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TA1.HLO5 - To conduct studies on the impact of international trade and to analyse of trade policies and market based instruments

TA2.HLO6 - To promote/establish consensus on best practices in support of sustainable production and consumption

TA3.HLO2 - To develop scenarios describing the efficient use of natural resources in the global transition towards a green and low carbon economy

The JRC contributes to the sustainable growth priority of the Europe 2020 Strategy by addressing clean energy, transport and production technologies as well as sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in the context of and open and competitive economy. SCP is a priority of the renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) aimed at promoting economic growth and social cohesion without impairing environmental quality. SCP is also an integral part of the Resource Efficiency flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Focusing on innovative energy and resource efficient technologies and systems, the SUSPROC Action contributes to a thorough understanding of the specificities and interrelationships of industrial, manufacturing and tertiary sectors, raw materials, product groups and services. It also assesses the direct and indirect economic and environmental impacts of changes in production technologies and systems and consumption patterns that such policies may induce.

SCP can only be addressed by giving due consideration to the economic, competitiveness and innovation, social and environmental perspectives. It is crucial that measures to support growth and jobs are compatible with long-term sustainability goals. It is therefore paramount to use the outcomes from research and sound science to strengthen the evidence-base of policy making in this field.

This action contributes to policy developments related to specific priority issues identified in the SDS, the Environment Action Plan and the Europe 2020 Strategy by analysing the relations between technological change, scientific developments, behavioural and life style, environment, economy, employment and growth and policy approaches. The activities of the Action aim at promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy, are embedded in the Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative "Resource efficient Europe", and are linked to the Flagship Initiatives "Innovation Union" and "An industrial policy for the globalisation era". The Action focuses on the following initiatives from the Commission: the Action Plans on Sustainable Production and Consumption and on Sustainable Industrial Policy, the Environmental Technologies Action Plan and its follow-ups, the Thematic Strategy on Waste and Recycling, the Raw Materials Initiative, and the Roadmap for a Resource-Efficient Europe.

Support to the implementation and further development of policies aiming at sustainable growth and a resource efficient, green and competitive economy through prospective socio- and techno-economic research and method development. The Action analyses, from a policy perspective, the specificities and interrelationships of industrial and manufacturing sectors, product groups, and services as well as of the direct and indirect economic, environmental and social impacts of changes in production and consumption patterns. This includes:

Techno-economic support to Sustainable Production and Consumption and Resource Efficiency:

- Consolidation of permanent bureau structures to develop implementing acts and secondary legislation of environmental policies in the fields of products and services, environmental management systems, environmental technologies, waste management and recycling, in particular regarding: Ecolabel, Green Public Procurement (GPP) and where relevant Eco-design (Product Policy Bureau), the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Regulation and the Waste Framework Directive.
- To analyse for the main industrial and critical raw-materials how the resource efficiency and recycling potentials can be fully untapped.
The Action collaborates with the ENSURE and INTESA Actions in the development and use of environmental footprint and life cycle assessment methods and on integrating resource efficiency in product policies.

Input-output and macroeconomic models:

- To expand the capacity of JRC to use input-output data and modelling for studies in a range of policy areas: including environment and sustainability, trade, taxation, internal market and services.
- To complete the development of the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model FIDELIO with a detailed sectoral breakdown including bilateral trade flows, environmental extensions and use of resources, including by
participating in FP projects on environmental accounting and input-output tools.
- To evaluate the impact of different policies, including market based instruments, on macroeconomic variables and on the environment. Cost-effectiveness and cost benefit analyses of policies, measures and technologies.

Techno-economic support to policy initiatives for eco-innovation and developing new green technologies and production methods:

- Assessment of technologies for green growth and for eco-innovation. Understanding the conditions under which these technologies are developed, identifying the barriers to their development and use and analyzing the measures to improve their uptake.

The Action is running various technical working groups with strong participation of representatives of Member State governments. Outside Europe it is collaborating with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the development of environmental performance criteria for imaging equipment and other electronic products. In the academic area the Action is collaborating intensively with the International Input-Output Association.