Launch of Transform Together at UNEA At the launch event, Leo Williams said: "We are incredibly proud to have launched Transform Together today at the United Nations Environmental Assembly, in the presence of over 100 people, including representatives of civil society, governments and businesses - all of whom will be crucial to the success of this multi-stakeholder partnership" Majala Mlagui, Founder and CEO of Thamani - a social enterprise dedicated to sustainable mining in Kenya, and Charles Arden-Clarke, Head of the 10 Year Framework Programme on SCP (10YFP) from UNEP, joined the panel to speak about the complementarity of their work with Transform Together. The launch started with a brief presentation of the initiative by Leo Williams. The multi-stakeholder partnership will be active in 15 to 20 selected ‘high impact’ countries (high- and middle-income countries) and will focus on consumer goods, food, transport, domestic energy, waste and water. As such, the initiative will contribute to the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, and in particular to Goal 12: "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns." The event went on with Sue Riddlestone sharing her experience from her organisation Bioregional and her confidence in our collective ability to achieve SCP: "We can have truly sustainable consumption and production. We know this from our own experiences at Bioregional and from many other great examples around the world. The time is right to mainstream SCP. " She also highlighted the need for collaborative initiatives between civil society, governments and business. Even though the challenge is colossal - we are consuming 50% more resources than the planet Earth can produce, "multi-stakeholder partnerships can deliver SCP and the future we want." Majala Mlagui, the CEO and co-founder of Thamani then gave a very inspirational speech, stating that "we need to build markets with ethical initiatives." She pointed the crucial need in the mining industry for more responsible production, before adding that the small scale mining sector has a huge potential reach and can help achieve SCP targets. Last but not least, Charles Arden-Clarke, Head of the 10 Year Framework Programme on SCP (10YFP) from UNEP, recalled that SCP is transversal throughout the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. He emphasized that there are not enough people, businesses, and governments yet working on these issues - hence the need for a multi-stakeholder partnership such as Transform Together: "We need more people from governments, business and civil society. It's time for action!"
A lively discussion focused on key issues such as sustainable public procurement, taxation, subsidies and the externalisation of the true cost of products. The meeting agreed that the 2030 Agenda represents a deal between developed and developing countries – with the universality of the Agenda requiring important changes in developed societies as well as developing ones. Co-founder Leo Williams concluded the launch, saying: "We want to create the political, business and societal changes needed to achieve sustainable consumption and production. We are convinced that, in the spirit of the 2030 Agenda, true transformational change can only be delivered by working collectively. We call on governments, progressive businesses and civil society to work together to make the transformation which we so desperately need in the consumption and production patterns in the global north." Comments are closed.
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July 2019
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