The Making of Finland’s Programme on Sustainable Consumption and Production

Analyzing dramaturgy and deliberation in a pioneering SCP policy process Abstract: Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is a developing field of environmental governance that has been particularly visible on the international agenda since the Johannesburg Summit in 2002. So far, only some countries have made their own national programmes on SCP. This paper analyzes one of the forerunning processes, the making of Finland’s programme to promote sustainable consumption and production. The Programme “Getting more and better from less ” was made by a broadly-based, consensus-oriented KULTU Committee with representatives both from the Government and stakeholder organisations. It has been analysed by interviewing 20 of its members. As a framework, I have used deliberative policy process analysis elaborated on the basis of Maarten Hajer’s (2003 & 2005) recent work. In the framework, concepts such as performance, dramaturgy and deliberation play central roles. The results show that Finland’s round-table process was generally experienced in positive terms. Apart from the social sector, the access to the process was seen as open and inclusive and also some learning and committing to the process had taken place. However, the analysis also reveals the risks of “politics of lowest common denominator”. When consensus was sought, the programme text became too vague to really support the Government in preparation work, to inspire media or even the Committee members themselves