SAVE THE DATE: EU side-events at Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-19)

Sommaire: 3 May 2011, New York - Side-events at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-19) organized by the Delegation of the European Union

3 May 2011 (Tuesday), 6:15 - 7:45 pm, Conference Room 7
Promoting and spreading ecodesign in companies

The main objective of this side-event is to inform national delegates about the potential of Ecodesign to support the transition towards a resource efficient economy as well as quality, high added-value and innovative products (competitiveness). The side-event will largely base on success stories and concrete experiences from developing countries, such as Costa Rica, Mexico and Vietnam, and developed countries from Europe and Canada. Speakers have been identified from the aforementioned countries.

Ecodesign is taking into account the environmental dimension of a product or service from the early stage of design and throughout the life-cycle. On average, 80% of products' environmental impacts are determined at the design stage. Ecodesign deals with all environmental impacts and all life-cycle phases of products (mining, production, transport, use, waste management).

The design of eco-innovative products and services is based on good understanding of users' needs. If properly implemented, an Ecodesign approach normally leads to meet customers' expectations both as regards reduced environmental impacts and better quality, functionality and innovative design. As a result, eco-designed products are usually high added-value goods, with at least equivalent profitability compared to "traditional" products. Most of the time, implementing an ecodesign approach based on Life-cycle thinking therefore creates value for the company itself and for its customers.

4 May 2011 (Wednesday), 1:15 - 2:45 pm, Conference Room 2
Presentation of the Global Outlook on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Policies

During the side event UNEP and IISD will present the results of the Global Outlook on SCP Policies Report which reviews existing SCP policies. Country Representatives from China and South Africa will present examples of their national SCP policies including what has worked and situations where international cooperation could have strengthened implementation. The meeting will explore countries' motives in adopting SCP policies, including on shifting to more resource efficient, cleaner and utltimately less costly paths of development. Panelists will set out some expectations from a Ten Year Framework of Programmes SCP, for discussion with the audience. The side event will end with a summary of key findings and conclusions from the discussion.

9 May 2011 (Monday), 6:15 - 7:45 pm, Conference Room 2
Implementation challenges and solutions for SCP programs in developing countries, What role of governments, business and development partners, the case of SWITCH Asia

In the presence of Ms. Liana Bratasida, Assistant Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Indonesian State Ministry of Environment, this side event will illustrate the concrete case of the EU funded SWITCH-Asia Programme aiming at implementation of sustainable consumption and production in Asia. Launched in 2007, the programme provides funding opportunities of €150 million over the period 2007-2013.

The panel discussion will provide concrete cases of how business is taking action to mainstream SCP practices and how Asian governments are working to encourage and reinforce responsible business actions.

Governments and policy-makers have a central role in developing and encouraging SCP programs. This can be sometimes difficult in some developing countries where there are many implementation challenges, lack of resources and capacity building. This is where development partners can support national policy priorities and help strengtening their implementation.

Governments have also an important function in supporting business actions towards SCP. On the one hand, they can encourage industry to take up SCP practices and create a business case through tax systems, grant and reward schemes, recognition/social pressure, benchmarking instruments and penalties, fines and enforcement action. On other hand, they can enable environment friendly action by removing barriers, building capacity and providing information, providing facilities in response to the demand.

Through day-to-day activities of businesses and business intermediary organisations, sustainable consumption and production practices can be mainstreamed. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), companies connecting the upstream and downstream parts of the value chains such as retailers and business membership organisations (BMOs) including Chambers of Commerce, Business Associations play a key role in the take-up of less environmentally harmful and more socially products and services.

Based on this thinking, SWITCH-Asia projects aim at replicating SCP practices on the ground. They address both supply and demand - two sides of the same SCP coin. On the one hand, they encourage consumers to shift demand to environment-friendly and ethical products, and on the other hand, they support enterprises to achieve a switch to sustainable production practices.

A new component of the SWITCH-Asia Programme, Policy Support Component (PSC) is targeting the policy makers in Asian countries, by raising awareness, building capacity and develop an enabling institutional framework to design and implement SCP policies.

10 May 2011, 1:15 - 2.45pm, Conference Room 4
Road to the WSSD 2020 Chemicals Goal

Sound chemicals management is essential to sustainable development. The side event aims to address the challenges of meeting the WSSD 2020 Chemicals goal. This goal specifies that by 2020, chemicals should be used and produced in ways that lead to the minimisation of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment.

Participants will hear an update on progress and policies underway in the European Union towards meeting the 2020 goal and a developing country's perspective on the challenges and efforts necessary to achieve sound chemicals management. This will be followed by a presentation on the Inter-Organisation Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) and plans for the development of an overall resource tool enabling developing countries and countries with economies in transition to identify and implement practical and efficient chemicals management systems addressing national policy needs.

11 May 2011 (Wednesday), 6:15 pm, co-organized by the EU and the Permanent Mission of Hungary at the Hungarian Mission followed by a buffet reception at 7:30 pm (Head of Delegation +1)
Leveraging financial resources for the green economy

Moving towards a global green economy is a pathway to help achieve lasting sustainable development and the eradication of poverty. In this vision, the economic, environmental and social pillars must work together with dynamism.

To enable the transition to a global green economy, large scale financial resources will have to mobilised - and this applies to all countries in all stages of development. The UNEP report "Towards the green economy" gives indicative estimates that the scale of overall investments needed to green the global economy could be to the order of 2% of global GDP per year in the period up to 2050.

Such a scale of investment means that there will have to be a paradigm shift in approaches to financing, necessitating innovative public and private solutions. Traditional reliance on public funds alone will not be sufficient ¬- rather, public financing will have to catalyse and leverage much greater private investment in all countries.

New ways of mobilising finance will have to be established. This will pose new challenges and will require significant structural and conceptual change - yet without it, the transition to the green economy will not be possible.

This session will debate issues such as: what are the governance structures needed to mobilise private investors and funds? What roles can the major financial institutions play to direct funds towards the green economy? In what ways can effective support be realised in particular for the Least Developed Countries? How can one ensure action and tangible results?

Ref: CAL11-005EN
Source UE: Union Européenne
UN forum:
Date: 3/5/2011

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