Indicators for sustainable consumption

Data collection, further development and application for the National Programme on Sustainable Consumption in Germany

In 2016, the German government adopted the National Programme on Sustainable Consumption^[1] as an instrument for promoting sustainable consumption, which was expanded in 2021 to include priority measures.^[2] The programme covers six different areas of need: mobility, food, housing and household, clothing, tourism and leisure, as well as office and work. These are the central levers for reducing environmental impact in the area of private consumption. Sustainable consumption patterns promote the achievement of Germany's sustainability and climate protection goals.

“Sustainable consumption means living within the Earth’s carrying capacity and ensuring that today’s consumption patterns do not jeopardize the ability of current and future generations to satisfy their needs.”^[3]

The German government's measures aim to halve consumption-related greenhouse gas emissions per person by 2030.^[4] Greenhouse gas emissions from private consumption can be important leading indicators for promoting sustainable consumption. Germany’s Sustainability Development Strategy^[5] already reports direct and indirect CO₂ emissions per capita. However, other greenhouse gases are not covered. In addition to the indicator for CO₂, there is already a widely used calculation tool for determining the personal greenhouse gas footprint: the UBA-Carbon-Calculator^[6]. The calculator establishes a link between the average per capita emissions and the specific everyday actions of consumers and has thus become a central instrument in sustainability communication. 

The aim of the project is to support the monitoring of the National Programme on Sustainable Consumption by providing data and analyses. Data is made available for the market monitoring of green products. Based on the methodology of the Carbon Calculator, a time series for consumption-related greenhouse gas emissions will be calculated for the years 1990 to 2023. In addition, the project provides recommendations on how the indicator of the Carbon Calculator and the consumption indicator of Germany’s Sustainability Development Strategy can be combined.

Linking the greenhouse gas emissions of consumption with individual areas of consumption has advantages: Targeted assessments for political decisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from consumption can be developed and promoted. Emissions can be recorded individually and recommendations for action can be derived for personal everyday life.

[1] The Federal Government (2018): National Programme on Sustainable Consumption, URL: www.bmuv.de

[2] The Federal Government (2023): Nationales Programm für Nachhaltigen Konsum Staatssekretärsausschuss für nachhaltige Entwicklung, Beschluss vom 3. Mai 2021 (German only), URL: nachhaltigerkonsum.info

[3] The Federal Government (2018): National Programme on Sustainable Consumption, URL: https://www.bmuv.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Pools/Broschueren/nachhaltiger_konsum_broschuere_en_bf.pdf

[4] The Federal Government (2023): Nationales Programm für Nachhaltigen Konsum Staatssekretärsausschuss für nachhaltige Entwicklung, Beschluss vom 3. Mai 2021 (German only), URL: nachhaltigerkonsum.info

[5] The Federal Government (2022): Germany’s Sustainable Development Strategy, URL: www.bundesregierung.de

[6] German Federal Environment Agency (2014): UBA Carbon Calculator, URL: uba.co2-rechner.de