Madrid,
Spain, 19 July 2018 – From infrastructure and communication to food
production and transport, tourism and construction play key roles in a
circular economy framework that supports sustainable development. The
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), together with the Sustainable
Buildings and Construction Programme of the One Planet Network,
addressed this challenge during the United Nations High-Level Political
Forum on Sustainable Development (9-18 July, New York, USA).
Tourism and construction are part of
the overall economic value chain. Best practices in circular economy
thinking that can help these large economic sectors shift to sustainable
consumption and production (SCP) were at the centre of the event ‘Tourism & Construction: Circular Economy solutions for SDG12’, organized by UNWTO.
Advancing sustainability in the
tourism sector and fulfilling its responsibility in the achievement of
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a task that benefits from
new technological advances, continuous innovation and the strengthening
of models such as the circular economy. Especially in view of SDG12 on
‘sustainable consumption and production patterns’, and considering the
need to grow responsibly as a sector overall, tourism has an important
role to play in the decoupling of economic development from resource
use.
With its vast links to other economic
activities and direct interaction between consumer and producer,
tourism can – if managed well – create positive, long-lasting impacts
that go well beyond the sector. Adapting circular production and
consumption patterns that accelerate sustainability is therefore key to
the long-term health and resilience of tourism businesses and
destinations.
Against both this background and the review of SDG 12 at the High-Level Political Forum, the event ‘Tourism & Construction: Circular Economy solutions for SDG12’ underscored
that embracing circularity implies robust measurement and monitoring of
impacts of tourism and construction activities, including energy and
water use efficiency, climate change mitigation, waste management, local
sourcing, sustainable land use, biodiversity protection and decent
employment, among others.
The
17 SDGs represent a common vision for prosperity, equality, justice and
climate action, brought together under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. Goal 12 calls for more responsible SCP patterns and
practices across sectors, with the One Planet Multi-Partner Trust Fund for SDG 12, inaugurated
on 17 July 2018, to support partners’ commitments to accelerating this
shift. The Fund is a joint effort of the UN Environment Programme, the
Food and Agriculture Organization, UNWTO, UN-Habitat and the UN Office
for Project Services.
‘Tourism & Construction: Circular Economy solutions for SDG12’featured
panels and presentations from the governments and tourism and
development administrations of Bhutan, Botswana, Finland, France, Mexico
and Switzerland. The gathering also played host to the launch of
UNWTO’s Tourism for SDGs Platform,
an interactive online tool that aims to create collaboration, motivate
discussion and foster action between the tourism sector and the world of
sustainable development. The
platform, developed with the support of the Swiss Secretariat for
Economic Affairs, is for policy makers, companies and all tourism
stakeholders to connect and jointly advance their SDG implementation
strategies.
Concluding
the event, the Head of Delegation for Sustainable Development from the
Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France stressed
the need to accelerate the shift towards SCP and encouraged both tourism
and construction to build cross-sectorial cooperation. If properly
developed and used, circular economy solutions will be instrumental to
transforming the sustainability of our economic model.
About the One Planet – Sustainable Tourism Programme
The
One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme is part of the ten-year
framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production,
official implementation mechanism of SDG12 aiming at mainstreaming
sustainability among tourists and tourism stakeholders worldwide.
Circular
economy thinking can enhance this shift because it promotes changes in
the consumption and production of goods and services: from
buy-use-discard to buy-use-reuse or refurbish, and from traditional
ideas of ownership towards sharing economies.
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