A Critical Reflection on Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12) Through Environmental Management Systems

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• Publisher: GRIN Verlag
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9783389097441
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2024 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1.4, course: Sustainability and Environmental Management Systems, language: English, abstract: This report focuses on Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12), which addresses responsible consumption and production as a key strategy for achieving sustainability. It intends to discover how the enhancement of resource management, minimization of waste, and product production efficiency can contribute to sustainability within a global context. The report discusses the challenges of implementing the SDG 12 in terms of overconsumption, degradation of natural resources and resource management inefficiency while also explaining how the goal can be advanced further through circular economy and through the concept of life cycle. Key issues include how consumption patterns and production methods impact, social, economic, and environmental dimensions, and the responsibility of stakeholders in realizing positive change. The Environmental Management Systems (EMS) framework is applied to examine the effectiveness of sustainable measures across industries, policies and organizations. This is done through assessing if current practices and technologies are sustainable within diverse geographical and industrial settings. Comparative analysis, case studies analysis, and scenario modeling are employed to assess the impact of interventions related to SDG 12 which targets responsible consumption and production patterns at the sector level especially in manufacturing, agriculture and waste management. Findings emphasize that future research and practices should encourage governments, industries, and customers to collaborate to achieve sustainability but at the same time have to recognize barriers such as policy voids and technological constraints. Finally, the report provides actionable policy recommendations including sustainable procurement networks, optimized regulatory frameworks, and consumer education. Besides, it highlights five transferable skills including problem solving and systems thinking that one can learn based on the challenges and application of SDG 12.