November 2008: The North American Workshop on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) took place from 6-7 November at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, US. The aim of the meeting was to define a regional approach to advance sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in North America that also contributes to the global Marrakech Process.
The meeting was attended by 60 experts from government, the United Nations (UN), academia, non-governmental organizations, business and industry. Five sessions were held, addressing: what SCP means and ideas for a unifying vision, concepts and principles for North America; the current status of SCP in the region; strategies to advance a regional SCP Framework; North American priorities for SCP action; and the way forward both regionally and in terms of the global Marrakech Process.

The workshop’s discussions and outcomes will feed into the Marrakech Process, which is designed to support the development of a ten-year framework of programmes (10YFP) on SCP. The 10YFP will be considered by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and its eighteen and nineteenth sessions, in 2010-2011. [IISD RS coverage]