17 Days, 17 Goals: Goal 12 - Consumption

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

- Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns -

Why do we need Goal 12?

• Each year, 1/3 of al food produced - worth around $1 trillion - spoils during the production and distribution process
• Man is polluting water faster than nature can recycle and purify it in rivers and lakes - and only 0.5% of the world's water is drinkable
• Water is free from nature - but the infrastructure needed to deliver is is expensive
• Only 1/5 of the world's energy consumption in 2013 was from renewable sources
• 2 billion people worldwide are overwight and obese - overconsumption of food is detrimental to health and the environment
• The US could save $120 billion each year by switching to energy efficient light bulbs

What are some of the targets?

• Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
• Halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains
• Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse
• Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
• Developo and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products

Featured: Walmart & The Fink Family Foundation

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production is one that cuts across the other goals. Rather than having a specific focus area, it is about how countries and communities can improve their efficiency in all other areas. Achieving Goal 12 means minimizing the costs and maximizing the benefits of the world's supply chains, in all areas, while not exceeding Earth's capacity. 

Walmart 

Walmart is one of the largest corporations in the world - with an economy larger than many countries around the world. Similar to many companies, Walmart works on Goal 12 through both its charitable foundation and its core business activities, both in the United States and around the world. The company implements sustainability efforts across their supply chain and network of more than 6300 stores around the world, and in 2015 gave $1.4 billion in cash and in-kind contributions in the areas of Opportunity, Sustainability, and Community. 

By the end of 2013, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation had contributed to training 307,332 farmers and farm workers in emerging markets, of which 132,405 were women. In addition, the Walmart Foundation funded six projects in Africa and Asia in 2013, which will reach another 370,000 farmers, an estimated 258,000 of them being women.

In the U.S. alone, it’s estimated that consumers throw away $29 billion worth of edible food each year in their homes. Another recent collaboration is preventing millions of eggs from being thrown away annually. Rather than throwing away unused food, they donated 571 million pounds of food in 2013 to local food banks. Between 2009-2013, Walmart also reduced plastic bag waste by more than 38%.

In practice across their stores and supply and through investment by their corporate foundation, Walmart is contributing to the achievement of Goal 12. 

Please read more about the amazing work of our member: 

Walmart's Sustainability Initiatives

The Fink Family Foundation

A major focus of the Fink Family Foundation's funding is sustainable food systems. The foundation grants to reduce food waste, innovate in the agricultural sector, and expand access to food. Their grantees give food that would be thrown away to food-insecure foundations; educate youth on urban farming, sustainability, and nutrition; and research food waste. The Food Waste Program supports both place-based and field-building efforts.  Within the place-based work, the Program focuses on Connecticut, with an emphasis on Fairfield County. For the field-building, the Foundation works with and supports national NGO’s and other stakeholders to develop new resources and innovative solutions to reduce food waste on a national level.  

In 2015, The Fink Family Foundation embarked on a special project of seed funding ReFED, a fiscally sponsored initiative, to create a roadmap to reduce wasted food in the US, based upon research on the best areas for impact and their economic costs/opportunities. ReFED aims to catalyze business, philanthropy, investment and policy decisions related to reducing, recovering and recycling food waste and loss. The recommendations and tools being developed by ReFED will be relevant to a wide range of stakeholders including: retailers, restaurants, manufacturers, foundations, investors, entrepreneurs, municipalities and government agencies.  You can learn more and read a recent report at www.refed.com.

Sustainability and resiliency are at the heart of the Fink Family Foundation's programming, making contributions to  Goals 12, 2, 11, and more. 

Please read more about the amazing work of our member: 

The Fink Family Foundation Sustainable Food Systems Initiative

Resources & Information

1. United Nations
2. The 10-Year Framework of Programs on Sustainable Consumption and Production