Implementing Goal 12 and the shift to sustainable consumption and production requires a systemic approach, through multi-stakeholder partnerships and collaborations across levels of stakeholders and sectors of society – governments, local authorities, businesses, civil society, scientific organisations, international organisations. Such partnerships are essential for the delivery of the 2030 Agenda, as affirmed by Goal 17.
A broader systemic transformation will require concerted action from i) scientific institutions, to understand what is needed; ii) businesses, to identify solutions and bring net positive impact; iii) policy makers, to create conducive environments, social and physical infrastructure and regulate markets; iv) civil society, to strengthen advocacy and promote behaviour change; v) and international
organisations to broker diverse partnerships for innovative solutions. The United Nations Secretary General highlights “the United Nations development system will need to draw on its unique convening power to help countries to broker the diverse partnerships needed at the global, regional and country levels and to bring together the actors with the appropriate mix of resources — knowledge, science and technology, finance — to find innovative solutions to pressing challenges that can be taken to the required scale.”