Adopted in 2015 by all United Nations (UN) members, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a global agenda for making the world a better place by 2030. They are described by the UN as a ‘shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet‘, and goals are to be achieved by all countries, in global partnership, by 2030.
This data tracker uses the latest official data to look at how the Nordic countries are progressing towards achieving the 17 SDGs, with this page looking closer at Sustainable Development Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Each target is presented by first looking at global trends, before zooming in on the Nordic countries and assessing their performance. The assessment is based on work by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in analysing the progress made toward the SDGs in all OECD countries.
Target 12.1
Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries
Indicators:
12.1.1 | Number of countries developing, adopting or implementing policy instruments aimed at supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production |
Global trends
As of 2021, only 26 countries worldwide had in place national action plans for sustainable consumption and production (SCP) or had mainstreamed SCP as a priority or target in national policies. Half of the countries were in Europe and Northern America, indicating that the adoption of SCP policies is very uneven geographically.
Looking at the total number of policies in place for SCP worldwide, the latest data from 2021 shows a total of 656 policies in place worldwide, with two-thirds of these within countries in Europe and Northern America.
Note that the regional groupings used in the visualisation above (and all other visualisations on this page with regional data) follow the UN regional classification for the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Nordics
Along with other OECD countries, all the Nordics have implemented policies and plans to promote sustainable consumption and production (SCP). However, the OECD does not make an assessment of progress on this target, as data on the quality or degree of implementation of such plans and policies is not possible to judge by this indicator.
Target 12.2
By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
Indicators:
12.2.1 | Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP |
12.2.2 | Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP |
Note that these indicators are identical to those under target 8.4.
Global trends
Global material footprint
The global material footprint is the total amount of raw materials extracted to meet final consumption demands. Over the past two decades, it has increased by almost 40 billion tonnes, reaching close to 100 billion tonnes in 2019.
A central challenge over the next decades is to achieve higher levels of resource efficiency so as to decrease the pressure on raw material extraction. Yet, since 2000 there have been only marginal improvements in the amount of raw materials needed per unit of wealth produced. In 2019 this stood at 1.1 kg of raw materials per unit of wealth produced.
Over the same time period, material footprint per capita has increased by over 30% to 12,4 tonnes (global average) in 2019, which underscores that at the moment there is world is not moving towards improved global resource efficiency.
Domestic material consumption
While the first indicator looks at the material footprint at the global level, the second indicator looks at domestic material use. It thus takes into account direct material use inside a country's territory (as well as any direct material imports and exports).
The latest data comparing 2019 with 2000, shows that material productivity has improved in most regions, i.e. less domestic material consumption per unit of wealth produced. Exceptions to this trend is in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as in Northern Africa and Western Asia.
Despite improved material productivity, when measured per capita/per person, the global country-average domestic consumption increased over the past two decades. Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand) as well as Europe and Northern America managed to achieve a decline in domestic material consumption.
The Nordics
Although the goal is to progressively improve global resource efficiency, there is currently no agreed target level set for 2030 on the indicators discussed above. The OECD has therefore operationalised the target for OECD-countries as the level of domestic material consumption of the top four performers in 2015 which was 0,143 kg per unit of GDP. The most recent data shows that none of the Nordic countries is at or below this level, with Iceland currently the closest.
No progress assessment is given as new data has been released after the OECD published its report.
Target 12.3
By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses
Indicators:
12.3.1 | (a) Food loss index and (b) food waste index |
Global trends
An estimated 13% of food is lost worldwide between harvesting and reaching retail markets. The share is approximately the same as in 2016. The largest food losses occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, where over 20% of food was lost before reaching markets. Food loss can be impacted by inefficiencies at the farm level, during transportation and storage, and during processing and wholesaling.
While "food loss" concerns what happens before food reaches consumers, "food waste" looks at how much food is discarded once after it has reached household, food service and retail levels. Data on food waste is sparse, but the UN has estimated that around 17% of food is wasted, with the majority of the waste (60%) happening at the household level.
The Nordics
Available data is insufficient to make an assessment of progress in the Nordic countries.
Target 12.4
By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
Indicators:
12.4.1 | Number of parties to international multilateral environmental agreements on hazardous waste, and other chemicals that meet their commitments and obligations in transmitting information as required by each relevant agreement |
12.4.2 | (a) Hazardous waste generated per capita; and (b) proportion of hazardous waste treated, by type of treatment |
Global trends
The first indicator (12.4.1) measures the degree to which countries meet their commitments by transmitting data and information as required by each international agreement. Five international environmental agreements are tracked in the UN SDG indicator framework:
- The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel Convention);
- The Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade (Rotterdam Convention);
- The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (Stockholm Convention);
- The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol);
- Minamata Convention on Mercury (Minamata Convention),
As of 2020, the Montreal protocol had the highest score of implementation (world average), followed by the Rotterdam Convention (75%), Basel Convention (61%) and Stockholm Convention (50%). No data is available on the Minamata Convetion at the world or regional level.
On the second indicator of hazardous waste (12.4.2), data is mainly available for e-waste at the global and regional levels. The latest data for 2019 shows that around only 23% of e-waste generated worldwide was collected and managed in an environmentally sound way. Regionally, the rate varies significantly, with almost half of all e-waste in Europe and Northern America at 47% collection rate compared to just 1% in Latin America and the Caribbean and 2% in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Nordics
The latest data show a mixed picture for the Nordics with regard to the five multilateral environmental agreements (12.4.1). While all countries have high scores on the Montreal Protocol, levels are lower on the other conventions and protocols. On the Minamata Convention, none of the Nordic countries reports a 100% score.
Data on hazardous waste (12.4.2) is insufficient for a cross-country comparison in the Nordics.
The OECD does not provide an assessment of progress on this target due to the lack of data.
Target 12.5
By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
Indicators:
12.5.1 | National recycling rate, tons of material recycled |
Global trends
As the indicator concerns the national recycling rate, data is only assessed at the national level for this indicator.
The Nordics
To assess the national recycling rate, the OECD uses data on the share of municipal waste generated that is recovered through recycling and composting. The 2030 target is set at 53%, which was the level of top OECD performers in 2015.
As of 2020, Denmark is the only Nordic country that has reached the target level, with recent trends in the other countries indicating a mixed picture. Norway has improved in the past few years but is at the same level it achieved in 2003.
New data has been made available since the OECD report was published, therefore the OECD assessment is not discussed further.
Target 12.6
Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
Indicators:
12.6.1 | Number of companies publishing sustainability reports |
Global trends
Since 2016, the number of companies publishing sustainability reports has more than doubled from around 2 600 to over 5 800.
A survey by UNCTAD and UNEP of 10,000 public companies worldwide showed that 60% of large companies published sustainability reports in 2021, also more than double the share in 2016.
While an increase in absolute numbers should be interpreted as a positive development, the current indicator does not assess whether company practices are actually moving in a sustainable direction.
The Nordics
Given that the indicator only focuses on the number of reports published, the OECD states that it cannot be used as a measure of progress and that more refined data on company practices is needed to do so. For informative purposes, the chart below shows the number of companies per country that published a sustainability report in 2020.
Target 12.7
Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
Indicators:
12.7.1 | Number of countries implementing sustainable public procurement policies and action plans |
Global trends
No data is available at the global or regional level.
The Nordics
The latest UN data from 2020 shows that all the Nordics, with the exception of Iceland, have implemented sustainable public procurement policies and action plans.
Target 12.8
By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
Indicators:
12.8.1 | Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment |
Note that the indicator is identical to the one under target 4.7.
Global trends
There is ongoing work to develop the indicator used to measure progress towards this target. Each of the four components of the indicator (policies, curricula, teacher education, and student assessment), are measured by a range of criteria which taken together are given a score between 0 and 1, where 1 entails full mainstreaming of the Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). As of 2022, no data is currently available at the global or regional level.
The Nordics
At a Nordic level, Denmark, Finland and Sweden took part in the first round of measuring this indicator (2017-2020). The data showed that as of now, only Sweden has fully mainstreamed GCED and ESD into their national education policies.
Given the lack of data over time, no trend assessment is given for this indicator. New data is set to be released during 2024.
Target 12.a
Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production
Indicators:
12.a.1 | Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing countries (in watts per capita) |
Note that the indicator is identical to the one under target 7.b.
Global trends
Renewable capacity in developing countries reach close to 246 Watts per capita in 2020, reaching 36% of total energy-generating capacity in developing countries. Hydropower has been the dominant renewable over the past two decades, yet over the past years growth in hydropower capacity has stalled, with solar and wind accounting for most of the increase. Renewable capacity has expanded in all regions, with the highest increase since 2010 occurring in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia.
Target not applicable for the Nordic countries.
Target 12.b
Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
Indicators:
12.b.1 | Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability |
To be expanded. Current data availability seems to be impacted by the pandemic, with a sharp decline in countries reporting data.
Target 12.c
Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities
Indicators:
12.c.1 | Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies (production and consumption) per unit of GDP |
Global trends
Before the pandemic, governments spent $526 billion USD on subsidies and other support for fossil fuels, this amounted to around 0.62% of the total world GDP. From 2019 to 2020 the amount declined sharply and the latest data shows total fossil fuel subsidies at $375 billion USD which is 0.46% of the total world GDP. However, the UN notes in its SDG progress report that this decline should not be interpreted as a decline in subsidy levels, but rather that:
This drop was mainly due to low oil prices and reduced demand during the pandemic rather than structural reforms. In 2021, commodity and energy prices rebounded sharply, and we are likely to see a jump in both consumption and production subsidies for fossil fuels.
The Nordics
The below chart shows the relative levels of fossil fuel subsidies in the Nordics. However, the OECD cautions against the use of this indicator for cross-country comparisons and does not provide an assessment of progress. This is largely related to that tax expenditure benefits are difficult to compare across countries.
About the data
The data presented on global, regional, and national trends are from the UN SDG Global Database and the OECD unless otherwise stated.
The assessment of the Nordic countries is based on the findings from a recent OECD report, published in April 2022. The OECD uses a three-tier classification for each target:
- Target is achieved or on track to being achieved
- Progress has been made, but is insufficient to meet the target
- No progress or moving away from the SDG target
In its assessment, the OECD looks at a country's current performance towards a target, and calculates a trend towards 2030 based on recent progress. As such, a country that is close to a target, but trending away from it, will be classified as having "No progress or moving away from the SDG target". Conversely, a country that is currently further away from the target, but trending towards it (and has a high likelihood of reaching it before 2030), will be classified as "Target is achieved or on track to being achieved".
Changelog
- First release August 2022
- Data and text update December 2022