SWITCH-Asia

WHEN:  4-6 November 2024     I    TIME:  9:00 - 17:15 (Lao PDR Time)    I    Venue: DoubleTree by Hilton Vientiane, Lao PDR   

The ASEAN-Plus-Three (ASEAN+3) Leadership Programme on Sustainable Consumption and Production 

The ASEAN-Plus-Three (ASEAN+3) Leadership Programme (LP) on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) was launched in 2008 within the framework of the ASEAN Environmental Education Action Plan (AEEAP) (2008-2014) which was endorsed by the Governments of ASEAN Member States. The ASEAN+3 LP aims to support capacity building for policy makers focusing on policy development and implementation, and upscaling and mainstreaming of SCP practices. It is intended to provide policy makers practice- and evidence-based learning that are illustrative for the change processes from a business-as-usual scenario to one which effectuates, or can potentially influence, change in behaviours, practices and systems of consumer and producers, as well as in policy making. 

The ASEAN+3 LP was hosted during 2008-2019 annually by the ASEAN Environment Ministries in coordination with the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) and the ASEAN Member States through the ASEAN Working Group on Environmental Education (AWGEE), which is the main responsible body for implementation of the programmes and activities related to SCP. Previous partner organisations of the programme are as follows: the United Nations University-Institute for the Advance Study on Sustainability (UNU-IAS), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), through the SWITCH-Asia Programme, with endorsement and/or support from the ASEAN Secretariat, the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, and the European Union. 

In the 12th and 13th AWGEE Meetings in 2020 and 2021, the Government of Lao PDR has postponed the 12th ASEAN+3 Leadership Programme on SCP due to the pandemic. In the Fifteenth Meeting of the AWGEE held on 13 – 14 July 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Lao PDR announced its readiness to convene the 12th ASEAN+3 LP in November 2024, in coordination with the ASEAN Secretariat and prospective partners. 

The 12th ASEAN+3 LP on SCP will contribute to the objective of the AEEAP, which is to  promote environmental protection through effective environmental education and awareness programmes that build capacity and capability of institutional and human resources  to adapt and respond to current and emerging environmental threats and challenges, so as to create a dynamic, sustainable, and resilient ASEAN Community that will proactively contribute to the achievement of global sustainable development goals.

SCP is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, having both a stand- alone Sustainable Development Goal (SDG12), focusing on waste reduction, food waste, chemicals management and sustainable natural resources management, and integration with 12 other SDGs, including on water, energy, climate, cities, etc. Noting significant shortfalls in advancing the SDGs, the 2023 SDG summit urged accelerated action on six critical SDG transitions, three of which are central to SCP, respectively: (1) food systems; (2) energy transition and (3) climate, biodiversity and nature. The 2024 Summit for the Future is providing further impetus by positioning circular economy as the pathway for accelerating SCP progress.
 

Event Background

The 12th ASEAN-Plus-Three Leadership Programme on SCP will be held from 4-6 November 2024 in Vientiane Lao PDR, hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) of Lao PDR, with support from the EU SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component (PSC), the Delegation of European Union in Lao PDR through the Lao PDR-EU Cooperation Facility, the EU Delegation to ASEAN through the EU-ASEAN-Technical Assistance Facility to the Green Team Europe Initiative (TAF-GTEI), and the Hanns Siedel Foundation – Vietnam.

The thematic focus of the 12th ASEAN+3 LP on SCP will be on “Circular Economy transition as pathway towards accelerating climate and SCP policy and practice.”

Objectives

The aim of the 12th ASEAN+3 LP is to enhance the knowledge and skills of policy makers, by focusing on SCP policy development and coherence and promoting SCP practices among members states, particularly on the two goals under the ASEAN SCP Framework’s Goal 1 on SDG 12 implementation and Goal 3 on establishing good practices for green products and guidelines for Green Public Procurement (GPP).  The LP will also facilitate discussions about SCP-related goals and targets of the SDGs, seeking alignment with climate commitments. Policy makers will learn from practical cases that demonstrate how changes in behaviour, practice, and systems of both producers and consumers, as well as in policy making, can be effectively implemented. This initiative aims to enhance regional collaboration, drive eco-friendly policies, and support the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient ASEAN community, in light of the results of the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024. 

Target Audience

The target participants for the Leadership Programme are mainly government policy makers from the ASEAN Member States and three ASEAN dialogue partner countries - China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. This year’s ASEAN+3 LP will also request the participation of mixed inter-ministerial delegations of two delegates from each ASEAN Member State, to highlight the cross cutting nature of SCP and the Sustainable Development Goals in national public governance. These participants are:

• ASEAN Senior Officials on Environment (ASOEN) National Focal Points or their representatives; and ASOEN counterparts or their representatives from China, Japan and Republic of Korea
• National Focal Points in Southeast Asia of the SWITCH-Asia Programme’s Policy Support Component on Sustainable Consumption and Production
• Designated Ministerial counterparts with interest in SCP, Sustainable/Green Public Procurement (S/GPP) and the SDGs from Ministries of Finance, Ministries of Education, Ministries of Planning, Ministries of Industry and Trade, Ministries of Local Government or Urbanisation, Government programmes for SMEs, or other public institutions of concern for the SDGs.  It would be particularly beneficial to engage delegates who work on SDG monitoring and Green Public Procurement. 

Learning Content

In this year’s ASEAN+3 LP, participants discuss policy frameworks and critical issues for the development of sustainable consumption and production systems, in particular policy support and monitoring and decision-making tools, including SDG 12 reporting and S/GPP. These two areas constitute topics of the two pillars of the ASEAN ACP Framework. The programme’s focus this year is the importance of policy coherence and how SCP can create momentum for the climate and circularity agendas. Collective learning and innovation will be facilitated by presenting and discussing cases on SCP implementation. The case work engages participants in analysing, understanding, synthesising, and generating policy options. 

Learning Objectives

The 12th ASEAN+3 Leadership Programme will enable participants to:

1. Define key SCP goals and priorities in line with national and regional context and accelerating ambition for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
2. Discuss SDG 12 reporting as a helpful tool for assessing policy progress and mainstreaming SCP.
3. Explore relevant business practices and their contribution to SCP and Circular Economy (CE), as well as key SDG transitions and associated SDGs and targets.
4. Examine how S/GPP contribute to SCP and ASEAN’s achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and how to elevate its potential towards market transformation.

Structure of 12th ASEAN+3 Leadership Programme on SCP

Day 1 Circular Economy as pathway for creating policy coherence and raising ambition towards SCP

Objectives:

• Discuss the interlinkages of SCP, climate action and Circular Economy and need for policy coherence.
• Discuss synergies among the policies and strategies related to SCP, which links material use and climate through circularity.
• Discuss the policy options in SCP and circular economy and how to strengthen ambitions and accelerate actions on global and regional commitments on climate and the SDGs, in light of the developments based on results of the Summit of the Future 2024
• Explore relevant SCP and CE innovative practices through business case studies and discuss how to support businesses to scaling up in transitioning to SCP and CE.  

Approach:

• Presentations and Interactive discussions drawing on experiences of the resource persons and delegates;
• Group discussion of case materials.

Areas/ topics for discussion:

1. Taking Stock – Accelerating Progress: unlocking circular economy as pathway for SCP and climate action
2. SCP and CE Policy coherence to raise ambitions in relation to climate and SDG commitments Circular economy as a responsible business action in ASEAN: Lessons and potential strategies   
3. SDG 12 reporting as enabling the circular economy transformation

Objectives:

• (Re-)Introduce SDG 12 reporting as a helpful tool for assessing policy progress and mainstreaming SCP as a priority into national policies (specific focus on SDG 12.2-12.7).
• Discuss different national approaches to SDG 12 policy development and implementation
• Discuss options for supporting businesses that enable the circular economy

Approach:

• Presentations and Interactive discussions drawing on experiences of the resource persons and delegates;
• Group discussion of case materials.

Areas/ topics for discussion:

1. Overview over SDG 12 implementation and monitoring status, particularly SDG 12.1;
2. Moving the needle for improving resource efficiency (SDG 12.2,3,4,5) (recycling rates and domestic material consumption per GDP/capita), and limiting food loss, pollution / hazardous waste: policies, monitoring systems and sanctioning mechanisms
3. Sustainability reporting by companies: how to create an environment conducive to corporate engagement in circularity, climate solutions, and SCP (SDG 12.6)            

Approach:

• Presentations and Interactive discussions drawing on experiences of the resource persons and delegates;
• Group discussion of case materials.

Day 2-3 (One day and a half): Green Public Procurement

Objectives:

• Discuss the links between national progress and the regional ambitions inscribed in the ASEAN SCP Framework.
• Discuss how sustainability could be mainstreamed into procurement functions of bodies of ASEAN Member States that have overarching strategic planning responsibilities in Government at national or sub-national level.
• Discuss the links between climate change and GPP and how GPP can be a tool to reach climate targets.

Approach:

• Presentations and Interactive discussions drawing on experiences of the resource persons and delegates;
• Group discussion of case materials.

Areas/topic for discussion:

1. Progress in ASEAN countries in GPP and links with ASEAN SCP Framework
2. Presentation and discussion on links between Public Finance and GPP
3. GPP and Climate Change: reducing GHG emissions through GPP and eco-labelling

Organisers and Resource Team

The organisers and collaborators are:

• Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Lao PDR
• ASEAN Secretariat
• EU Delegation to Lao PDR
• EU SWITCH-Asia PSC
• EU Delegation to ASEAN
• Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF)