The SDG 12 of the Agenda 2030 -Sustainable consumption and production is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty.

Since sustainable consumption and production aims at “doing more and better with less,” net welfare gains from economic activities can increase by reducing resource use, degradation and pollution along the whole life cycle, while increasing quality of life. There also needs to be significant focus on operating on supply chain, involving everyone from producer to final consumer. This includes educating consumers on sustainable consumption and lifestyles, providing them with adequate information through standards and labels and engaging in sustainable public procurement, among others.

Concerning the Food

• While substantial environmental impacts from food occur in the production phase (agriculture, food processing), households influence these impacts through their dietary choices and habits. This consequently affects the environment through food-related energy consumption and waste generation.
• Each year, an estimated 1/3 of all food produced – equivalent to 1.3 billion tons worth around $1 trillion – ends up rotting in the bins of consumers and retailers, or spoiling due to poor transportation and harvesting practices
• 2 billion people globally are overweight or obese.
• Land degradation, declining soil fertility, unsustainable water use, overfishing and marine environment degradation are all lessening the ability of the natural resource base to supply food.
• The food sector accounts for around 30 per cent of the world’s total energy consumption and accounts for around 22 per cent of total Greenhouse Gas emissions.

Aim of the project::

The student:

• has a developing awareness of the origins and impacts of social, economic, and environmental aspects of the world around her/him
• develops the awareness, knowledge, skills, values and motivation to live sustainably
• values what it means to be an active citizen, with responsibilities in local and wider contexts
• understands the importance of food and diet in making healthy lifestyle choices
• values the role and contribution of science and technology to society, and their personal, social and global importance
• explores options and alternatives by engaging in scientific enquiry where she/he generates and seeks answers to their own questions and evaluates the process to determine the optimum outcome
• conducts research relevant to a scientific issue, evaluates different sources of information including secondary data, understanding that a source may lack detail or show bias
• organizes and communicates her/his research findings in a way fit for purpose and audience, using relevant scientific terminology and representations
• evaluates media-based arguments concerning science and technology
• understands how humans influence the Earth’s climate, evaluate the effects of climate change and initiatives that attempt to address those effects
• evaluates how humans can successfully conserve ecological biodiversity and contribute to global food production while appreciating the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems
• adopts a systems-thinking approach to understand complex processes
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AVAILABLE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:

RESOURCES NEEDED:

Internet access