Why these three focus areas?
The three focus areas food and drink, mobility and housing have been selected because according to latest research they comprise 70-80 percent of the environmental impacts of households' in the EU. These environmental impacts include among others global warming, acidification, eutrophication and photochemical ozone formation. In the are of food and drink environmental impacts arise e.g. trough agriculture, food processing, food transportation and packaging. In mobility, journeys made by car and aeroplane are the most important aspects and in housing the main impacts come from heating, construction, electricity use and waste. One important aspect of our everyday lives, leisure time activities, has been left out from the focus. However, according to research, in most of our leisure time activities, mobility causes the most environmental impacts.
The same division into three focus areas is also used in the SCP EU action plan. Focus on these demand areas gives the project a clear structure and assures that actions are focused on the most relevant consumption patterns. The way we live, eat and get around also constitute a major part of our lives and changing these patterns requires significant changes in our lifestyles. CSOs can bring a unique contribution to changing the way we lead our everyday lives and creating more sustainable lifestyles.
Download the SCP background report: Food, Housing, Mobility (pdf, 6,9 Mb)
