Sustainable development / SCP

What is the EEB doing?

EEB is currently focusing its attention on the strategic programme of the new European Commission (2009-2014). With a renewed European Commission in place at the end of 2009 important momentum has been created to increase awareness on a strengthened European Sustainable Development Policy.

Taking off in a period of economic crisis, the European Commission is facing both major challenges and opportunities. This new era should provide fresh chances to steer the European Strategy for Sustainable Development (SDS) in the right direction, to lead our society towards more sustainable consumption and production patterns. It should also be the right time to find new ways of organising economic structures for an ecologically sound, prosperous society.

Several initiatives have been undertaken to keep the debate on the European sustainability agenda alive and to propose actions for an improved EU Sustainable Development Strategy. In correspondence of the 2009 European Parliament elections and of a new five year programme of the European Commission, a coalition of NGOs including EEB, ETUC, Social Platform and Concord, shared their activities with other stakeholders active in sustainable development; this initiative was called Spring Alliance . The Alliance demanded a stronger, more social and greener sustainability agenda for the next decade. Its sustainability demands are listed in a manifesto presented to all relevant European decision makers at a high level conference in the autumn of 2009.

EEB’s annual conference that followed was organised around the manifesto and Europe’s sustainability agenda. Please see the Spring Alliance website for more information at www.springalliance.eu

The European Commission launched its Sustainable Consumption Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan (SCP-SIP) in 2008. The EEB was very critical of the Action Plan in its official response, saying that the plan lacked vision, clarity and ambition.

In Spring 2009, we launched a Blueprint for European Sustainable Consumption and Production, prepared with social NGOs and the research community. A launch conference also took place, with presentations made by representatives of international, national and local initiatives.

The SCP-SIP Action Plan included revisions to existing policy mechanisms such as the Ecodesign of Energy-Using Products Directive and the European Ecolabel, where EEB is active through its Ecological Product Policy.

The Action Plan also included the creation of a Retail Forum, with the objective that individual large retailers commit to a series of ambitious and concrete actions with clear goals, timelines, deliverables, and monitoring indicators. EEB has taken active part in the Forum since it was launched in 2009, attending meetings and providing responses to issue papers prepared.

For further details on the official responses please see also the documents listed below:

EEB Comments on Marketing and Communication, EEB Comments on EU Retail Forum, EEB Comments on Energy Efficiency, EEB Comments on Retail Forum Tentative Roadmap, EEB response to the Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainability