Global Scans · Responsible Consumption and Production · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

• [New] Production systems will expand beyond automation alone to include human-centric, adaptable, and resilient production systems. Design News
• [New] In 2026, rather than operating at the margins of manufacturing, additive manufacturing will increasingly become part of how production lines are designed, optimized, and scaled. Design News
• [New] 91% of insurance organizations report they will have AI-powered claims automation deployed in production by end of 2026. Regure
• [New] Global data center power consumption is projected to hit 96 gigawatts in 2026. Metavert Meditations
• [New] Tsai's energy war warning is already materializing: data center power demands are exploding, with global electricity consumption for data centers projected to roughly double to around 945 TWh by 2030, and AI-accelerated servers growing at 30% annually. SEMIVISION @_@
• [New] Third-party power consumption estimates for data centers are wide, ranging from 300 TWh to over 1,000 TWh by 2030. Breckinridge Capital Advisors
• [New] Green hydrogen is set to command an 88.6% share of low-carbon production by 2030, overtaking blue hydrogen. Global Hydrogen Review
• [New] JEM revealed its 2028 plans to increase its yearly production capacity from 1 GWh to 5 GWh and to export units to Africa, thereby lending a hand to India's clean energy goals. openpr
• [New] By 2030, industry experts expect lithium batteries to surpass 1 terawatt-hour of annual production capacity. paiseec-us-store
• [New] We expect higher emissions compared to the previous year mainly due to the startup of the Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China, while production volumes at other production sites will remain almost unchanged. BASF Report 2025
• [New] Coal production is forecast to decline at a negative CAGR of 0.2%, reaching approximately 4.8 billion tonnes by 2035, despite coal's ongoing role in ensuring near-term energy security. Mining Technology
• [New] Over the forecast period, China's coal production is expected to continue trending lower as renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, accounts for an increasing share of new electricity generation. Mining Technology
• [New] Coal production in China is projected to decline by 2026, marking the first contraction since 2016. Mining Technology
• [New] Without coordinated international action, plastic production could increase by 70% between 2020 and 2040, surpassing 700 million tonnes annually. ScienceDaily
• [New] The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) plant will use magnetic confinement fusion, in which two forms of hydrogen are heated to extreme temperatures and fused to create helium and release energy. Nottinghamshire Live
• [New] Europe will be one of the priority markets for Saudi Arabia as it ramps up green hydrogen production. ArabNews
• [New] Saudi Arabia could use its vast experience in project management and execution in the traditional energy sector to become a leader in green hydrogen production. ArabNews
• [New] Within a decade it says it will be producing enough lithium carbonate, a key material used in the production of rechargeable batteries, to supply about 250,000 electric vehicles a year. The Guardian
• [New] Even if no direct customer data is accessible, the combination of inference access, quota consumption, and possible integration with broader Google Cloud resources creates a risk profile that is materially different from the original billing-identifier model developers relied upon. The Hacker News
• [New] Major pharmaceutical manufacturers are dramatically expanding U.S. production, signaling a sustained reshoring wave that could reshape the chemical supply chain and elevate the role of experienced third-party logistics providers. WSI
• [New] Ingredients giant Dohler has started commercial production in Europe of SB1, a high-protein postbiotic ingredient from biomass fermentation startup Superbrewed Food that will support product launches in the US in 2026. AgFunderNews
• [New] Cultured meat represents a transformative innovation with the potential to reshape global protein production, but its success depends on interdisciplinary strategies that balance sustainability, safety, ethics, and public trust. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] A more dynamic global and European economic environment than anticipated could lead to a recovery in order books and support production. FXStreet

Last updated: 09 March 2026