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RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION SDG #12 aims to ensure more sustainable consumption and production patterns globally, including by encouraging businesses to improve their resource and energy efficiency in order to decrease their material footprint.21 At present approximately a third of the food produced worldwide is not consumed due to poor transportation and harvesting practices. Also, agriculture remains one of the biggest consumers of water globally. This calls for improvement of resource and energy practices in agricultural supply chains.
SDG Materiality Report - The Round Table on Responsible Soy Association (RTRS) - Business Guidance
The RTRS Standard is aligned with SDG #12 as it requires businesses to introduce sound waste and chemical management strategies, as well as increase their reuse and recycling rates, restructuring their production activities in line with the principles of the circular economy. Moreover, the Standard also contributes to making sustainability practices and sustainability reporting more widespread among companies. As part of the RTRS certification procedure producers conduct social and environmental assessments, and later introduce actions that help reduce the main negative impacts of their businesses, as identified by the assessments.
SDG TARGETS AND RELATED RTRS INDICATORS SDG Targets
RTRS Indicators
12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally
RTRS: 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.2.5, 5.5.2, 5.5.3
sound management of chemicals and all
wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimise their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
The RTRS Standard helps ensure the environmentally sound management of waste as the certified producers may not intentionally burn waste (4.2.1) and must ensure that all waste is adequately stored and disposed of (4.2.2). The producers must also have facilities to prevent spills of oils and other pollutants (4.2.3) and a residue management plan must be formulated for the entire property (4.2.5). Furthermore, RTRS also requires the certified producers to adequately transport and store agrochemicals (5.5.2, 5.5.3).
21 SDG 12 https://sdg-tracker.org/sustainable-consumption-production
