18 October, 2024

Policies for nature-friendly consumption

RTRS participated in the International Workshop on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Worldwide: Policies for Nature-Friendly Consumption

As a member of the Working Group-WG4 “Biodiversity and Consumption” established by One Planet network Consumer Information Programme, RTRS participated in the International Workshop “Maintaining Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Worldwide: Policies for Nature-Friendly Consumption,” held on October 8 and 9 in Bonn, Germany.

WG4 is led by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), supported by Consumers International and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. The group explores how sustainable consumption can reduce human impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services, while promoting actions to protect them.

Hosted by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and organized by the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (ifeu), the workshop focused on food systems, specifically soy, palm oil, and shrimp. 

The goal was to identify innovative policy instruments in the context of political processes like the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Participants discussed questions such as what political levers can promote nature-friendly consumption patterns, how existing policy instruments like the EUDR can be refined for greater impact, and what additional measures are needed to achieve GBF Targets 15 and 16.

Laura Villegas, Market Development and Stakeholder Affairs Manager at RTRS, represents the Association at WG4 and participated on October 9 in a panel titled ‘The Role of Eco-labels in Consumer Communication,’ alongside Ruben Brunsveld, Market Transformation Deputy Director, EMEA at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), and Udo Censkowski, Founder and Director of Bluesensus – sustainability & seafood consulting. The panel focused on the role of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) in promoting sustainable production and consumption practices among producers, companies, and consumers.

“Discussing both, the implementation of the EUDR and the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), particularly targets 15 and 16, allowed us to identify the proven role that VSS can play in helping businesses comply with sustainability targets and promote more sustainable production and consumption patterns,” Laura stated.

In line with this, she added: “During the panel we could reflect on the role of VSS as a management tool that drives changes in production and business practices, delivering measurable and comprehensive impacts, and in this sense, we concluded that VSS not only support compliance with due diligence processes, such as those required by the EUDR or directives like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), but also enable companies to pursue broader sustainability improvements, including SDGs, procurement policies, and reporting frameworks like Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) y Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).”

 Finally, she remarked: “The complementary role of VSS was an agreement within the group present in Germany; the common understanding is that VSS are one of several necessary solutions, alongside legislation and regulations.”

Simone Wulf, Scientific Officer at the BfN, Department of International Nature Conservation, emphasized the need for transformative change: “To safeguard biodiversity worldwide, we need a transformative change in the way we consume and produce.”, and further added: “Effective policy measures are urgently needed to create the right framework conditions for the necessary transformative change.”

The workshop, aimed at policy experts, scientists, and practitioners in biodiversity protection, consumer politics, and communication, featured various interactive formats to facilitate collaboration. It is part of the research project “Shaping Nature-Friendly Consumption,” which addresses the link between consumption, biodiversity, and ecosystem service loss, and emphasizes the need for policy intervention.

Background of the WG4 – “Biodiversity and Consumption”

Existing consumption patterns contribute to the rapid degradation of nature and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. To foster a paradigm shift, the One Planet Network Consumer Information Programme established WG4. Its goal is to reduce the negative impacts of consumption on nature by engaging stakeholders from policy, business, and civil society, enabling consumers to make informed choices for sustainable consumption.

RTRS became a participating member in 2020 and has since taken part in various strategic meetings.

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