The Red Cross Red Crescent Green Response Working Group has with funding from Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) conducted a research about the barriers and enablers for green practices and implementation of environmental sustainability in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
As the sustainability coordinator of the Swedish Red Cross, I was one of the participants being interviewed, among many other staff from different National Societies. Many of the findings in the report are similar with my own personal conclusions after been working with sustainability for three years in the humanitarian sector.
Just like any other sector, the humanitarian also needs to transform. It has to become more diverse, more inclusive, more effective, more financially sustainable and of course more environmentally and climate friendly. The humanitarian sector impacts the climate and the environment in several ways. Everything from energy, water and material use at offices to local operations.
My understanding is that the humanitarian sector is starting to wake up and there are many good examples of “greening work”. This report do not go into details of what kind of practices those are, but it is highlighting that greening is not only about reducing the carbon footprint, it’s also about greening the supply chain and other operational work.
Here’s a summery of some of the conclusions for successful implemensation from the report, in combination with own personal experiences. I believe many of them are equally true for other sectors and businesses. And I hope that more leaders and board members had these insights. Today many companies and organisation wants to operate in a more sustainable way, few however, knows how to do it. My advice is to listen to the experts and the research that has been conduced and you'll have a far more successful implementation.
Sustainability or other terms and concepts used, must be defined for consensus about there meaning. For example in a policy or a strategic document.
Clear goals with a time schedule must be in place.
All staff needs to be informed and educated.
The funding must be long termed and not based on “project money”.
There needs to be trained staff and experts facilitating the work.
The responsibilities and roles must be specified and there must be mandate to implement the action plan.
Do a proper baseline that covers the whole organisation/company so you now where the “low hanging fruits are” but also where the largest climate and environmental impact it.
The environmental action plan and strategy must be imbedded in other strategies and plans, not a separate one.
The reporting must be embedded in general/annual reporting.
The leading group and the board member must get training on why making their organisation/businesses more environmentally sustainable is essential for their businesses.
The humanitarian sector has a long way to go until climate and environmental thinking is integrated in the general work. However, this report is very promising though it provided guidelines and checklists for successful implementation based on existing experiences within the sector.