ABSTRACT
Central to the sustainable production and consumption (SCP) agenda is the need for radical changes not only in the ways we produce but also in the ways we consume. The SCP agenda emerged within the understanding that it is not possible to reach the necessary reductions in environmental impact and resource consumption purely by technical solutions directed at improving the efficiency of production processes and ‘greening’ products. Research demonstrates that aggregate environmental impact continues to rise because of an increasing population and increasing levels of affluence. It was hoped that technological improvements could compensate for increases in these factors. However, to keep within the limits of environmental impact of the year 1990, some commentators argue that a Factor 10, 20 or higher improvement in material and energy efficiency is needed by 2025 (Jensen 1993; Schmidt-Bleek 1995).
