Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Czech Republic.

This Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) is based on the Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Czech Republic and other adopted strategies and policies in process (State Environmental Policy, Raw Materials Policy, State Energy Policy; Transport Policy etc.), and elaborates on the relevant sections of these strategies in the field of consumption and production. The strategic objective of the SCP Framework is to achieve sustainable consumption and production in the specific conditions of the Czech Republic as a essential precondition for achieving sustainable development. This means redirecting current development towards sustainable consumption and production to promote social and economic development of the present society within the limits of the acceptable pressure on ecosystems, by means of an absolute decoupling of the economic growth from the environmental degradation.
Sustainable consumption is defined as “the use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimising the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations”. A modern consumption-oriented society forms the consumer so that the consumer: wants to have all the things (goods and services) that a modern society offers, because he is being persuaded that they improve the quality of his life, and at the same time; does not want negative effects affecting the quality of his life that are generated by modern society in providing these goods and services (pollution, lack of space, adverse health and social effects). The concept of sustainable development is based on a set of basic principles. Relevant strategic documents refer to these principles at three basic levels: - at the basis level (values) - at the level of system conditions (principles that need to be met at global level to ensure that development is sustainable) - at the level of strategies.
The reason for drafting the Framework for Programmes of Sustainable Consumption and Production (the SCP Framework) has been the necessity to tackle the issue of sustainable consumption and production in a systematic and active way, in view of the increasing consumption of natural resources and growing environmental burden. SCP is a basic precondition of sustainable development. Consumption means both the use of products and services and the use of natural resources, energy, water, land, etc. SCP is not an obstacle to economic development; on the contrary, it is a challenge and an opportunity, for the private sector to optimise the production process in terms of energy and material intensity and to make products with a competitive advantage for the increasingly aware consumer market in the European Union – products with an emphasis on quality, health and protection of the environment. It also offers an opportunity to create new jobs and thus considerably contributes to finding a solution to the social problem of highest priority – unemployment.
The main sources from which this conflict stems are as follows: 1) Quality of life criteria – values categorised according to individual elements describing the quality of life: - material resources – access to resources to provide food and earnings - health – both physical (suitable nourishment, the chance not to be unnecessarily sick, sufficient supply of fresh water, clean air, energy to provide heating and cooling) and mental (sufficient time for regeneration etc.) - safety – the chance to live and work in a clean and safe environment - social needs – from the perspective of the society as a whole, the appropriate level of social cohesion; from the perspective of an individual, the feeling of solidarity and love, respect and self-respect, “self-fulfilment” (this basic general need for growth and fulfilment includes the possibility to develop individual cultural and spiritual values or aesthetic and recreational values linked to ecosystems). These most relevant factors determining the quality of life are strongly tied to human activities, to the need for freedom and to the right of choice. Ecosystem services – i.e. benefits derived by society from ecosystems: A society can exist only thanks to supportive functions of ecosystems, and the limits of these systems determine the space available for the development of society. The benefits derived by society from ecosystems are called “ecosystem services” that include the provision of goods and regulatory and cultural services, which directly affect people and the quality of their lives, and supportive services that are necessary to maintain other services. Supportive services include: soil formation, the food chain, primary production. Direct services include: the provision of goods (food, water, fuel, fibre, biochemicals, genetic resources), regulatory services (the regulation of climate, regulation of diseases, regulation of water sources, water treatment) and cultural services (non-material benefits of ecosystems – recreational, cultural, aesthetic and the like).