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a) Addressing the Environmental Dimension ESC increases the understanding of the need to use natural resources efficiently and reduce negative impacts on the environment. b) Addressing the Social Dimension ESC equips citizens with the knowledge of the importance of safety products for health and food security for sovereignty. ESC also incorporates values of respecting human rights, fair trade and solidarity to the poor.
Picture 1.2: Illegal logging is in an alarming stage
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The quality of the environment has been decreasing in areas that have increasing waste that is not managed, such as certain urban areas in Indonesia, mainly in Java Island. The report from Ministry of Environment stated that: “As the cities population grows in Java island, the waste is continuously piling up. In 2007, the pile of waste reached 65.000 m3 day and close to 70.000 m3 /day in 2008. This volume is in contrast with other big islands that are larger in size like Sumatra island, which has one third of the waste volume compared to Java island. Generally, the waste volume in other areas of Indonesia does not reach 10000 m3 /day. From the total waste volume reported, only 70% of it is transported to landfills. This indicates that the remaining waste is either burned, dumped into the river or on abandoned land, contributing to other environmental problems such as air pollution. In Bandung Metropolitan city (Bandung city, Bandung District, and Cimahi city), the waste that was not transported to a landfill in 2004 was around 55% or more than half of total waste” (Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup, 2010, p. 46).
Sustainable Consumption-Safeguarding The Environment for Human Well-Being From the above data, it is clear that there is a gap between the provision of natural resources (biocapacity) and the demand to meet human needs. The increasing population, the decreasing natural resources, and the potential growth of excessive consumption by the middle class, indicate the need for ESC. The goals of introducing ESC in Indonesia includes:
In short, the overall objective of ESC is to develop environmentally, socially and even morally responsible consumers for many generations to come. The Environmental Dimension of Sustainable Consumption With the high demand of environmental services from natural resources and the decreasing quality of natural resources, the consumer has to decide responsibly when consuming. Rational consideration to consumption has to be the main reason. Consumers must overcome the emotional decisions, which do not count the implications of such actions. From the dimension of the environment, the following guidelines can be used:
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Efficient use of natural resource efficiently (low ecological footprints) Be efficient by choosing a product with minimum use of natural resources such as water, energy, wood etc. In other words, the ecological footprints of the products you purchase should be low. Compare the use of natural resources for the same product from various brands and consult valuable sources of information in your decision-making.
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Low environmental impacts Choose products with low negative impacts on the environment, while paying attention to the pollution it brings. Take into account the scale of contamination impacts, quantity, and the area coverage of the pollution (i.e. pollution to the river has impacts to many parties).
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