This special issue, Ensuring Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns in Southeast Asia, addresses the twelfth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. According to the United Nations, increased consumption and production have brought wealth to people and have halved the absolute poverty rate in Asia over the last two decades. However, current unsustainable patterns of resource and energy use and greenhouse gas and waste emissions, which are projected to keep increasing, are posing significant threats to the global environment. It is not clear what sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns are required in Asia and what actions should be taken to ensure them and by whom. Asia’s economy has been growing with unprecedented rapidity, resulting in drastic changes to businesses and lifestyles and widening spatial and social class disparities in the region in terms of economic benefits and environmental risks. What kinds of SCP policies should be adopted and what are the differences between them and the policies being implemented by developed nations such as EU countries? Additionally, the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has changed consumption and production patterns around the world, and our actions for SCP must be revisited and adjusted to the new context. The "Policy Design and Evaluation for Establishing Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns in the Asian Region (PECoP-Asia)" research project has been attempting to find answers to these questions, with a focus on Southeast Asia. This special issue aims at summarizing the project’s research results and providing up-to-date suggestions on SCP policy in Asia. The structure of this special issue is as follows: The first two articles discuss the development of SCP policy in Asia as an introduction to the special feature. The first article, written by Hirao et al. integrates the outcomes of the PECoP-Asia project. The authors reveal three versions of SCP policy and emphasize that the situation in Asia calls for all three versions to be implemented in a strategic manner. They also present four directions and 13 opportunities for SCP policy in Asian countries. The 13 opportunities include insights gained in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The second article, by Hotta et al., further elaborates the three SCP policy versions, 1.0 to 3.0. The authors argue that a life-cycle approach is important in SCP 2.0, and they devise and explain a new approach for SCP 3.0, “envisioning-based policy making (EnBPM).” The articles thereafter present the results of 10 research groups: Onozuka et al. propose a method for quantifying narrative scenarios based on the concept of participatory backcasting for better envisioning; Tasaki and Kojima discuss regional and local characteristics in Asia that may potentially affect SCP patterns and policies in Southeast Asia; Kobayashi et al. propose a framework for locally oriented product design using an extended function-structure map and a mixed prototyping environment; Wu et al. analyze how individual environmental-management control tools for companies promote SCP activities at Thai and Vietnamese companies; Phuphisith et al. evaluate the effectiveness of providing information with life-cycle thinking in changing consumer behavior; Matsumoto et al. analyze consumer acceptability of remanufactured products; Yoshida et al. survey and discuss the actual use of air conditioners by households in Vietnam and policy approaches for reducing energy consumption when cooling; Murakami et al. investigate actual disposal of motorcycles in Cambodia and measures for resource recycling; Tsurumi et al. discuss subjective well-being in Asia, which is the ultimate goal of SCP; and Takagi et al. illustrate the management of SCP linkages with economic, social and environmental agendas connected with the SDGs.

Ensuring sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns in the Asia region is a high-priority policy issue but challenged by a number of obstacles and the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. This article argues that not only conventional policy approaches but also alternative approaches are needed in Asia to decouple socio-economic development and increases in environmental loads from people’s sense of well-being. To achieve human and planetary well-being under the situation of compressed development, four strategic courses of SCP policy are presented. These four courses are SCP policy expansion, enhanced linkage of consumption and production (CP), system transition and bottom-up approaches. Policy makers in Asia should keep these courses of action in mind and utilize opportunities, 13 of which are outlined here, to mainstream SCP. The 13 SCP opportunities, the key words of which include among others experience, genuine wealth, local design, digitalization, infrastructure, indigenous wisdom, collaboration and challenges, indicate entry points for Asian SCP policy development in the 2020s. Finally, based on these, the authors have devised an SCP case matrix and produced 43 example SCP cases for better application of the suggested SCP policy approach in the Asian region.

The focus of SCP policy has shifted from management of environmental pollution to wider socio-technical change including infrastructure, lifestyles and business models that are sustainable over decades. This paper first examines the expansion of the SCP policy domain through changes in focus of the following two aspects; product lifecycle policy and policy for changes in provision systems. The authors call for limiting lifecycle-based policy approaches to those that address a socio-technical transition to sustainability. They argue that transition-oriented SCP policy design proposed as envisioning-based policymaking (EnBPM) requires a new approach based on envisioning, social experimentation, a new indicator system to monitor the progress of transition, and development of a new business model. In doing so, they further develop the case for EnPBM and the present direction of potential policy research for developing EnBPM as a policy design approach.

More attention has been paid to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) to explore the desirable linkage between consumers and producers for sustainability. To envision SCP, the authors have developed a workshop-based method for designing backcasting scenarios. The idea is to incorporate expertise, opinions and local knowledge that experts and stakeholders have into the scenario design process. While scenarios are generally described in narrative format, it is necessary to quantify described scenarios to examine how to bridge the gap between the current situation and predetermined goals for SCP. However, it is not easy to quantify backcasting scenarios because there are no systematized methods available in existing studies. This paper thus aims to develop a workshop-based process for undertaking a quantitative evaluation of backcasting scenarios in narrative format. To develop the quantification process, we conducted a literature review and held experimental workshops. Making scenario quantification feasible and efficient during the workshop, the scenario designers deal with the following two things before the workshop – (1) setting tentative input values and the rationales for them and (2) suggesting discussion points in quantification workshops. In a case study, we evaluated one of the described scenarios for Vietnam, inviting experts to discuss it. The SCP goal was assumed to halve CO2 emissions related to passenger cars in 2050 from the level of the Business-as-Usual (BaU) scenario. Through the workshop, the experts reached a consensus on the quantification results, which showed that the CO2 emissions were reduced 60% when half of car users shared a car with 10 users.

Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns are inevitably based on human endeavors, including business models and lifestyles. Hence, regional and local characteristics are important factors in identifying SCP patterns and formulating SCP policies; however, SCP policies that originated in developed countries have tended to take a cosmopolitan or context-free position and neglect this aspect. In this study, we reviewed literature about cultural and geographical differences as well as the results of two workshops about SCP in Southeast Asia. We then discussed potential factors that affect SCP patterns and policies in Southeast Asia from a societal (context-dependent) approach. Factors identified include climate and nature, the existence and functions of business and infrastructure, economic growth and regional disparity, policy and regulation, religious rules, the relationship between government and industries, international trade, and people’s cultural mindset (e.g., traditional versus secular, acceptance of inequality, self-expression and cultural context). We proposed a model structure to indicate how regional/local characteristics affect the constituents of consumption and production (CP) patterns (CP preferences and CP enablers) and SCP policies (policy needs and policy preferences). We then suggested CP-related regional/local characteristics and policy-related regional/local characteristics in Southeast Asia, presenting four general points regarding regional/local characteristics: that they are relative; that they are dynamic, historical and highly interrelated among each other; that culturalist approaches make meaningful generalizations difficult, necessitating a context-dependent societal approach; and that local characteristics can have a variety of influences on CP patterns.

Ensuring sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns is an important task and is one of the United Nation’s sustainable development goals. Each SCP pattern needs to be appropriate for its target region, so they differ according to regional or local characteristics, including culture, climate and customs. Therefore, product design should take into account these characteristics as appropriate. The purpose of this study is to propose a framework for locally-oriented product design using an extended function-structure map and a mixed prototyping environment. The former is applied to identify local specific information related to product function structure and to generate design ideas, and the latter is applied to evaluate design solutions in a reconfigured living environment comparable with an actual one. Combining these two elements in the design process allows local information to contribute to the design of locally-oriented products. The usefulness of the proposed framework is shown by applying it to the development of an improved washing machine design for use in the Vietnamese living environment.

Sustainable consumption and production (SCP), as one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) (Goal 12), plays an essential role in promoting environmentally conscious management practices. There are many environmental management tools that can affect the implementation of SCP and related environmental performance, such as environmental management systems, environmental management accounting (EMA), supply chain management and the use of environmental indicators. In addition, environmental management control systems (EMCS), a new concept, may also be useful because it is more comprehensive. In developing countries, identifying any of these tools as useful could promote SCP policy. This study aimed to analyse how individual environmental management control tools promoted Thai and Vietnamese companies’ SCP activities through multiple group structural equation modeling (MGSEM), based on our questionnaire survey data. The impact of SCP activities on environmental performance was also examined. Our results verify that it is appropriate to promote the adoption of SCP policy in companies in developing countries. Furthermore, when promoting SCP policy in developing countries, it is necessary to recognise that the effects of environmental management tools are not always uniform. Traditional management tools may work against new challenges, such as the implementation of SCP, so a more diverse menu of environmental management tools, including EMA, is required.

The concept of life cycle thinking (LCT) is essential for sustainable consumption and product development. A thorough evaluation of its impacts on people’s environmental consciousness and behavior is still lacking, however, as is people’s understanding of the LCT concept. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of LCT on people’s attitudes and behaviors, using an information-provision strategy, and to compare the effects of LCT-based information with other types of information provision. LCT-based and alternative information were created for promoting two pro-environmental behaviors: waste separation and refill product purchase. Designed information was distributed through a web-based survey conducted in Bangkok, Thailand and its vicinity. The LCT-based information about both waste separation and refill products had significant impacts on improving the respondents’ attitudes toward the target behaviors, but its effects on behavior improvement in both cases were insignificant. Compared with the alternative information provided, the LCT-based information was significantly more useful in relation to both target behaviors. The results of the present study suggest the possibility and opportunity for using the LCT concept for both promotion of and education on sustainable consumption.

Remanufacturing is an important element in enhancing the resource efficiency of economies. Automotive parts are a representative target of remanufacturing. This study has attempted to estimate the potential contribution of automotive parts remanufacturing toward reductions in material resource consumption in the Southeast Asian region. Material consumption for automobiles and automotive spare parts in the region in 2030 is estimated at 5.2 million tons and 314,000 tons, respectively. Of the materials, steel is expected to comprise 3.5 million tons and 213,000 tons, accounting for 2.7% and 0.16%, respectively, of steel use in the region. The material-saving effects of remanufacturing are then considered. The results indicate the potential contribution of automotive parts remanufacturing to the reduction of material consumption in the region in 2030 to be an estimated 251,000 tons of materials and 170,000 tons of steel, accounting for 0.13% of steel use in the region. This article also presents a discussion on potential market barriers to remanufacturing in the region. The major barriers include: 1) manufacturers’ hesitation to undertake remanufacturing, and 2) consumers’ non-acceptance of remanufactured products. The implications of a web-questionnaire survey the study conducted in four countries in the region to assess consumers’ acceptance of remanufactured products are discussed along with items needing further study.

Demand for electricity is rapidly increasing in Vietnam due to increased use of air conditioners (ACs) and other electrical appliances. Therefore, effective measures are needed for reducing Vietnamese electricity consumption to reduce potential future demand. In 2016, we conducted a survey of 30 households in urban and rural areas of Hanoi and Long An in northern and southern Vietnam, respectively, to examine differences in electricity consumption and the use of ACs and other electrical appliances between different locations and socioeconomic classes. We found that ACs were mainly used in the summer (May–October in Hanoi; March–August in Long An). Households with higher incomes tended to use ACs for most or all of the year. Many households tended to use ACs while sleeping. Younger respondents tended to use ACs for a longer period of time compared with their parents. Respondents in Long An seemed less dependent on ACs compared with those in Hanoi because of regional characteristics and their custom of cold-water bathing. Although increased income is a major factor underlying the use of ACs, other factors such as the structure of modern housing, health awareness, the inability to open windows and local customs were also found. Together, the present results suggest that both hard-type (e.g., improving the thermal performance of residential buildings) and soft-type (e.g., publication of basic tips for energy-saving AC use) policy approaches will be important for reducing future energy consumption in Vietnam.

The increase in the demand for two-wheelers in Cambodia has led to a significant increase in the import of used two-wheelers from Asian countries. The practical lifespan of two-wheelers newly reused in Cambodia is therefore quite short, resulting in the quick and significant generation of end-of-life vehicles. While there has been an increase in the number of studies based on developing waste estimation models, scenarios in which reused products are imported to a given country have not been given significant attention. A model is needed that would account for two-wheelers imported for reuse by second and third owners in Cambodia, considering differences in lifespan among two-wheelers. In a scenario analysis for estimating the number of obsolete two-wheelers, both local production and import for reuse in Cambodia were considered during the period of 2010–2040. A population balance model modified for both cases was used in the scenario analysis. Through these analyses, it was estimated that the number of discarded two-wheelers in Cambodia in 2040 will be in the range of 754,000 to 986,000 units, which is 6.2–8.5 times more than in 2020. Strategies for waste mitigation and effective treatment for resource recycling using discarded two-wheelers in Cambodia are discussed to provide guidelines for avoiding environmental pollution and resource dissipation.

This study presents an overview of our research on the association between consumption and subjective well-being (SWB) to suggest implications for sustaining SWB within the context of environmentally sustainable consumption. Future environmental burdens, such as reaching planetary boundaries, require us to suppress overconsumption. For developed countries, where the population consumes disproportionately more resources, considering how to sustain SWB even if people reduce their consumption levels is necessary. For developing countries, where people are increasing consumption as their economies develop, considering how to realize high SWB while considering future environmental restraints is imperative. Therefore, for both developed and developing countries, improving SWB-per-unit consumption is important. We conducted five surveys in rural and urban Vietnam and Japan from 2016 to 2021. Our estimation results suggest the following: (1) Paying attention to relational consumption rather than material consumption is important; (2) for material consumption, a sharing economy based on strong social capital is efficient; and (3) for material consumption, individuals who take better care of their possessions exhibit increased SWB-per-unit material consumption. We conclude that having individuals develop an attachment to material goods and value social capital is requisite for improving SWB through material and relational consumption.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets are not independent of each other but have mutual impacts. These connections are referred to as interlinkages or cohesive actions. To achieve the SDGs, integrated solutions across sectors are needed with them in mind. Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is a key to connect multiple goals and targets of the SDGs. The objectives of this article are twofold. The first is to identify approaches for visualizing and analyzing the interrelationship between corporate activities and the SDGs based on the results of joint research with Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd, especially regarding SCP. The second is to consider the interlinkages in three thematic areas: housing, energy and agriculture, suggesting policy approaches to manage the interlinkages within each theme in Asia. First, as a case study on corporate activities, this article demonstrates how the activities of Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd., a Japanese company famous for its MUJI brand, are connected with the SDGs, particularly focusing on SCP. The results indicate a potential for linking corporate activities with a broad range of SDG targets. Second, this article examines the three thematic areas of housing, energy and agriculture. These three thematic areas were chosen for analysis, as they are key areas in the management of SCP. This part of the article illustrates the interlinkages within each theme and suggests policy approaches as to how to manage them within each theme. To address the challenges of SCP, the article concludes that as there are potentials in linking not only specific goals of the SDGs but also the broader goals and targets, it is essential to have cohesive actions to address the challenges.