Siem Reap, Cambodia. The 12th Asia-Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP) entitled "Call to Action- Acting Together for our Future Sustainability," was held from 12-13 July 2016 at the Apsara Angkor Hotel. Around 300 participants from Asia-Pacific countries representing governments, the private sector, civil society groups, and academia were in attendance.

"There is growing awareness both in Asia and in Europe of the need to take environmental issues better into account when producing and consuming. This round table will contribute both to a change in the culture of consumption and to implementation of the practical steps that are urgently required," said H.E. Mr. George Edgar, Ambassador of the European Union to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

The meeting was organized by the Asia Pacific Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP) and was hosted by the Kingdom of Cambodia's Ministry of Environment, in partnership with the International Institute for Scientific Research (IISR). The 12th APRSCP was supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through the SWITCH-Asia Regional Policy Support Component (RPSC) of the European Union (EU).

Other key partners of the 12th APRSCP such as the SWITCH-Asia Network Facility and the Network on Resources Efficiency and Cleaner Production (RECPnet) held back-back events on 14 July 2016.

"With the APRSCP's collaboration with the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia under the Ministry of Environment and through support provided by the IISR, UNEP, and other partners, the 12th APRSCP was indeed a momentous event that will certainly help enhance international cooperation in the Region to accelerate the shift towards SCP." said Ms. Laksmi Dhewanthi, President of APRSCP Board of Trustees.

The aim of the 12th APRSCP was to foster dialogue and partnerships engaging multi-stakeholders in developing and implementing innovative policy solutions, up-scaling technology and benchmarking approaches towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through projects and programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP).

"Through a consultative process with member States guided by the technical support of UNEP and the Institute of Global Environmental Strategies in partnership the 10YFP Board and Secretariat, the development of a SCP Roadmap that identifies priority sectors is a vital step on our collective journey towards sustainability. In addition, we simply cannot reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda without both regional cooperation and SCP." Ms. Isabelle Louis, Acting Regional Director and Representative for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office Asia Pacific (UNEP ROAP).

To support the dialogue and building of partnerships, on July 13th the SWITCH-Asia Network Facility presented best practices and achievements in waste management and circular economy developed by SWITCH-Asia projects in the Region. On July 14th a site visit was conducted to a rice husk gasification facility. "The demonstration projects supported by the SWITCH-Asia Programme provide a wealth of information, tools, examples and solutions on how to advance the circular economy in Asia", said Dr. Uwe Weber, Network Facility's Team Leader. "For instance in Cambodia the "Reducing Plastic Bag Waste" project has facilitated the establishment of an inter-ministerial working group tasked with developing new and effective policies to reduce plastic bag consumption."

The 12th APRSCP drew from the results and recommendations of the concluded activities and events of the EU SWITCH-Asia Programme in 2015-2016, the 10 Year Framework of Programme on SCP (10YFP), the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and related APRSCP research and projects, such as the preparation of the Asia Pacific SCP Roadmap.

"As one of the countries in the region that is experiencing rapid development, it is an honor for Cambodia to host the 12th APRSCP. This is an opportunity for Cambodia to demonstrate its commitment to managing a transition towards sustainable development goals and inclusive green growth goals. The country remains highly committed to effective environmental governance for sustainability and to the execution of Cambodia's green growth policy and strategy for poverty eradication and the advanced inclusive and equitable green civilization and prosperity. Resource efficiency is fundamental to the Asia-Pacific region's development and future green sustainability." Chairman of the 12th APRSCP, H.E. Dr. Vannak Chunn, Ministry of Environment Cambodia.

Through the technical support of the Institute of Global Environmental Strategies and in partnership with UNEP and the 10YFP Board and Secretariat, a SCP Roadmap is currently being refined with the purpose of developing a shared agenda in the region for delivering on SCP and its related SDGs at regional and national levels. The SCP Roadmap was officially presented and launched at the 12th APRSCP in Cambodia.

About the APRSCP: For the past 16 years, the APRSCP network has been providing a sound platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue and partnerships among change agents. The APRSCP has been a dialogue platform in sharing and promoting best practices, programs, local initiatives, policies and lessons learned on SCP related projects in Asia and the Pacific region. APRSCP outputs have been used as major inputs in global decision-making processes, such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the 18th and 19th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development. More at: www.aprscp.net/12th-APRSCP/index.html

Press Inquiries:

Ms. Mei-Ling Park, Communications Consultant, UNEP ROAP
park21@un.org
Ph: +66 918175620

Ms. Loraine Gatlabayan, APRSCP Secretariat
secretariat@aprscp.net
Ph+639178004767

Dr. Chhun Vannak, Chairman of the 12th APRSCP
vannakdrchhun@gmail.com

ក្រសួងពាណិជ្ជកម្ម សេចក្តីប្រកាសព័ត៌មានស្តីពីការដាក់ឱ្យអនុវត្តនូវគម្រូទម្រង់លក្ខន្តិកៈក្រុមហ៊ុនថ្មី

“Call to Action- Acting Together for our Future Sustainability” The 12th Asia-Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production