Know more, consume less

We consume more and more fish. And the oceans’ riches are under severe threat. Our creams and ointments contain palm oil; species-rich rainforests are cleared for palm oil plantations. Food production or cosmetics, mobility or tourism – what and how we consume has a profound impact on global biodiversity. Or to put it differently: our consumption and production patterns are destroying biodiversity and disrupting ecosystem services such as clean air, fresh water and fertile soils. A change of course is vital. The Oeko-Institut is exploring the options to tackle the problem.

"If the EU wants to achieve its biodiversity restoration objectives in the future, consumption and associated production patterns urgently need to change," says Dr Jenny Teufel of the Oeko-Institut. "In countless areas they adversely impact on biodiversity. Of course there are differences, such as between high-quality sustainable clothing that lasts a long time and disposable products that deteriorate after a few washes." The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) identifies the main drivers of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services: they include the destruction of habitats for settlement and infrastructure development, deforestation, exceedance of the carrying capacity of ecosystems, for example by overgrazing or pollutant inputs, and land use change, for example in the form of agricultural intensification. Our food system is one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss. A report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Chatham House highlights that more and more animal and plant species are disappearing due to the global food system. According to UNEP, agriculture alone has been identified as the greatest threat to 86 per cent of species at risk of extinction.

Greater sufficiency

What are the tangible impacts of consumption patterns on biodiversity? And what measures could be taken for its protection in this context? The Oeko-Institut, together with the think tank and public policy consultancy adelphi, addressed these questions in the literature review entitled "Sustainable Consumption for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services", which was commissioned by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funding from the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU). "In addition, we present positive examples of communication regarding sustainable consumption, as this is still sorely missing," says the scientist who works at our Sustainable Products & Material Flows Division.

The analysis shows that the destruction of biodiversity as well as the loss of ecosystem services are directly linked to increasing consumption. "Especially the countries of the global South, from which we obtain many raw materials, are affected by this." To counter these developments, sufficiency is needed – consumption must change, i.e. there must be a greater focus on sustainably produced products, and reduced consumption of, for example, dairy and meat products. However, consumers are often not aware of how strongly their consumption is linked to the disappearance of biodiversity. "The fact that we don't see or feel the effects so strongly in this country very likely plays into that," says Dr Jenny Teufel. "When orangutans go extinct or tropical rainforests disappear to satisfy our demand for meat or for the palm oil which is contained in many products, then that’s not so much on our radar." But of course you can't tell from the product itself whether or not it is harming biodiversity – be that an item of clothing or a glass of milk. "The huge importance of production methods for our biodiversity is difficult to pack into simple slogans." Therefore, more information and communication is needed, especially with regard to ecosystem services.

The analysis was assisted by the international Working Group on Biodiversity Communication, which was set up as part of the UN's One Planet Network to promote information, communication and international cooperation on ecologically compatible consumption. It includes members from NGOs, science and politics, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Indonesian Ministry of the Environment.

Politics and the private sector

Of course, it is not enough simply for consumers to consume less. "We have to pull out all the stops, because we are destroying the natural resource base on which our lives depend," says Dr Jenny Teufel. Many of these levers are in the hands of politicians. "They could bring in taxes on resource consumption or make public procurement more biodiversity-friendly." This was shown by the project on biodiversity conservation in federal procurement (Biodiversitätsschutz in der Beschaffung des Bundes), which was carried out jointly with the Institute for Ecological Economic Research (IÖW) and the law firm Dageförde on behalf of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). It focused on canteen food procurement as well as on paper and hygiene products. "As part of the project we formulated tangible requirements that products or services must meet. These ensure that biodiversity conservation is taken into account in procurement decisions." The requirements include, for example, a higher proportion of plant-based foods in menu planning in combination with a mandatory feedback system to ensure that the guests’ palate is pleased too, or the mandatory purchase of recycled hygiene paper products.

Sustainability labels such as the Blue Angel or standards with regard to ecological product design can also help to ensure that biodiversity conservation is at long last granted the necessary priority, including in the business world. "It is part of a company's duty of care to operate as sustainably as possible," says the Oeko-Institut expert. "It would be short-sighted to merely start focussing on our own consumption while Germany continues to export a great deal of meat, for example. Conventionally produced meat can have many adverse effects in terms of animal welfare and also the importation of feedstuffs, which in turn can impact on biodiversity in other countries." But she emphasises that "there is also a growing awareness on the part of companies that they are destroying their operations’ very foundations if they do not conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services."

A lot of research is still needed to really understand how production and consumption patterns affect biodiversity, stresses Dr Jenny Teufel. "You always need to look at the entire value chain in all its details. That’s easier to do for foods than for complex products such as laptops, which contain a large number of different raw materials, the extraction of which in turn results in many different impacts.” The extraction of lithium in South America is one such example. It destroys the habitats of Andean flamingos, an endangered species.

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Dr Jenny Teufel's work focuses on sustainable food production and sustainable nutrition. Among other aspects, she evaluates and analyses the ecological and health risks along the entire product life cycle of food. In addition, the biologist works on sustainable public procurement of food and other products.