Sustainable Development Goal
12

Responsible Consumption and Production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Goal 12 Targets

12.1 Implement the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries

12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources

12.3 By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses

12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment

12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse

12.6 Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle

12.7 Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities

12.8 By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature

12.A Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production

12.B Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products

12.C Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities.

SourceUN Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Development Goals in Zimbabwe

The United Nations in Zimbabwe, through the 2022–2026 Zimbabwe UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (ZUNSDCF), has been central to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by closely aligning international support with the country’s own development priorities. As the primary instrument for supporting national strategies such as National Vision 2030 to become upper-middle-income society—and National Development Strategies 1 and 2 (NDS12021-2025 and NDS2 2026-2030), the ZUNSDCF has helped translate these ambitions into concrete SDG results on the ground. In partnership with Government and Development Partners, the UN has localized the SDGs through local voluntary reviews and embedded six critical transitions—food systems, education, digital connectivity, energy access, jobs and social protection, and climate action—as SDG investment pathways at provincial and district levels. Support to national coordination mechanisms, including the SDG Steering Committee, has been complemented by stronger data and evidence systems, notably the development of 51 SDG-aligned indicators to guide and track implementation of the ZUNSDCF and national progress. To enhance coherence, synergy and impact, the UN in Zimbabwe has deliberately shifted towards joint programming as the predominant mode of delivery. By 2025, joint programmes accounted for more than half of all UN support, strengthening government leadership and policy coherence across sectors. Over the first four years of the Cooperation Framework (2022–2025), the UN mobilized US$2 billion against a total requirement of US$2.8 billion, with 54.4% of this funding delivered through more than 10 joint programmes. Flagship joint initiatives driving SDG acceleration include the Health Resilience Fund, the SDG Renewable Energy Fund, the Global Partnership for Education, and the Joint UN Spotlight Initiative, followed by Sustaining the Gains. These SDG-focused programmes are further underpinned by the UN Business Operations Strategy (BOS) 2022–2025, which has generated substantial efficiency gains through common back-office services. Between 2020 and 2025, the BOS achieved a cumulative cost avoidance of US$7.9 million—exceeding its target of US$7.2 million—and enhanced value for money across UN operations in Zimbabwe, enabling more resources to be directed towards achieving the SDGs.