Sustainable consumption and production

Population growth, urbanisation and economic growth are fuelling a continuous rise in resource consumption and, ultimately, the waste that this generates. To counter this effect, sustainable consumption and production (SCP) has an important role to play, as does the efficient use, re-use and recycling of resources.

Excessive use of resources and a failure to dispose of waste properly generate significant GHG emissions while also harming the environment. Accordingly, the waste sector and the cross-sectoral topics of SCP, resource usage and the circular economy can therefore be found in the climate strategies of many partner countries.

Environmental protection improves quality of life

One key focus of IKI projects is to improve the quality of life for local populations. This involves achieving improvements to water, air and soil quality, as well as raising general hygiene standards. Ecosystems and biodiversity are also preserved, which are in turn important for natural processes in the environment and which also act as natural carbon sinks. For this reason, closer integration of international climate negotiations with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that have been formulated in the global Agenda 2030 is being pursued.

In many partner countries, IKI is supporting the policy frameworks, institutional structures and expertise needed to achieve this goal. Environmental and social standards are being developed along with information systems, together with product lifecycle assessments and optimisations to local value chains.

Sustainable structures are also being set up in the waste management sector, so as to reduce emissions from CO2, methane and other highly volatile substances. Efforts to enable the mechanical and thermal recycling of waste are also being pursued.

IKI projects promote integrated approaches that incorporate policymakers at both the national and local level as well as relevant stakeholders – drawn from private enterprise and civil society, for example.