2.4 SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
amounts of e-waste processed result in adverse health and environmental impacts, including contaminated soil and surface water (Tsydenova and Bengtsson 2011; Frazzoli et al. 2010; Zhao et al. 2010; Wang et al. 2009). Recyclers’ reported health problems include diseases and problems related to the skin, stomach, respiratory tract and other organs (Nordbrand 2009). Workers suffer high incidences of birth defects, infant mortality, tuberculosis, blood diseases, anomalies in the immune system, malfunctioning of the kidneys and respiratory system, lung cancer, underdevelopment of the brain in children, and damage to the nervous and blood systems (Prakash and Manhart 2010). Through air sampling in Taizhou, a giant e-waste dismantling complex employing over 60,000 people in Zhejiang, China, researchers linked uncontrolled handling and processing of e-waste to adverse human health effects including inflammatory responses, DNA damage and cardiovascular disease (IOP 2011). In Accra, Ghana, increased levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in breast milk samples were linked to informal e-waste recycling activities (Asante et al. 2011).
Overall, of particular concern is the exposure of children and pregnant women to lead, mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals, as even relatively low exposure levels can cause serious and, in some cases, irreversible neurological damage (Lundgren 2012; WHO 2010). However, there is not even a reliable profile of workers in the global e-waste industry; anecdotal evidence indicates high involvement of women and children, but the nature of the e-waste varies considerably from place to place.
Transformational change – moving forward
Sustainable consumption and production decouples economic growth from environmental degradation (UNEP 2012a). To achieve a sustainable future, (gender- equitable) improvements to quality of life need to be made without increasing environmental degradation or compromising progress towards gender equality. This is a major challenge, but there are promising signs: governments are committed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); at the Paris climate change talks they agreed on a long-term goal to keep the average global temperature increase well below 2°C compared with pre-industrial levels, and to aim to
limit the increase to 1.5°C; and everywhere citizens are organizing to create sustainable change in local communities and in their personal lives.
Consistently and across national assessments,
research findings point to gender differences – often significant ones – in social and economic development, consumption patterns, access to (and use of) knowledge, approaches to environmental issues, ecological footprints, environmental management, and use of, access to and control of resources (ILO 2015; UN Women 2013). These differences suggest women could be the more engaged demographic group for bringing sustainability forward:
• A European Union survey asked if people were willing to pay more for less polluting transportation: 43% of men and 39% of women said they were not prepared to do so; 48% of women and 42% of men were willing to pay up to 10% more (Eurobarometer 2007);
• A cross-ethnic survey of Asian and Caucasian Americans found that gender is relevant to environmental attitudes and behaviour: women expressed more
concern about environmental
problems than men because of their potential impacts on others, the biosphere and themselves (Burn et al. 2012);
• A meta-analysis of research on gender and
environmental attitudes in 14 countries found that women consistently reported stronger pro- environmental behaviour and attitudes (Zelezny et al. 2000);
• Studies in Germany have shown that women are more likely to be conscious of and act on sustainable consumption than men (Costa Pinto et al. 2014);
• A preliminary study in the United Arab Emirates recently found that women are more focused than men on purchasing and consuming products which are environmentally friendly and more aware of conserving energy and other natural resources (Kahn and Triverdi 2015).
Findings such as these point to the need to engage women as well as men in planning for a sustainable future and indicate that women are well-positioned to
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