SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION

Live a life without jeopardizing the needs of future generation

Introduction

The word sustainable means “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.”

Sustainability in life is living in complacent without jeopardizing other individual’s life. To
maintain this, people must understand the concept of sustainable consumption. Sustainable
consumption means the utilization of products and services to lead a better living but ensuring
the same quality of resources, products, and services for other living beings too. The concept is
also known as responsible consumption to make us understand the responsibilities to minimize
the use of available natural resources, emissions of waste that disrupts the ecosystem. Each year,
1/3 of all food produced (equivalent to 1.3 billion tons worth) ends up rotting in the bins of
consumers or being spoilt during transportation or even during harvesting process. The
consumer behaviour varies from each country around the globe. This diverse level of
consumption lead to staggering and irresponsible utilizing of the available resources. This could
decouple the economic stability of the entire world in long run. The consumption patterns must
be changed importantly to reach the SDG-12 targets by 2030 and to tackle the emerging global
sustainability crisis. People must be educated about the unhealthy consumption leading to
significant negative side effects. The consumers are being offered more goods just by
incentivizing to be wanted, but not really wanted. These kind of business practices more often
fuel the unsustainable consumption behaviour. For an entrepreneur focusing on the sustainable
consumption might be challenging as his business must target to stamp out the thought of health
to well-being from the consumers. Drastic changes and cuts are needed in almost all the fields
transport, agriculture, food, clothing, cosmetic industry etc. An entrepreneur has ability to
stimulate the sustainable consumption among the consumers through his sustainable business
forethoughts. The business models must promote replicability, integrity, innovation, and
compatibility. The idea is to provide a glimpse of sustainable or responsible consumption from
the perspective of an entrepreneur, need for responsible consumption, challenges, and future
insights, educate people more about Goal No. 12 of the SDGs, inform about the purpose and
importance of this goal.
Need for responsible consumption:

 As the world becomes bigger and the more production centres are developed the diversity
also becomes greater. Many people do not know what they have in their plates. The lack
of information and knowledge in the food they are unsustainably consuming is leading to
scarcity of food in many underdeveloped countries. Report says the consumption rate is
lesser than the food wastage rate.
 The volume of food waste generated is also a source of pollution adversely affecting the
biodiversity.
 Over consumption may increase illnesses and disorders such as cancer or obesity. Poor
diet habits affect the quality of human life. The declining health and life quality increase
the cost of health care.
 Over 29% of the global energy is consumed by the households which contributes to 21%
of Co2 emissions in environment.
 The world’s fresh water either consumed, polluted, or wasted at a faster rate than the
recycling rate.
 More space is used for living and left unused. The average floor area of dwellings
increased from 81 to 87 m² since 1990, while the number of people per household
decreased from 2.8 to 2.4.
 Average resource used by a person increased to 9.1% since 2010.

Trends to be promoted by an entrepreneur to increase responsible consumption:

 Develop or manufacture more green products so that the waste could be managed, and
less pollutants are released in the environment.
 To build and educate capacities of households on sustainable and healthy food choices.
 Switch to energy efficient lightning by introducing solar powered lamps and devices
which would enhance affordable and clean energy also save energy for the next
generation.
 Introduce sustainable packaging.
 Promote small business ownership that avoids huge production process.
 Introduce more bike or ride sharing platforms in big cities especially for the office goers.
  Introduce eco-friendly beauty products that does not use much of chemicals or ingredients
but provide enhanced beauty results.
 Encourage more second-hand stores in big cities and urban areas.

Suggestions:

Installing solar devices for households:

There is a rising demand for attaining SDG’s goal 12, the concept of installing solar devices
in households will be a fruit-bearing trend. Installing outdoor-sensor solar lights, Solar portable
smartphone charger, Solar Rechargeable Fan, Solar flashlights. These solar devices would be
more efficient and sustainable. These ideas must be implemented in all households, electrical
energy or resource would be consumed more responsibly.

Introducing sustainable packaging:

Food take-away systems are prevailing more in every country. Designing sustainable food
packaging with desirable features and hygienic products would be a future trend in food
packaging industry. These products would be a better alternative option for plastic covers and
boxes. The products will be manufactured from commercially available materials made from by-
products, and low impact materials derived from nature. It will be heat proof, lightweight and
reusable. Customers ordering these packages would receive a special coupon for their next
orders. These rewarding systems can intensify the responsible consumption among the
customers.

Encourage more second-hand stores:

Opening a second-hand store not only saves your customers money, but it is also better for the
environment. Instead of tossing a perfectly good item into the trash, encourage consumers to
donate their used items to you so another person can get value out of that item.

Spread awareness:

Start a green consulting agency to spread awareness regarding the need for responsible
consumption. Campaigns will be held elucidating consumer responsibilities and ways for
leading sustainable and quality without jeopardizing life of future generation.

Eco-friendly beauty products:

 New forethoughts for manufacturing quality beauty products and skin care products are being
positively embraced among the consumers. Products made from vegetable, fruit peels, home-
made skin masks, lipsticks which are 100% organic and safe.

Conclusions:

Resources are provided by mother nature in abundance to lead a healthy sustainable life.
Humans must understand there are other living beings in the globe which needs to survive in
daily life, also in future. We must ensure that we consume the resources without any greed by
knowing the current trends, also letting the future generation to satisfy their needs. The
responsible consumption must be understood as the core value of survival and entrepreneurs
could be more successful if they promote their business supporting and enhancing this concept.
So, concluding by leaving a note, “Live and let live”.
 List of literatures

1. Http://ppga.ufcg.edu.br/images/4/4c/Texto_1.pdf .
2. (PDF) Sustainable consumption through new business models - The role of sustainable
entrepreneurship
3. Https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/SDG_12_-
_Responsible_consumption_and_production.
4. Https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/1951Sustainable
Consumption.pdf
5. Green Business Ideas for Eco-Minded Entrepreneurs - businessnewsdaily.com
6. Unsustainable consumption – the mother of all environmental issues? — European
Environment Agency
7. Toward sustainable consumption: Investigating the determinants of green buying
behaviour of Indian consumers - Jaiswal - 2018 - BUSINESS STRATEGY &
DEVELOPMENT - Wiley Online Library
8. Millennium Development Goals. (2020) SDG 12 - Ensure Sustainable Consumption And
Production. Https://www.mdgmonitor.org/sdg12-ensure-sustainable-consumption-and-
production

9. Manget, J., Roche, C. And Münnich, F. (2009) Capturing the green advantage for
consumer companies.

10. OECD (2017) OECD And The Sustainable Development Goals: Delivering On Universal
Goals And Targets http://www.oecd.org/development/sustainable-development-goals.htm