23 March 2015: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released a discussion paper proposing indicators to measure progress toward sustainable consumption and production (SCP) under the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

‘Sustainable Consumption and Production Indicators for the Future SDGs,’ by the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), aims to assist Member States in identifying potential indicators for targets proposed under SDG 12, “Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns,” as well as for related targets in several of the other proposed SDGs.

The authors define indicators in six areas that can support a shift to SCP patterns: scale of resource use; decoupling economic activity from resource use and environmental impact; environmental and human impacts; technology and lifestyles; financing and investing to transform the economy to SCP; and policy support for SCP.

Many of the proposed indicators respond to three or more specific targets under the SDGs; for example, an indicator on ocean health responds to the SCP goal as well as to SDG 14 on the sustainable management of oceans, while an indicator on energy productivity (GDP per unit of energy use) responds to targets under SDG 7 on energy access and SDG 8 on economic growth. [UNEP Website] [IISD RS Sources] [Publication Sustainable Consumption and Production Indicators for the Future SDGs]