The waste produced by humanitarians: acting in an exemplary manner

11/12/2015

The humanitarian sector is gradually becoming more aware of the need to take into account the environmental impact of its programmes, as this is a major quality issue. In a context of growing awareness about the need to preserve the planet, and questioning of certain humanitarian practices, NGOs, United Nations agencies and donors are looking more and more at how to integrate environmental considerations into the planning and implementation of their programmes. Though choosing between environmental issues is complex and certain issues are more urgent than others (reducing the carbon footprint of programmes, for example, can be seen as a priority due to the urgent need to tackle climate change), the issue of humanitarian waste is interesting because concrete solutions exist.