Vol.:(0123456789) Discover Sustainability (2022) 3:30 | https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-022-00098-3 1 3 Discover Sustainability Editorial Editorial: the contribution of sustainable production and consumption to a green economy Luciana Londero Brandli 1  · Amanda Lange Salvia 2  · Leila Dal Moro 3 © The Author(s) 2022 OPEN Keywords Production · Consumption · Goal 12 · Fair trade · Plastic waste · Mitigation · Sustainable energy Responsible production and consumption are associated with crucial factors for the planet and are indispensable com- ponents to be evaluated to achieve global sustainable development. The last decades have been observing increase in the global population, extensive use of resources, serious environmental degradation and increased social and economic inequalities around the globe. Concerning consumerism or the rampant consumption habits of modern society, it is necessary to expand environ- mental education, directing good habits and practical actions in partnership with public and private agencies. Inap- propriate and irresponsible consumption generates large volumes of waste, as well as greenhouse gases. The excessive use of pesticides, used in production worldwide, is another issue related to waste in the production, distribution, and transport of food, with serious consequences for the health of the population. The current economic models lead to serious environmental and health problems, the culture of waste and unsustainable production approaches. The low-carbon system implicates the use of clean energy sources, more efcient use of resources, and decrease in waste generation. Green economy therefore emerges as a process to adjust this path to a more sustainable one, stimu- lating the transition to economies that are low carbon, resource efcient and socially inclusive. By connecting these issues with the rationale of the Sustainable Development Goal 12, this collection encompasses studies related to environmental, economic, and social aspects of sustainable production and consumption, including fair trade, water management, plastic waste, mitigation strategies and sustainable energy. The selected papers obviously do not cover all issues connected with sustainable production and consumption to green economy, but the authors presented a variety of formats (research, review and case study) and methodologies, and also covered a variety of regions (Americas, Europe and Africa), representing an important addition to the state-of-the-art. Below follows an overview of the papers in this Collection. • Fair trade governance: revisiting a framework to analyse challenges and opportunities for sustainable development towards a green economy [1]. Ribeiro-Duthie, Gale and Murphy-Gregory focus on the fair trade of food production and consumption as a potential innovative model. They build on a sustainability governance analytical framework to deepen under- standings of fair-trade governance and its possible responses to the dilemmas of food production for ethical consumption and thus sustainable development in transnational relations. The literature on governance pointed * Luciana Londero Brandli, brandli@upf.br | 1 Graduate Program in Civil and Environment Engineering (PPGEng), University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, Brazil. 2 Graduate Program in Civil and Environment Engineering, University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, Brazil. 3 Graduate Program in Administration - Business School - IMED, Passo Fundo, Brazil.