| dc.description.abstract | With the changing climate causing an emerging number of disasters, the demand for humanitarian relief operations is likely to grow. While humanitarian operations aim to alleviate and improve the lives of the beneficiaries, they also have a significant environmental impact. Given the anticipated rise in occurrences of disaster events, it will be imperative to incorporate greener practices into humanitarian disaster relief operations to minimize their potential to exacerbate further disasters. Although it may be difficult to consider environmental sustainability while lives are at stake, doing so is crucial.
This thesis uses a qualitative research approach to investigate how humanitarian organizations are planning to reduce the environmental impact of their logistic activities. The study also explores the challenges that these organizations must overcome to enhance their environmental sustainability.
Our findings reveal that humanitarian organizations have increased their environmental focus in recent years. Nevertheless, there are several challenges they must overcome to become more environmentally sustainable. The conclusion necessitates the importance of considering the aggregated footprint of the initiatives across the whole supply chain to ensure that the initiatives are ultimately more environmentally sustainable. Although the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions has received the greatest attention due to its documented impact on the climate, humanitarian organizations should also pay regard to the wider impact of their activities beyond greenhouse gas emissions. The resolution of this issue cannot, however, be achieved by any individual organization in isolation. Effective collaboration and information sharing among partners in the humanitarian sector are crucial for improving the collective impact of global efforts. This involves the exchange of best practices, challenges, and initiatives. | en_US |
