Nagoya, Japan, 11 November 2014 - A new global report aimed at supporting the shift to a more resource-efficient world through sustainable lifestyles, was launched today by the Ministry of Environment of Japan, the Government of Sweden and WWF.
The development of the 10YFP Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme (SLE) - jointly coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - is the fourth action to get under way as part of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP) mandated by the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development in 2012.
Should the global population reach 9.6 billion by 2050, the equivalent of almost three planets could be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles.
Mainstreaming sustainable lifestyles into decision-making processes at all levels, and in all forms of education, is critical to reversing this trend and overcoming global challenges such as climate change, and poverty eradication.
The SLE programme will act as a partnership to advance sustainable lifestyles at the international, regional and national levels. It will work to ensure that positive contributions are made by sustainable lifestyles to addressing global challenges, such as sustainable consumption and production patterns, climate change mitigation and adaptation, resource and biodiversity conservation, poverty eradication and social well-being.
The programme with have three main work areas: developing and replicating sustainable lifestyles (including low-carbon lifestyles), educating for sustainable lifestyles (including mobilizing and empowering youth) and transforming current and shaping future generation's lifestyles.Specific contexts, cultures and norms will need to be considered as societies rethink the way they are organized and make their consumption choices.
In 2009, UNEP and its partners sought the views of 8,000 young adults from 20 countries for the Global Survey on Sustainable Lifestyles (GSSL). The survey found that creating sustainable lifestyles meant "rethinking our ways of living, how we buy and what we consume....It is about transforming our societies towards more equity and living in balance with our natural environment".
"Young people today constitute an important group within our consumer societies, and the habits they develop now will play a decisive role in future consumption patterns," said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
"Their decisions as consumers exercise a growing influence on markets and lifestyles. Therefore, they deserve special attention in efforts to change wasteful consumption patterns into ones that are more attuned to sustainable development."
"We urgently need to change current unsustainable consumption patterns and shift towards more sustainable lifestyles," said Peter Repinski, Head of Climate, Energy and Society Unit at Stockholm Environment Institute, on behalf of the Government of Sweden, co-lead of the SLE programme.
"Sustainable lifestyles need to move from a few good examples to the new default way of consumption. This programme on sustainable lifestyles and education is a much needed opportunity to take these issues from theory into practice at a global level."
For some people, sustainable consumption and lifestyles are still an unfamiliar concept, or stamped with the stigma of imposing limits, lowering standards of living and increasing expenses. Others unintentionally find themselves "locked in" to unsustainable options. In addition most learning processes still focus on what is unsustainable, rather than on how to achieve more sustainable practices.
"We can all make better choices about the sustainability of the food, water, energy and materials that we purchase and consume - but only if we are aware of the implications and options," said Jean-Paul Paddack, Director of International Business Development at WWF International.
"Japanese society has traditionally placed high value on, and shown great respect for a livelihood that allows people and nature to coexist. Similarly, there are also examples of societies from around the world with lifestyles that provide wellbeing without degrading the environment, as well as those making the efforts to introduce new ways of living that can reduce their impact," said Keiko Segawa, Director, Division of International Strategy, Ministry of the Environment, Japan.
"We hope that the Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme will be a platform of collaboration between developed and developing countries, across regions, and among community initiatives that can support our need for sustainable and fulfilling lifestyles. Japan has developed various policy tools to reduce CO2 emissions from households, involving local governments and broad sectors of society.
"The Ministry of the Environment of Japan, looks forward to learning from others, to contribute its experiences and knowledge and technologies on climate change mitigation, and through financial support towards achieving sustainable lifestyles."
UNEP provides the secretariat to the 10YFP.
The specific goals of the SLE programme are to:
- Build a shared vision of sustainable lifestyles: achieve a common framework of understanding of sustainable lifestyles through multi-disciplinary approaches, giving full consideration to consumption behaviours as well as to what determines them, including economic systems, enabling infrastructures, availability of products and services, innovations, social interactions and collaboration, well-being, traditions and cultural norms.
- Integrate sustainable lifestyle principles and practices across all sectors of society, in an inclusive manner and through multi-stakeholder partnerships, both with the private and public sectors, and at all stages of people's lives, for an effective and long-lasting change in consumption and production patterns.
- Develop tools and incentives, provide capacity-building for achieving sustainable lifestyles and disseminating good practices, in order to support and enable an effective shift towards sustainable lifestyles both on the production and demand sides.
- Empower individuals to adopt sustainable lifestyles through education, awareness-raising and participation, engaging all forms of education (formal, non-formal, etc.).
- Measure and track the benefits of action targeting lifestyles - to assess the impact of sustainable lifestyles activities and their contribution to achieving global priority challenges (e.g. climate change mitigation and adaptation, poverty eradication and well-being).
Notes to Editors
The development of the SLE programme was jointly coordinated by UNEP and UNESCO. It results from a broad multi-stakeholder consultative process initiated in December 2013, including a regular consultation with and inputs from a 10-member Advisory Group, two expert meetings held in Paris in December 2013 and July 2014, a global survey of 171 stakeholders in developed and developing countries between June and July 2014, and a global public consultation on-line with feedbacks from 32 organizations.
For more information about the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, please visit http://www.unep.org/10yfp/b>The following organizations are members of the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the SLE Programme:
- Akatu Institute for Conscious Consumption (Brazil),
- Business for Social Responsibility (BSR),
- The Global Research Forum on Sustainable Production and Consumption,
- Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES, Japan),
- Integrative Strategies Forum,
- JUCCCE (Joint-US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy),
- The Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy of France,
- Partnership for Education and Responsible Living (PERL) at Hedmark University College, (Norway)
- Prithvi Innovations (India),
- The Responsible Ecosystems Sourcing Platform (RESP, Switzerland),
- Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment (SWAGEN),
- Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society,
- Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development,
- UNEP,
- UNESCO,
- The United Nations University (UNU),
- University El Bosque (Colombia),
- University of Surrey (UK),
- World Resources Forum,
- WRAP (UK).
About the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP)
The 10YFP is a global framework for action that enhances international cooperation to develop, replicate and scale up sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and resource efficiency initiatives around the world. It was established after Heads of State, meeting at the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development in 2012, agreed that SCP was a cornerstone of sustainable development, and an important contributor to poverty alleviation and the transition to low-carbon green economies. UNEP serves as the Secretariat of the 10YFP and administers its Trust Fund.
The Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme is the third programme to be launched under the 10YFP. Programmes on Sustainable Public Procurement, Sustainable Tourism and on Consumer Information have already been launched, while others on sustainable buildings and construction and sustainable food systems are to be launched soon.
About UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the voice for the environment in the UN system. Established in 1972, UNEP's mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
UNEP is an advocate, educator, catalyst and facilitator promoting the wise use of the planet's natural assets for sustainable development. It works with many partners, UN entities, international organizations, national governments, non-governmental organizations, business, industry, the media and civil society. UNEP's work involves providing support for: environmental assessment and reporting; legal and institutional strengthening and environmental policy development; sustainable use and management of natural resources; integration of economic development and environmental protection; and promoting public participation in environmental management.
