Sustainable Consumption and
Production indicators – social
aspects
Rocky Harris
Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs, UK
What do we mean by social aspects?
Environmental impacts of
consumption
Consultation on Sustainable Consumption and Production
indicators emphasised
 Greater coverage of the environmental impact of
consumption
 Need to relate specific expenditures to resource use
 Need better understanding of the impacts of different
social groups and patterns of consumption
But
 Consumer responsibility is limited – can it be measured?
Household consumption and
environmental impacts
140
Final Consumption
Expenditure
Energy Consumption
135
Index 1990=100
130
125
Housing ghg emissions
120
115
Water Consumption
110
Waste Not Recycled
105
100
Private road transport
emissions
95
90
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
Expenditure related to impacts
Relate
 Expenditure on housing energy with energy use and
emissions
 Car travel costs with associated land use, road
accidents, emissions etc
 Spending on household goods with “embedded” energy
and emissions
 Leisure spending with tourism impacts, land use
Transport emissions by
age of head of household
CO2 tonnes per capita
3
Other public
transport
2
Aviation
1
Car
0
Under 30
30 to 64
65 and over
Energy emissions by age
of head of household
CO2 tonnes per capita
3
Other energy
use
Electricity
2
Gas
1
0
Under 30
30 to 64
65 and over
“Embedded” emissions in household
goods, by age of head of household
7
CO2 tonnes per capita
6
5
Other
consumption
4
Leisure
3
2
Food and
drink
1
0
Under 30
30 to 64
65 and over
Impact of final demand composition
Change in emissions
= change in eco-efficiency + change in structure of
economy + change in volume of final demand
+ change in composition of final demand
(de Haan)
OR
= change in fuel mix + change in energy intensity +
change in input mix + change in volume of final demand
+ change in composition of final demand
(Wier)
Social impacts of consumption
and production
Consultation on Sustainable Consumption and Production
indicators recognised
 A need for more emphasis on social dimension of
sustainable economy
 Relatively unexplored area requiring more detailed
thought
 Little or no agreement on main issues or indicators
Social dimension - issues raised
 Health – smoking-related diseases, obesity, accidental
deaths from traffic and work
 Socio-economic – personal debt, income and wealth
distribution, currency speculation
 Specific behaviours – work-life balance, fair employment
regimes, fair trade, ethical accounts holding, social-tourism
 Social capital – level of education, level of crime
 “Quality of Life”
Health issues
UK overweight/obesity in males/females
180
140
100
Men Overw eight
Women Overw eight
Men Obese
Women Obese
60
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Socio-economic issues
Chart 1 : household debt to income ratio
120
115
110
105
100
95
90
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
Distributional issues
Average savings (£ per household) UK 1996
Households mainly dependent on:Wages and
salaries
1,900
Mixed Retirement
income
income
5,400
-1,500
Other transfer
income
Total
0
1,400
Source: Social Accounting Matrix, Office for National Statistics