The Sustainable Consumption and Production / Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan (SCP/ SIO Action Plan) that was adopted in 2008, was intended to be reviewed by 2012. However, the European Commission is also reviewing the progress of the Action Plan by means of a mid-term evaluation. The final report of this evaluation has been published 19 September, 2011.

The Action Plan contains several divrse instruments and activities that all relate to making production and consumtion more sustainable and at the same time ensure the competitiveness of the European economy.

This evaluation drew on data, which had already been collected for the constituent instruments of the Action Plan. They were complimented with interviews and a questionnaire survey. Stakeholders, who have been consulted during this process, have been Commission officials, MS officials and others (including a number of industry groups).

The main findings of this evaluation are:

• The Action Plan contributed to a growing rationale for action related to sustainable consumption and production. The instruments of the Action Plan address the majority of the issues involved. Although there is an under representation of social and maybe also competitiveness issues, the balance seems to be satisfactory.

• The Action Plan has improved coordination between the DGs that are most involved in SCP/SIP. However, there are some instruments (e.g. recommendations) outside the Action Plan which could usefully be more formally aligned with it.

• The objectives of the Action Plan, which are related to the improvement of alignment and cooperation between instruments in the Member States and the EU, are recognized as being worthy. However only limited progress has been achieved. This situation relates to the complexity of compromises involved and possibly to a lack of resourcing.

• The instruments of the Action Plan lack data and targets, which makes an evaluation difficult.

• There has been progress in adding value by combining the instruments of the Action Plan, which have become more than the sum of their parts. However, there is still room for improvement.

For more detailed information please read the full report, which has been published on the DG Environment Website.