The Environmental Indicator Report 2014 by the European Environment Agency was published last October in conjunction with the Global Green Growth Forum held in Copenhagen. The report analyses the EU's production-consumption systems and looks at more sustainable ways of satisfying our needs with the transition to a green economy.

The report points out that around half of some pressures from EU consumption are exerted outside the EU, including land use, water use and some air pollutant emissions, and this is mainly because consumer goods are increasingly produced abroad. Since these environmental and social are exerted beyond Europe's borders, they are difficult for European policy to influence and remain largely invisible to consumers.

The EU is also highly dependent on the rest of the world for raw materials, which are eight times as much (by weight) as the goods that are exported. The extraction and transport of these materials puts significant environmental pressure on the global environment.

For these reasons Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director, presenting the report noted that the way we live and how we produce things has a substantial impact beyond our borders. In the past Europe has largely focused on policies to make European production more eco-efficient, but in a globalised world it is increasingly important that we fundamentally re-think how we consume and produce, to encourage true sustainability throughout the whole lifecycle of products.

Nonetheless, initiatives leading to more sustainable production and consumption systems need more political support to flourish, the report states.

The report is available for download at this link