The Commission intends to revise the EU's Consumption and Production policies and that is why it has launched a public consultation, especially in the context that the economies will need to use natural resources in a far more efficient manner. The public consultation will remain open until 3 April.

The European Commission is currently reviewing its Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) actions, to ensure that they are helping Europe use its resources more efficiently, and setting it on a course to long-term sustainability. MEPs have also called for an urgent transition to a low-carbon economy. For this reason, the Commission has launched a large public consultation on its actions in four major areas.

The four areas have as aim to provide targeted feedback on policies regarding product design, recycling and waste management, etc; Green Public Procurement (encouraging public bodies to favour ecologically friendly solutions); actions for improving the environmental performance of products (Product Environmental Footprint – PEF); and actions for improving the environmental performance of organisations (Environmental Footprint of Organization – OEF).

The actual policy context for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) and Sustainable Industrial Policy (SIP) is the Europe 2020 Strategy, which sets out to deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and is now Europe’s main strategy for generating growth and jobs.