The institutionalization of sustainable consumption and production: The role of SDG 12

Led by Melanie van Driel

When the United Nations General Assembly agreed on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, 17 global challenges were identified.

For some of these challenges, we lack a global institutional anchor.

In this study, we look at the role of governing through goals in processes of institutionalization, taking the case of the issue area of Sustainable Consumption and Production, which is now also the topic of SDG 12.

Using the method of process tracing, we first discern key patterns of institutionalization of the issue area over time. Thereafter, we use a set of interviews with key experts to explore the type of role played by SDG 12 in facilitating key developments.