The increasingly evident impact of climate change, pollution, water scarcity and other environmental ills, as well as their trans-boundary nature, have pushed sustainability to the forefront of global concerns.
While there is no shortage of thinking and programming being devoted to this issue, participants stress that the stewardship of resources is a key element of being an international civil servant or global citizen, and promote concrete as well as institutional action, such as:
- Minimizing paper use and making only double-sided copies
- Promoting diets that involve less meat, with due consideration for nomadic and other long-held livelihood approaches; sourcing local foods and materials; and incorporating on-site vegetable gardens
- Limiting staff travel, and making electric bikes available for staff movement between buildings
- Banning, or charging for, the use of plastic e.g. in cafeterias and bookshops, and re-investing funds into environmental initiatives such as reducing carbon emissions or addressing ocean acidification
Is sustainability a personal or institutional choice at your organization?