Our top 10 highlights in 2022
For many consumers, 2022 has been defined by the soaring price of essential goods. Our global insights have shown how people over the world are facing impossible choices, skipping meals and struggling to pay bills as global conflict has deepened existing food and energy crises. The past 12 months have also demonstrated that the need to support people in the transition to net-zero is more urgent than ever, with extreme weather events becoming more frequent and the chance to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees quickly running out.
With the support of our Members, partners and stakeholders, Consumers International is building long-term solutions to these interconnected challenges. Across our global programmes in digital, food, energy, sustainable consumption, fair finance and product safety we champion the rights of consumers everywhere and help to build a marketplace that is fair, safe and sustainable.
1.
We launched the Consumer Protection and Empowerment Index, the first ever global measurement of consumer protection and empowerment. The Index has been praised by Members, civil society and academics as an 'essential tool for consumer advocacy'.
2.
We reached 1.2 million people in our campaign for Fair Digital Finance during World Consumer Rights Day. Our Fair Digital Finance Forum engaged 600 leaders worldwide and 95 of our Members joined the campaign, driving discussion and education at the national level. Members also united under our Consumer Vision for Fair Finance, calling for a digital finance marketplace that inclusive, safe, sustainable, data-protected and private.
3.
We built a multi-stakeholder consensus of 400+ organisations in a call to action for better consumer Internet of Things security. With Cybersecurity Tech Accord and I am the Cavalry, we outlined five baseline capabilities that IoT device manufacturers must implement so that we can all enjoy safer 'smart' devices.
4.
Our Fair Digital Finance Accelerator established an innovative network of consumer associations fighting for a future where consumers everywhere can benefit from financial inclusion. So far, the network represents 40+ consumer associations across 40 countries in South America, Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia. We have trained 183 consumer advocates already.
5.
Through our GreEnCommerce project, we brought recommendations on transparent online sustainability information to global leaders at Stockholm +50, including:
- Strengthening the reliability of ecolabels
- Combating misleading green claims
- Promoting consumer education and awareness about product sustainability.
Our public session discussed the recommendations with experts including Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary-General, UNCTAD, Christiane Rohleder, Government of Germany and Joyashree Roy, Coordinating Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report.
6.
We released consumer insights into sustainable food and energy futures at COP27 and brought to demands of our Members to decision-makers.
7.
We supported the innovative and diverse projects of our Members to drive sustainable consumption and consumer empowerment at the national level.
As part of our Green Action Fund, 27 of our Members showcased their diverse projects for Green Action Week, tackling plastic pollution in Benin and supporting environmental school garden schemes in Cape Verde. Importantly, The Network for Consumer Protection in Pakistan is supporting consumers impacted by the rising cost of living.
Five Members received funding through the Anne Fransen Fund. Winners included Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, who will educate 100 small business owners and 10 consumer action clubs on the principles of consumer protection and their rights under the Zimbabwe Consumer Protection Act.
8.
We are securing greater support for people through the energy transition and cost-of-living crisis at the international level. Our advocacy at UNCTAD helped to put 'consumer protection and the energy transition' on the agenda for Member States at the Intergovernmental Group of Experts in June 2023.
9.
We fought against discriminatory online pricing through an investigation into personalised pricing in six countries - the US, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, India the Netherlands, and Brazil. We uncovered that some consumers are being charged five times more for the same service online, Our investigation, supported by Mozilla Foundation, garnered media attention across 18+ countries and led to business practice change.
10.
In Ecuador, Indonesia and Kenya, we worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to assess the actions needed for a food systems transformation that works with and for consumers, evaluating the progress made since the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.
Our Action Agenda for Future Food Systems set out how we can achieve sustainable, affordable food systems.
We also launched a new project to build collaborative solutions to unfair food prices in Africa. By empowering consumer advocates and mobilising policy-makers, our work will impact the lives of millions of people in the region.
The year ahead
As we look towards 2023, Consumers International will build upon the momentum of the past year with new projects, consumer insights and global campaigns.
Join us at:
World Consumer Rights Day, 15 March. We will lead the first consumer dialogue on energy transitions under the theme ‘Empowering consumers through clean energy transitions’. Members and others are invited to run campaigns in support of the day - share your ideas and connect via wcrd@consint.org. Find out more about the theme.
Consumers International Global Summit, Q4, date tbc. Members and global stakeholders will unite from across the consumer advocacy movement at our prestigious global summit.
Selected upcoming projects and publications:
GreEnCommerce report and recommendations, setting out our action agenda for sustainable e-commerce.
Clean Energy White Paper exploring consumer protection and empowerment for clean energy futures.
Fair Digital Finance Metric - the first annual report assessing the state of consumer protection in digital finance worldwide.
Fair Digital Finance Accelerator programme expansion, bringing on more Members, building an expert-led Industry Panel and launching a new grant programme for Members.
Consumer Protection and Empowerment Index public launch and 2023 report.
Fair Food Prices in Africa, from January, we will convene regional workshops between consumer organisations and competition authorities across Africa, building collaborative solutions for fair food prices.