Sustainable Consumption And Production In The European Union And Oecd Countries

Sustainable development is a fundamental objective of the European Union, with essential implications at economic, social and environmental level. One of the most important theme of sustainable development is sustainable consumption and production and the finding of solutions which will lead to this purpose. Producers and consumers are permanently connected, so they have to learn to become sustainable, providing and purchasing eco-friendly products. Sustainable consumption policies must take into account the social and ethical dimensions of products and how they are produced, as well as their ecological impacts. Governments play an essential role in this process, as they have to create legislative, educational and technological frameworks to help people to change their lifestyle in a sustainable manner. National sustainable consumption and production programmes are important too and is better for a country to integrate sustainable consumption and production policies in the overall economic and development policy of that country. The paper presents the concept of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and its goals and the results of a survey conducted at EU level about consumers’ attitudes towards SCP. The final part of the paper analyses the most important tools which governments can use to promote sustainable consumption and the best practice examples in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.