Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP)

In the European Union the Marrakech process led to a renewed European Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS), which identifies Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) as one of the key objectives to be achieved in the context of the European Union's commitment to sustainable development.

The SCP stated goals are to "promote sustainable consumption and production by addressing social and economic development within the carrying capacity of ecosystems and decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation".

In this context, the Commission presented in July 2008 a European SCP Action Plan; the “Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan.” The Action Plan includes various proposals on sustainable consumption and production which help to identify and overcome barriers to SCP, to ensure coherence between the different policy areas and to raise awareness among citizens and alter unsustainable consumption habits. The Action Plan seeks to help European industry take advantage of opportunities for innovation. It builds upon and complements on-going initiatives and instruments utilised both at the European and international level. It aims to raise consumer awareness and promote resource efficiency and eco-friendly production.

The SCP Action Plan in Europe is based on two key pillars; Integrated Product Policy (IPP) and Green Public Procurement (GPP).