About the Branch

The Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Branch focuses on achieving increased understanding and implementation by public and private decision makers of policies and actions for SCP. Given the breadth of the challenges and actions required to achieve SCP, activities are focussed on specific tools, encompassing policies, market-based instruments and voluntary approaches, with emphasis given to some specific economic sectors.

A participatory, multi-stakeholder approach to the analysis of SCP challenges and design of responses is complemented by a combination of training and capacity building, communication and awareness and (increasingly) demonstration projects. These are designed to illustrate the benefits of SCP policies and actions (environmental, economic and social), and enhance the capacity of stakeholders to apply them.

Emphasis is laid on identifying SCP challenges, responses and opportunities for developing countries (e.g. new markets for more sustainable products and poverty alleviation), and identifying and fulfilling capacity building needs.

Delivery of capacity building activities at national and regional levels, and the Branch's contribution to the Bali Strategic Plan is facilitated by regional DTIE officers, who have strong focus on SCP activities.

The SCP Branch works with public authorities, international agencies, industry associations, and institutes to mainstream and support uptake and implementation of sustainable consumption and production patterns, approaches, practices and polices by:

• Studying and analysing trends in current resource efficiency and consumption and production patterns
  
  
• Addressing key public and industry sectors with high environmental impacts and safety risk
  
  
• Providing support to sustainable management and operations approaches and product choices through information exchange, capacity building, and the development of sound environmental and social management system procedures
  
  
• Ensuring the integration of consumption and production issues in sustainable development, strategies and policies as well as in environmental conventions and agreements and assisting in co-ordinated implementation of policies to promote SCP
  
  
• Establishing and maintaining international expert networks and linking with technical and policy bodies and government agencies
  
  
• Developing tools, methodologies and policy support for adoption of resource efficient and sustainable production patterns and which create or expand markets for sustainable products
  
  
• Catalyzing synergies and actions towards policy reforms and culture of change by all concerned stakeholders and actors, governments, international organizations, business, industry and consumers.