Sustainable consumption and production – Research, experience, and development – The Europe we want

Since the publication of the Brundtland Report, production processes and consumption patterns towards sustainability have improved. This Special Volume Section of the Journal of Cleaner Production focuses on sustainable consumption and production (SCP), and identifies further challenges and provides solutions related to resource efficiency (ReE), sustainable water systems, sustainable management, cleaner production (CP), and sustainable urban development. In order to better understand the state of the SCP issues globally, existing policy directions have been explored within this paper, as well as six newly emerged sustainability terms, which have been integrated into the existing terminology classification to better describe and understand sustainable development concepts. In this Special Volume Section, the authors have demonstrated many valuable theoretical and practical contributions to the aspects of SCP, including a number of practical examples of achieving sustainability in companies, such as using bottom-up and a top-down approaches or by implementing theoretical models. There are also examples of achieving eco-efficiency in water systems (including urban), further requiring economic incentives and governmental support, and practical experiences, providing in-situ data and evidence of impacts of measures on processes and systems regarding resource efficiency, cleaner production, and also considering life cycle assessment (LCA). A model on how to achieve a sustainable urban development, based on small communities and neighbourhoods is also provided. The examples of SCP research and development in the fields of ReE presented in this section of the SV indicate that existing production and service processes in companies and social (urban) environment could be more sustainable, using a holistic approach to the SCP and achieving global policy recommendations.