Consumption and production worldwide are the driving force of the global economy. However, this process is based on using the natural environment and resources and still has a devastating impact on the planet. The socio-economic progress achieved over the past century has been accompanied by environmental degradation, which threatens the very systems on which our future development depends and, in fact, our very survival. Consumption and production are also aimed at overcoming the direct relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation, increasing resource use efficiency.
Encouraging industries, enterprises, and consumers to implement recycling and waste reduction and the principles of a cyclical economy is one of the main necessary changes that can have a significant impact on society as a whole. The number of people in the world belonging to the middle class is expected to grow over the next two decades. This situation is favorable for the prosperity of individuals, but it will lead to an increase in demand for already limited natural resources. There are several aspects of consumption whose simple changes can significantly impact society as a whole. For example, every year, about a third of all food produced, which amounts to 1.3 billion tons’ worth about $1 trillion, ends up in garbage containers of consumers and shops or spoils due to poorly organized harvesting (Tseng et al., 2018). Therefore, the situation must change before it leads to more disastrous consequences.
Rebuilding a business in accordance with the concept of sustainable development and making a profit from it is a feasible task, says Senior Vice President, Director of Environmental Affairs at Schneider Electric (provides digital solutions in the field of power management and automation) Xavier Wo. In his opinion, ambitious goals to combat climate change contribute to the innovative development of the company itself, as well as its suppliers and customers (Robert et al., 2020). According to the head of the company, with the help of reasonable consumption, it is possible to extend the life of products up to 10-15 years. Consequently, in business, this approach has a considerable number of advantages
Socio-economic inequality is an uneven distribution of income and opportunities between different groups of society. However, the principle of reasonable consumption can reduce social inequality and poverty. With the help of moderate consumption and processing of goods, their prices are significantly reduced. Such goods will be beneficial to families living below the poverty line. Therefore, sustainable consumption and production can make a significant contribution to poverty reduction.
In conclusion, sustainable consumption and production aim to “do more and better with less,” increasing the net benefits of economic activity to maintain a level of well-being by reducing resource use, reducing degradation and pollution. The idea of responsible consumption is that consumers will create demand for more “green” alternatives in different industries, thereby provoking the development of new solutions and the gradual replacement of goods on the market. Thus, the implementation of the responsible consumption program helps to fulfill overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental, and social costs, increase economic competitiveness and reduce poverty.
Works Cited
Robert, Marc, Philippe Giuliani, and Calin Gurau. “Implementing industry 4.0 real-time performance management systems: the case of Schneider Electric.” Production Planning & Control (2020): 1-17.
Tseng, Ming-Lang, et al. “Responsible consumption and production (RCP) in corporate decision-making models using soft computation.” Industrial Management & Data Systems (2018).