By 2050, the world population will reach 9.5 billion, 70 per cent of which will live in resource-intensive urban areas. As economic growth also accelerates, the signals are getting clearer: the Earth’s natural resources and ecosystems will simply not support ‘business as usual’ for much longer. Goal 12 of the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs) aims at ensuring sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns. We discuss why this is imperative for sustainable development with Dr Anthony Chiu and Dr Hari Ramalu Ragavan, who are both involved with the 13th Asia Pacific Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP).