“We are what we consume”

Indeed, consumption behaviour of us individuals has far reaching effects on the health of the planet. Mass meat production, for example, has a huge carbon footprint and affects the ecological balance. Currently we consume more than what the Earth has capacity for.

Goal 12 promotes the right to a healthy life through adapting our consumption and production systems in way that is in harmony with our ecosystems. Focusing on how different parts of a supply chain can be made economically and environmentally optimum and creating local circular economies is the future we need to reach to achieve this goal.

  • SDG 8
  • SDG 11

Facts and Figures

  • Around 10% of the world's total electricity consumption is being used by the internet.
  • 1.3 billion tons of food get wasted every year. This could feed more than 1 billion people in a year!
  • The per capita material footprint of developing countries increased from 5 metric tons in 2000 to 9 metric tons in 2017
This results from gaps in technology and production processes. Despite this, high-income countries like Sweden, Finland and Denmark obtain their lowest scores on SDG 12 (UN, 2018)

Best performing countries in SDG12: Responsible consumption and production

No country is yet on track to achieve SDG12

Join in

  • Sign yourself out of Spam emails. Storing your data on servers consumes energy. If you don’t read the newsletters or subscription emails, sign out of them
  • Check the labels of clothes you buy
  • Refrain buying animal-based products or cosmetics that test on animals. Be aware of where your clothes are coming from and under which conditions they are being produced
  • Make Reduce, Reuse and Recycle the mantra of your life; buy second-hand whenever possible and check for Fairtrade options!

Book Recommendation

Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children Infantilize Adults and Swallow Citizens whole by Benjamin R Barber

Shows the perils of a free market that targets children to be the ultimate consumers and make them addicted buyers, through the rise of online shopping and increased emphasis on manufacturing of their ‘needs.’

Our Partner for SDG12

Together, we can achieve more. For SDG12, we have partnered with nachhaltig.digital, so that we can can spread the news about the sustainable development goals even further.

nachhaltig.digital: Our partner for SDG12
nachhaltig.digital: Our partner for SDG12

The joint project nachhaltig.digital of B.A.U.M. e.V. and the DBU is the competence platform for sustainability and digitization in medium-sized businesses. It is the one-stop platform for ideas, products, solutions, inspiration and all discussions – be it digital or analogue, online or offline, virtual or on-site.