Sustainable Consumption and Production in International Development Cooperation : A case study of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

Abstract: Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is integral within the international sustainable development agenda both as goal and objective. As well as linking people and society to the broader picture of development, sustainable consumption helps the global sustainability agenda to connect with individuals because it affects everyday practices at home and in society. Sustainable production is strongly linked to consumption as it touches on the practices of producing consumer goods and services. International development cooperation agencies are important actors in the SCP agenda, as they oversee international aid and funding for programmes meant to implement international sustainable development policies. SCP has strong links to global north narratives, and participatory approaches have become mandatory for recipient countries to obtain donor funding. It is therefore important to understand how these agencies conceptualise these practices in a global south context. Drawing from the ideas of empowerment through participation, this degree project analyses two project reports funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), an important actor within international development cooperation activities, and investigates how SCP is communicated in a global south context. It finds that: the initiatives experience limitations by donor dependency, constraining local community practices to sustain; lacking measuring tools and strategies limit the information to clearly say these initiatives reach the intended target groups; and that there is strong reason to question whether these initiatives, largely built upon global north narratives, are suitable for the context and subjects of intervention.