It is evidence-based, drawing on the latest literature and evidence to explain why achieving sustainable development demands a decisive, global shift to sustainable consumption and production. The paper aims to increase collaboration within civil society and with other actors on this agenda.

In simple terms, sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is about how people live their lives – what they need, what they consume and what they produce. It is at the heart of sustainable development because it enables people everywhere to live a good quality of life within their fair share of our one planet’s resources.

The UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda concluded that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) fell short by ‘not addressing the need to promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production’. We cannot afford to repeat this mistake.

The post-2015 goals – and the accompanying targets and indicators - for sustainable development that will succeed the MDGs must contribute clearly and actively to this global shift to SCP. Similarly, we must ensure the post-2015 goals are people-centred and universal – they need to reach the hearts and minds of people from the UAE to Malawi and from Denmark to Haiti.