The countdown to Christmas has begun, but before enjoying hot chocolate, and buying presents, people need to take a step back and reflect.
Since the end of the 60s, companies have been aware of the consequences of fossil fuel combustion on the climate, but they have massively turned a blind eye on it and focused on profiting more by expanding their supply chains worldwide. Due to the pandemic, many productions were disrupted and some even stopped, resulting in a long period of uncertainties for companies, workers, and consumers. In fact, no legislation or regulation holds the companies accountable for their actions, as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is only a voluntary mechanism.
In the last years, also due to a growing movement of citizen’s criticisms, companies have adopted more ethical behaviour, including CSR in their corporate strategies. Sustainable production could pave the way to a just transition and low-carbon economy by promoting environmental innovation, but to what extent is the shift to sustainable production conceivable during a global pandemic?
Time to do More with Less: sustainable production is not only trendy, it is essential!
If the global population reaches 8.5 billion by 2050 as expected by the latest projections, we would need the equivalent of three planets to sustain our current lifestyle.
Sustainable Consumption and Production (SPC) is about doing “more” with “less”, namely shifting to a green economy that continues growing but with lower impacts in terms of resource use, environmental degradation, waste and pollution. Moreover, there is a growing movement toward a less carbon-intense supply chain driven by: regulation on carbon emissions, higher and more volatile fuel prices and consumers’ preferences.
Answering the call, companies around the world have adopted CSR strategies: with 93 percent of the world’s 250 largest companies now reporting on sustainability. The reasons why companies may decide to adopt CSR strategies vary and include legal aspects (regulation compliance) as well as ethical and economical reasons (e.g. the business case of greener production, clients’ preferences). Is it going to be enough?
Individual private leadership can set an example, but will not do the job. To tackle the climate crises, we need system-wide, coordinated action from governments and the private sector backed by civil society. As suggested by the Private Markets for Climate Resilience “Radical strategies will be needed to transform key economic systems to be more resilient and productive in the face of a changing climate”.
Sustainable Production and Covid: Backlash or Opportunity?
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions and economic damages, leaving millions of people dependent on government support schemes. From a sustainable production perspective, the world has seen global carbon emissions lowering, but this is just a momentary effect. More practically, COVID-19 has led to loosening of regulations: air pollution regulations have been frozen whereas the US EPA has relaxed fuel-efficiency standards for new cars as well as sustainability reporting rules. Moreover, the measures taken to address COVID-19 have increased dramatically. Plastic pollution while reducing recycling and waste sorting has troubling consequences on natural ecosystems, public health and safety. In fact, the implications of COVID-19 on the environment remain largely undervalued, which is perfectly illustrated by the withdrawal from several national and state-wide agreements on the use and consumption of plastics.
However, this shock is also an opportunity to rethink our global production system and invest in a green transition. Green plans would allow more long-lasting benefits and have the potential to address the climate emergency, tackling inequalities and supporting economic growth according to the ILO.
In this context, the private sector has a big role to play. Going beyond traditional CSR programs, companies must adopt comprehensive sustainability approaches, reducing their environmental impacts throughout their supply chains. This can be supported by strong governmental regulation as well as green investments through recovery plans.
Where the EU stands for green transition and consumers’ rights?
Regarding SPC, the EU has developed environmental standards, such as the eco-label, to encourage producers to generate less waste and CO2 during the manufacturing process, while promoting the production of durable, easy to repair and recyclable products. The idea behind eco-labels is to promote sustainability through consumer preferences for sustainable products, highlighting the impact that consumers may have on companies’ actions. Following this strategy, the European Commission presented an ambitious COVID-19 recovery plan that includes a consumer Agenda as means to implement a just transition.
First, it aims at intertwining investments with environmental issues and supporting businesses to develop climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. Through its “750 billion Euro package”, the European Commission plans to invest, for instance, in hydrogen, renewable energy and clean transport.
Secondly, the New Consumer Agenda launched on 13th November 2020, lays out five main pillars to empower consumers. Significantly, two of them emphasize the need for green transition and digital transformation: improving information on products’ sustainability in order to fight early obsolescence and greenwashing campaigns.
In its proposal, the EU stressed the need for cooperation between consumers and relevant stakeholders – such as retailers and other EU partner countries.
A Window of Opportunity
Covid-19 has heavily disrupted businesses all around the world, producing unforeseen economic havoc and inequalities that have the potential to hamper the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
What is needed is for governments, the private sector and civil society to take up the challenge and collaborate, fostering a shift in the way we think, design and implement our production and consumption systems.
As we all know, we are running out of time. The EU has usually been working with its Member States, but Covid-19 has shown that it would not be enough to get back on track. We need to build new partnerships by empowering consumers and working at every level to ensure a fair transition for all and by all.
This will not happen spontaneously. It entails well-designed and well-funded green growth policy packages which include science-based targets and indicators. This is not an easy task, but as Inger Anders (Executive Director, UN Environment Programme) said:
We now have the perfect combination of factors to make these kinds of systemic shifts. The pandemic has given us a motivating warning: if we do not change how we live voluntarily, nature will do it for us in a way we will not like. …This is our biggest chance yet to shift our economies and societies back into harmony with nature. We must not waste it.
Written by: Clara Mottura and Marie Tritz