The consumption of products and services impacts the environment in several ways. For example, the products we buy during their life cycle contribute directly or indirectly to climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and resource depletion in Belgium and other areas. Today's unsustainable consumption and production patterns depend on the extraction, processing and use of an increasing number of the world's natural resources. In Belgium, both the federal government and the regions are responsible for food waste.

Belgium's three regions have each introduced a sustainable food plan to promote environmentally friendly food systems and improve food safety. In Flanders, the Sustainable Food Action Plan, adopted in 2019, aims to encourage sustainable farming practices and reduce food waste. Wallonia, for its part, launched its Walloon Food Plan in 2019, which encourages the consumption of local and seasonal products while supporting short distribution channels. For its part, Brussels launched its Sustainable Food Plan, also in 2019, aimed at improving the sustainability of urban food systems and raising public awareness of healthy eating.

At EU level, the "farm to fork" strategy (introduced in objective 4b.1) aims to promote sustainable food consumption by reducing food losses and waste. This means that the food chain, which includes production, transport, distribution, marketing and consumption of food, has a neutral or positive impact on the environment. The focus is on research, innovation, knowledge and advice, as these are seen as key factors in enabling all players in the food chain to achieve sustainability.

The EU Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC), adopted in 2008, establishes a legal framework for waste management and aims to promote the sustainable use of resources, reduce the negative environmental impacts of waste generation and management, and encourage waste recycling and recovery.

The transition to a circular economy is a crucial step in achieving this objective, as well as many other goals of this strategy. The EU Circular Economy Action Plan, adopted in 2020, aims to promote a more efficient use of resources by reducing waste, encouraging reuse and recycling, and boosting sustainable innovation. Targeting key sectors such as electronics, construction, textiles and packaging, the action plan proposes concrete measures to transform the European economy into a regenerative model capable of reducing its ecological footprint while increasing competitiveness. It is therefore essential to address the consumption of material resources by creating European legislation on material resources, in order to achieve the four objectives of the Circular Economy Action Plan and respect the limits of our planet. It will also be necessary to define the thresholds that need to be reached to bring Belgium's footprint in line with planetary limits and to monitor the progress of regional and federal interventions.

The EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles is a concrete example of this. The strategy focuses on textile production and consumption and recognises the importance of the textile sector. It takes into account the whole life cycle of textile products and proposes coordinated actions to change the way we produce and consume textiles. These European initiatives must be implemented at national level.