Indicator 12.31 Consumption footprint

The consumption footprint (CF) is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based model used to produce a set of 16 environmental indicators to assess the environmental impacts of consumption patterns of the EU and its Member States, performed by combining data on consumption intensity with an assessment of the environmental impacts of representative products. The CF assessment is based on the combination of: (a) the emissions to air, soil and water as well as the resources used throughout the life cycle of 164 representative products, belonging to five areas of consumption (food, mobility, housing, household goods, and appliances), (b) the consumption per year (i.e., consumption intensities) of those products, which are calculated based on consumption statistics, and (c) the Environmental Footprint (EF) impact assessment method, which translates emissions and resource consumption into the 16 potential environmental impacts, which it is possible to aggregate into a single score, where deemed convenient. The EF impact indicators can be compared with a set of thresholds that are based on the Planetary Boundaries framework. Thus, a given CF indicator (for example, climate change or marine eutrophication) measures the number of times the impact of consumption has transgressed the associated planetary boundary. As well, the CF single weighted score measures the number of times a weighted boundary has been transgressed.

Indicator is used to monitor progress towards SDG 12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns which is embedded in the European Commission’s Priorities under ‘Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature’.

The European Commission adopted the circular economy action plan (CEAP) in March 2020. The EU’s transition to a circular economy will reduce pressure on natural resources and will create sustainable growth and jobs. The new action plan announces initiatives along the entire life cycle of products. It targets how products are designed, promotes circular economy processes, encourages sustainable consumption, and aims to ensure that waste is prevented and the resources used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible. Building on existing EU policies and legislation, the Circular Economy Package establishes a programme of action with measures covering the whole cycle from production and consumption to waste management. The Package includes commitments on ecodesign, waste prevention and reuse, clean material cycles and ambitious quantitative targets on increasing recycling and reducing landfilling, obligations to improve the separate collection of waste, as well as the promotion of efficient use of bio-based resources.

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