“Responsible Consumption and Production” Single-Use Plastics in

Manchester

SDG 12

Student Name:

Student ID:

Table of Contents

1. Introduction:.................................................................3

1.1. Purpose of the report:.................................................................3

2. Reflection on Project Experience and Skills Development:.................................................................3

2.1 Reason for Choosing the Problem:.................................................................3

2.2 Project Management Skills Developed:.................................................................4

2.3 Challenges Faced and Overcome:.................................................................5

2.4 Feedback and Improvement:.................................................................5

Conclusion:.................................................................6

References.................................................................7

1. Introduction:

Manchester is having a big problem with the environment: people are using too many plastic things that are only meant to be used once. This issue is connected to Sustainable Development Goal 12: Sustainable Production and Consumption. It affects the city's environment and the quality of life of its people in a big way. Single-use plastic items that you see a lot in parks, rivers, and other public places show that the way people live and work around the world is not sustainable (Leal Filho et al., 2022).

1.1. Purpose of the report:

The project is supposed to dig deeper into the problem, talk about the suggested answer, and think about how it was managed. This will include showing the skills learned, challenges faced, and ideas that were used (Tseng et al., 2018).

2. Reflection on Project Experience and Skills Development:

2.1 Reason for Choosing the Problem:

The issue of single-use plastics in Manchester was chosen because it interested me, I had seen it firsthand, and I knew that the city needs more environmentally friendly practices to become a better place for everyone to live (Partiti & Arcuri, 2021).

Personal Interest in Environmental Sustainability: The person in charge of the project has strong beliefs about protecting the earth. People are passionate about protecting the Earth because they know that each person and group plays a vital role in this process (Chan et al., 2018).

Observation of Plastic Pollution: Plastic waste is a real problem in Manchester because that's where it is. There is a lot of plastic trash in parks and rivers close by, which shows how broad the issue is. This kind of picture makes the situation seem real and urgent (Gunawan et al., 2020).

Urgent Need for Sustainable Practices in Manchester: Arora and Mishra (2023) say that the system of the Industrial Revolution has led to unstable production and spending in Manchester and many other big towns. Because the city can't stop plastic waste, actions that are good for the earth need to be taken right away. As the city needs to do something about plastic pollution, this project is the answer. Its goal is to help the city cut down on plastic pollution and promote sustainability (Jacob-John et al., 2021).

2.2 Project Management Skills Developed:

Development of Specific Project Management Skills: I learned a lot about project management while working on this job. Along with tools for strategic planning, communication, and risk management, these are some of the things that the leadership team should have.

Strategic Planning: There had to be a strict plan for the project, which was meant to stop people in Manchester from throwing away plastic things. This goal had to be clearly defined so that everyone knew what they needed to do and how they were going to do it (Küfeoğlu, 2022).

Effective Communication: Because of this, there was ongoing cooperation between different groups, such as the small companies, the neighborhood, and me. One more important skill I've learned is how to clearly explain ideas and defend them while also listening to feedback and changing the plan based on that feedback.

Risk Management: Part of the project was looking for possible risks and coming up with a way to stop them. It tried to stop them from doing business by encouraging them to join the fight and promising that their problems would be taken care of.

Application of Developed Skills in the Project:

This was the most important part of the project's final success. Our strategy plan helped us finish the project on time and make sure that every step was taken to solve the problems (Vogler, et al., 2018). Good communication was the key that gave a way to be engaged. There was a feedback system set up, which was checked to make sure it worked well. Risk management was used to find I problems with the project before they got in the way of finishing it.

Understanding the Complexity of the Problem:

It turns out that the issue of single-use plastics is complicated and depends on economic, environmental, and social factors. As you might expect, I had to read a lot of scholarly books and environmental studies to fully understand the problem. It was hard, but I had to do it.

Stakeholder Coordination:

It was hard to manage a lot of different people, like businesses, citizens, and environmental experts. All the issues had to be thought about and weighed because each group had a unique set of goals and a different point of view.

Time Management and Unexpected Obstacles:

It was necessary to keep track of time every day to make sure the project ran on time. In addition, companies' opposition made these issues even worse.

Strategies to Overcome Challenges:

There were several ways that the problems were solved. With the goal of getting a better grasp on the issue, a thorough study method was created. This method involved breaking the issue down into simpler parts (Nawab et al., 2018). Setting goals and putting jobs in order of importance have

helped keep the project on track as examples of good time management. There was also a plan B for unplanned problems that was used whenever it was needed.

2.4 Feedback and Improvement:

Feedback Received:

In the fourth and sixth weeks of the project, there were two talks. I found them to be very useful for getting both critical and creative comments on how I identified the problem and how I planned to solve it.

Following the plan, the talk was due in week 6. The multi-pronged approach for businesses to get involved, such as creating award systems for companies that use environmentally friendly methods, has a much bigger effect.

Utilization of Feedback for Project Improvement:

The best way to tell if the project is really well-formed was to see how the talks turned out. The project led to a more organized study step that helped us understand what caused this problem and how to fix it.

Conclusion:

The project was about the important topic of single-use plastics in Manchester, which is related to Sustainable Development Goal 12: Eco-friendly Production and Consumption. Sustainable consumption and production, or SCP, is one of the most popular terms in the environmental world right now. The best way to deal with the plastic problem is to get businesses to stop using plastic, which will also lower the smog level. Getting rid of plastic waste isn't just a nice-to-have benefit; it also protects the health and safety of community members, animals, and the local ecosystem. On the other hand, making Manchester more environmentally friendly is also hard, but we can do it if we work together.

References

Arora, N.K., & Mishra, I. (2023). Responsible consumption and production: a roadmap to sustainable development. Environmental Sustainability, 6(1), 1-6.

Chan, S., Weitz, N., Persson, Å., & Trimmer, C. (2018). SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production. A review of research needs. Technical annex to the formas report forskning för agenda, 2030.

Chan, S., Weitz, N., Persson, Å., & Trimmer, C. (2018). SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production. A review of research needs. Technical annex to the Formas report Forskning för Agenda 2030.

Gunawan, J., Permatasari, P., & Tilt, C. (2020). Sustainable development goal disclosures: Do they support responsible consumption and production?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 246, 118989.

Jacob-John, J., D’Souza, C., Marjoribanks, T., & Singaraju, S. (2021). Synergistic interactions of SDGs in food supply chains: A review of responsible consumption and production. Sustainability, 13(16), 8809.

Küfeoglu, S. (2022). SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production. In Emerging Technologies: Value Creation for Sustainable Development (pp. 409-428). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Leal Filho, W., Barbir, J., Özyüyar, P.G., Nunez, E., Diaz-Sarachaga, J.M., Guillaume, B., Anholon, R., Rampasso, I.S., Swart, J., Velazquez, L., & Ng, T.F. (2022). Assessing provisions and requirements for the sustainable production of plastics: towards achieving SDG 12 from the consumers’ perspective. Sustainability, 14(24), 16542.

Partiti, E., & Arcuri, A. (2021). SDG 12: ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Perry, B., Diprose, K., Taylor Buck, N., & Simon, D. (2021). Localizing the SDGs in England: challenges and value propositions for local government. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 3, 746337.

Tseng, M.L., Zhu, Q., Sarkis, J., & Chiu, A.S. (2018). Responsible consumption and production (RCP) in corporate decision-making models using soft computation. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 118(2), 322-329.

Vogler, J.S., Thompson, P., Davis, D.W., Mayfield, B.E., Finley, P.M., & Yasseri, D. (2018). The hard work of soft skills: augmenting the project-based learning experience with interdisciplinary teamwork. Instructional Science, 46, 457-488.

Nawab, A., Ibtisham, F., Li, G., Kieser, B., Wu, J., Liu, W., Zhao, Y., Nawab, Y., Li, K., Xiao, M., & An, L. (2018). Heat stress in poultry production: Mitigation strategies to overcome the future challenges facing the global poultry industry. Journal of Thermal Biology, 78, 131-139.

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