Value-Chain Approach
Construction Value Chain Consultations
The construction sector was the focus of a set of consultations in July 2021 to identify innovative business and policy solutions, building on the conclusions of a report which identified key entry points for intervention along the construction value chain. The workshops focused on the upstream phases of financing, planning and design, as well as the critical role that governments play as procurers along the value chain.
The objective was to understand what initiatives and solutions currently exist at different stages of the construction value chain and to define gaps, opportunities, interlinkages, and trade-offs as the basis for the development of prioritised action for sustainable consumption and production.
The discussions and outcomes from these workshops have fed into the ongoing process of the development of a post-2022 Global Strategy for SCP and SDG 12.
Below on this page you will find more details on the individual consultation workshops, and the outcome document of the full construction value chain consultation process, identifying opportunities and gaps, is available here:
The workshops
Purchasing power: How public procurement exerts influence throughout the Construction value chain
This workshop took a closer look at inspiring examples from national governments to address resource use & environmental impacts along the construction value chain. Discussions also focused on working together to develop more sustainable public procurement criteria.
Follow the investments: How financing shapes the Construction value chain
As regulators of financial markets, the banking system, and tax systems, governments influence how much and what type of constructions are built, especially for housing, particularly at the financing stage and property market stage of the construction value chain.
How planning and design frame action along the Construction value chain
As urban and territorial planners, and regulators of the construction sector, governments also indirectly determine what is being built, how much is being built and how constructions are being. How governments regulate the construction sector through tools such as building codes and zoning laws can influence the operations of actors along the construction value chain
The outcome document
An outcome document after the workshops brings together the main conclusions and identifies gaps and opportunities to be further explored during the ongoing development of a post-2022 Global Strategy for SCP & SDG 12.
Background
Strengthening the science-policy interface by adopting the value-chain approach to prioritise action is one of the key pillars in strengthening multilateral cooperation on Sustainable Consumption and Production.
The value-chain approach is a methodology for science-based policy action on sustainable consumption and production. Its purpose is to identify key points of intervention within economic systems to reduce natural-resource use and environmental impacts caused by production and consumption, and to define a common agenda for action.
Critically, the value-chain approach goes beyond an understanding of where resource use and environmental impacts occur, to understand why this is happening and what the key points of intervention are for science-based policy action.
The value-chain approach, and the lessons taken specfically from these consultations, have played a role in informing the ongoing development of a post-2022 Global Strategy for SCP & SDG 12. This process is underway through ongoing consultations with key experts and organisations from key sectors, including the built environment.
Building on the findings of the joint task group of the International Resource Panel and the One Planet network presented in the report “Catalysing science-based policy action on sustainable consumption and production: the value-chain approach and its application to food, construction and textiles”, these workshops took a next step to help define a common agenda for action by continuing the application of the value-chain approach in the high-impact sectors of food, construction and plastics and thereby ensuring its scientific foundation.
