Factsheet - Indicators for the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

1. Indicator name

Number of countries developing, adopting or implementing policy instruments aimed at encouraging and enabling people to make sustainable consumption choices

2. Date of metadata update

2024-09-01 12:00:00 UTC

3. Goals and Targets addressed

3a. Goal

N/A

3b. Target

Binary indicator for Target 16. Ensure that people are encouraged and enabled to make sustainable consumption choices, including by establishing supportive policy, legislative or regulatory frameworks, improving education and access to relevant and accurate information and alternatives, and by 2030, reduce the global footprint of consumption in an equitable manner, including through halving global food waste, significantly reducing overconsumption and substantially reducing waste generation, in order for all people to live well in harmony with Mother Earth.

4. Rationale

1. Unsustainable consumption is an underlying driver of biodiversity loss. Halting and ultimately reversing biodiversity loss will require a shift towards more sustainable consumption patterns. This means consuming resources and producing waste at a level within planetary boundaries. Governments have a central role to play in making information available and accessible to consumers who, in turn, can make better and more informed consumption choices.

2. This target calls for measures to be put in place to encourage people to make more sustainable consumption choices so that overconsumption and waste generation are significantly reduced. As such, this indicator tracks the development and adoption of policies aimed at informing on the importance of and enabling people to make sustainable consumption choices.

5. Definitions, concepts and classifications

5a. Definition

3. Food waste: Is food and associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain in the following sectors: retail and other distribution of food; food service (restaurants, schools, hospitals, other canteens, etc.); and households. “Removed from the human food supply chain” means one of the following end destinations: landfill, controlled combustion, sewer, litter/discards/ refuse, co/anaerobic digestion, compost/aerobic digestion or land application.

4. Overconsumption: The action or fact of consuming something to excess. Especially in the context of excessive use of natural resources.

5. Waste: Materials that are not prime products (that is, products produced for the market) for which the generator has no further use in terms of his/her own purposes of production, transformation or consumption, and of which he/she wants to dispose. Wastes may be generated during the extraction of raw materials, the processing of raw materials into intermediate and final products, the consumption of final products, and other human activities.

6. Waste generation: The process of generating waste, whether through production or consumption.

7. Sustainable consumption: The use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations.

5b. Method of computation

8. This indicator is a binary indicator and must be compiled from the answers to three questions:

(a) 16.1 Has your country established mechanisms, policy, or legislative or regulatory frameworks aimed at supporting sustainable consumption?

(b) 16.2 Has your country adopted mechanisms to improve awareness or education with regard to the impacts of consumption on biodiversity and access to relevant and accurate information or alternatives supporting sustainable consumption?

(c) 16.3 Has your country adopted or implemented policy instruments aimed at encouraging and enabling people to reduce the impacts of consumption, including through reducing food waste, overconsumption, and waste generation, on biodiversity?

9. There are four possible answers to each of these questions:

(a) No

(b) Under development

(c) Partially

(d) Fully

10. A “No” answer implies that there are no established mechanisms, policy, legislative or regulatory frameworks aimed at supporting sustainable consumption (16.1), that no mechanisms are in place to improve awareness or education on the impacts of consumption on biodiversity nor improve access to information or alternatives in support of sustainable consumption (16.2) and no policy instruments aimed at reducing the impacts on consumption, especially with regards to waste, are in place (16.3). In all cases, there are no national efforts to promote sustainable consumption and reduce the impacts of overconsumption on biodiversity. Initiatives may exist to tackle these issues at a grassroots level, but these are not backed by government and legislation is missing.

11. An “Under development” answer implies a concerted effort at the national level to:

(a) establish mechanisms, policy, or legislative or regulatory frameworks aimed at supporting sustainable consumption (16.1)

(b) adopt mechanisms to improve awareness of the impacts of consumption and promote alternatives (16.2)

(c) adopt policy aimed at reducing the impacts on consumption, especially with regards to waste, are in place (16.3).

12. In each of these cases, national strategies, legislation and novel regulations may be in the draft stages and awaiting ratification. Resources may also be in the process of being mobilized to support these mechanisms. Importantly, these processes must be ongoing at the national level and backed by governmental bodies with implementation authority, ongoing engagement with or support of stakeholders promoting sustainable consumption is insufficient.

13. A “Partially” answer implies that some actions are being taken to promote sustainable consumption, but not all. That is:

(a) mechanisms, policy, legislative or regulatory frameworks aimed at supporting sustainable consumption have been established but not all (16.1)

(b) mechanisms to improve awareness or education about the impacts of consumption on biodiversity are in place but not both, and these include mechanisms to improve access to relevant and accurate information and/or alternatives supporting sustainable consumption (16.2)

(c) policy instruments aimed at encouraging and enabling people to reduce the impacts of consumption are in place, but these do not include reducing food waste, overconsumption, nor waste generation (16.3)

14. All these cases imply governmental support (e.g. through legislation or financing) for the mechanisms in place. If any one of the cases outlined above applies, only partial achievement has been reached.

15. A “Fully” answer implies that all the conditions outlined in “Partially” have been met. Namely that mechanisms, policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks aimed at supporting sustainable consumption have all been established (16.1), mechanisms to improve awareness or education about the impacts of consumption on biodiversity are in place and they include mechanisms to improve access to relevant and accurate information and alternatives supporting sustainable consumption (16.2) and policy instruments aimed at encouraging and enabling people to reduce the impacts of consumption are in place, including through reducing food waste, overconsumption, and waste generation (16.3). Note that all these mechanisms must be established at the national level and be appropriately resourced (financial and human).

No