The Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP/RAC) is a centre for international cooperation with Mediterranean countries on development and innovation in the production sector and civil society, based on more sustainable consumption and production models.
The Centre carries out its activity under the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) for the protection and development of the Mediterranean basin, under the umbrellas of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
The SCP/RAC was set up in 1996 through a collaboration agreement between the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and the Catalan Government, following the signing of the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (also known as the Barcelona Convention), which provided the legal framework for the MAP.
In 2009 the SCP/RAC’s scope was expanded to take in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), and these pollutants have since become a priority in many of the Centre’s activities.
The SCP/RAC works to build capacity and share knowledge in the following areas, among others:
- Encouraging cleaner production and pollution prevention as factors that can give SMEs a competitive edge and boost their economic performance
- Reducing the generation of hazardous chemicals and their use by means of the best available techniques (BAT) and the best environmental practices (BEP)
- Promoting initiatives for innovation and entrepreneurship that contribute to a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle for citizens
- Introducing environmental criteria in public authorities’ procurement processes (green public procurement)
- Putting the concept of sustainability onto the curriculum at universities and business schools
- Incorporating education on sustainable consumption and lifestyles into the work plans of civil society organisations