SDG 12 — Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Sarah Mujuma, 5, poses for a photograph with a cup of water in Kimaswa, Western Kenya. 375 schools in Cheptai and throughout Western Kenya are currently being given Lifestraw Water Filters to ensure that every child at school has clean water to drink. (Photo: Kate Holt)

Worldwide material consumption has expanded rapidly, which is why Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 is about ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. It is clear that we, as humans, need materials from the earth to thrive and survive. However, through means of science and invention, the hope is that we can discover new and more sustainable ways to consume making use of less environmentally invasive materials like plastic.

This is why SDG 12 needs support from both companies and countries alike. Companies and industries have long been some of the biggest contributors to consumption and pollution, to get anywhere near achieving SDG 12 it is important that these companies change their ways and give back to the most at-risk communities, around the world.

A member of the Lifestraw team teaches school children how to use the Lifestraw filter to clean their drinking water in Western Province, Kenya (Photo: Kate Holt)

A good example of this is Corporate Social Responsibility at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which has invested in Lifestraw to bring clean water to 375 schools in Kenya. Through the lens of SDG 12, the benefits of this sort of project are two-fold. Firstly, it allows polluted water to be safely consumed reducing the strain on the freshwater supply. Secondly, it removes the need for plastic bottles with many of Lifestraw’s solutions allowing water to be consumed directly from the source.

In the run up to the first UN summit on the SDGs on 24th and 25th September, we are publishing a daily blog on how we help organisations to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. Check out our blogs here.