given by the consumer, the program suggests options for more
ecologically sound behavior.
For further information, please contact Niels Jungbluth, UNS, ETH
Zentrum HAD F2, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland, tel.: +41 1 632 49 83,
e-mail: jungbluth@uns.umnw.ethz.ch,
website: http://www.uns.umnw.ethz.ch/pers/jungbluth/
Back to Contents
SUV Owners Call for Cleaner Vehicles and
Higher Fuel Efficiency Standards
A survey of light truck owners conducted for the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) by the Mellman Group in the United States found that nearly all of
the respondents believe that increasing gas mileage and lower pollution
emissions from light trucks should be a top priority, ranking second
only to safety improvements, for light truck manufacturers. The survey
also found that nearly three out of four drivers who own minivans,
pick-up trucks or sport utility vehicles (SUVs) think that automobile
manufacturers should be required to make cleaner, less polluting
vehicles. Nearly 70% of the respondents indicated that they did not
believe the auto industry would manufacture cleaner, less polluting
vehicles unless mandated to do so. More than two-thirds would pay
significantly more for their next SUV if it met the same gas mileage and
emissions standards as passenger cars.
Higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards (CAFE) would
significantly reduce pollution and global warming. Just requiring light
trucks in the United States to meet the same fuel efficiency standards
as cars would slash oil consumption by 1 million barrels per day and
reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 240 million tons per year. Earlier
WWF research showed that most Americans are concerned about the effects
of global warming.
For more information, please contact Michael Ross, WWF Press Officer,
e-mail: michael.ross@wwfus.org
or Jennifer Morgan, WWF Climate Policy Officer, tel.: +1 703 623 2527,
e-mail: jennifer.morgan@wwfus.org
Back to Contents
Finance for Sustainable Development: New
Policy Approaches
The Fifth Expert Group Meeting on Financial Issues of Agenda 21 will
be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 30 November to 3 December 1999. The
title of the Meeting is "Finance for Sustainable Development: New
Policy Approaches." The principal objective of this Expert Group
Meeting is to provide the United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development with up-to-date expert advice on policies related to the
financing of sustainable development. The Meeting is sponsored by the
Government of the Netherlands and organized by the United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations
Environment Programme. It will be chaired by Lin See-Yan, former Deputy
Governor of the Bank of Negara, Malaysia.
The Meeting will provide both a general overview of sustainable
development finance and a regional focus on major issues and challenges
as they relate to Sub-Saharan Africa. The topics to be discussed include
recent policy measures to increase the contribution of foreign direct
investment and foreign portfolio investment to sustainable development,
promoting private sector financing of commercial investments in
renewable energy technologies, overcoming barriers to launching
environmental investment funds in developing countries, and promoting
increased private sector participation in the financing of sustainable
development. Other topics related to sustainable consumption and
production include subsidy reforms, innovative financial mechanisms for
sector finance, recent experiences with environmental tax reform, and
increasing the role of environmental taxes and charges as a policy
instrument in Sub-Saharan Africa.
For more information please contact Eric Olson, Associate Economic
Affairs Officer, United Nations, Division for Sustainable Development,
Two UN Plaza, DC2-2286, New York, NY, 10017, USA, tel.: +1 212 963 8776,
fax: +1 212 963 4260, e-mail: olsone@un.org
Back to Contents
Previous issues of "News and Trends"
News and Trends
April - June 1999
News and Trends
February-March 1999
News and Trends
December 1998-January 1999
News and Trends
October-November 1998
News and Trends
August-September 1998
News and Trends
June-July 1998
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