Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Sustainable Development Goal 12 promotes more sustainable consumption and production patterns through various measures, including specific policies and international agreements on the management of materials that are toxic to the environment. It illustrates the philosophical and practical connections between the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact and the Sustainable Development Goals. Technological development, and therefore, scientists and engineers, play an important role in addressing the challenges posed by each of the three axes of the Sustainability Triad.
It is also about decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, increasing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable lifestyles. The SDG 12 Center also provides governments, companies, civil society and the public with direct and transparent access to data submitted by member States on the goals of SDG 12, as well as links to existing knowledge platforms, databases and networks through which stakeholders can share progress, knowledge and solutions for sustainable consumption and production. In fact, chemistry or chemical transformation in a synthesis generally has the least effect on the overall toxicity profile (and most other sustainability and ecological measures) of a product or process, except in cases where we deliberately produce a toxic or biologically active molecule by design. In addition, the Global Sustainable Development Report is published once every four years to inform the General Assembly's deliberations on the quadrennial review of the SDGs.
Now is the ideal time to develop a comprehensive and cooperative effort between toxicologists and chemists, focused on empowering the next generation of scientists to design safer chemicals in a truly holistic and transdisciplinary way through innovative curricular advances. The current crisis is an opportunity for a profound and systemic change towards a more sustainable economy that works both for people and for the planet. SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and the implementation of the SCP and the circular economy by UNEP are fully aligned. The decoupling of resources and the decoupling of impact are necessary to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns and to make the transition to a greener and more socially inclusive global economy.
Predictive decision-making tools must provide confidence about hazards and risks in a way that is consistent with the timing and magnitude of development decisions and, most importantly, while there is still flexibility to modify a molecular design or product formulation. Sustainable consumption and production can also contribute substantially to poverty alleviation and the transition to green, low-carbon economies.
