Governor Release a Study on Sustainable Consumption and Production from Consumer Perspective

Voice of Jaipur, December 30, 2021

Hon’ble Governor of Kerala, Shri. Arif Mohammed Khan released a study titled “Sustainable Consumption and Production – A Consumer Perspective” at Raj Bhavan, today by giving a copy to Shri George Cheriyan, CUTS International. The study prepared by CUTS International, an Indian origin International, non-governmental public policy research cum advocacy organisation,headquartered in Jaipur, mainly looks at SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) from a consumer perspective based on The United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection (UNGCP). The study focused on the national scenario and drew on fieldwork undertaken in five states: Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

The importance of studying and analysing the achievement of a country’s progress under SDG 12 than any other Goal was felt because of its interlinking nature with other goals. Almost all other Goals are connected with SDG 12, thereby underlining that any progress to meet Agenda 2030 by a country cannot be achieved without carefully approaching and addressing the concerns under SDG 12.

Governor appreciated CUTS efforts to undertake research on such a vital topic and hoped that it would prove useful to the stakeholders concerned.

Sharing the findings of the study, George Cheriyan, Director, CUTS said that five years into the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the assessment of the progress in India shows, it is very unlikely that India will achieve any of the targets of SDG12, which is Responsible Consumption and Production if concerted efforts are not made by Union and State Governments. In addition, the status of many of the Indicators may further worsen by 2030, comparing with 2015, due to the negative impact of the Pandemic and various other reasons.

Lack of awareness, lack of coordination and lack of data are a major concern. Whatever sustainable activities states like Kerala implement, many of those achievements go unnoticed and are not reported mostly because of the lack of awareness among the concerned officials, except couple of them involved in SDG reporting, about SDG and its importance. Most officials across various departments were not able to recognise what an SDG is. This lack of awareness among government officials coupled with lack of funding, shortage of technical staff resulting in inadequate monitoring and reporting appears to be the most significant challenges at the state level in SDG implementation. If left unaddressed, this could give a wrong image of the state’s merits and efforts towards sustainable consumption and production.

On Nov. 16 forenoon, the findings of the study was shared in a State level consultation held in Thiruvananthapuram. George informed that the study is being acclaimed at both National and International level by various stakeholders and it is featured in a book titled ‘Anthology of Sustainable Consumption’ which presents a collection of viewpoints, experiences and case studies from both the Global North and South.

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