SDG 12: Responsible Production and Consumption
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a group of goals adopted by the member countries of the United Nations, and which were adopted to be met by 2030, with the aim that all people can live in peace and prosperity, eliminating poverty and protecting the planet.
In this article we look at goal number 12, which invites us to reflection and action. Reflection and action must go hand in hand. Excessive production and consumption is leading us to deplete our planet’s resources. And we are seeing how its consequences especially affect those who have the least, the poorest and most vulnerable. A goal that affects the present and may condition the future.
There are many figures that speak to us in this sense: millions of kilos of food thrown away, energy production through the combustion of fossil materials, tons of waste generated daily… Our small actions may not help to eliminate the problem, but they do help to reduce the effects.
As Marists of Champagnat we are called to join all nations in the pursuit of responsible production and consumption. This is what the 22nd General Chapter reminds us and invites us to do when it calls us to “face the challenges of today” that will lead us to reduce “the scandal of indifference and inequalities” (Call 3).
One of the elements that the pandemic we are living through has taught us is that there is a close relationship between all human beings, regardless of where they live. It has also made us more aware of the relationship between human life and the environment in which it develops.
The United Nations, and individual governments in each country, have much to say and do on this issue. It is up to us to raise awareness, to denounce, to participate, to preach by example… We are involved, as Marists, in a large number of associations for the defence of rights. This is where we can make an impact to ensure that national and international policies change in the direction of responsible production and consumption.
Pope Francis, in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, presents us with the parable of the “Good Samaritan”. We Christians and Marists are called to be Good Samaritans, we are called to action. Of course, we are not among the “thieves”, but we run the risk of being “those who pass by” and do nothing to help those in need. Our world is in need, because the planet cannot withstand the exploitation of resources to which it is subjected. And this situation in our world also affects millions of people who see how an excessive system of production leads them to continue living in poverty, and how they are unable to access basic necessities.
What are you and I prepared to do, what concrete steps can we take, how can we really be good Samaritans for our world and for our brothers and sisters in need? It is time to act.
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Br. Ángel Diego García Otaola – Director of the Secretariaty of Solidarity