If distributed items are not familiar to and wanted by affected populations, then there is a risk that they will not be used, and will create solid waste or exacerbate existing humanitarian needs. If distributed items are single-use / disposable, or not sourced sustainably, they will create waste that pollutes and degrades the environment and ultimately affects animal and human health and wellbeing.

Identify, evaluate and prioritise sources of eligible goods, services, and works to ensure quick delivery, best value for money, alignment with intervention needs, and market availability.

Product specifications should consider the different and specific local needs of men, women, and persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics.

Air pollution
Soil pollution
Water pollution
Deforestation
Desertification
Eutrophication
Climate change
Loss of biodiversity and ecosystems
Natural Resource Depletion
Soil erosion

Waste due to surplus or unwanted products and packaging

Unsustainable environmentally damaging coping mechanisms if people’s humanitarian essential needs are not appropriately met.

Distribution of items that are not familiar to or unwanted by recipients leads to waste.

The practice of procuring excess quantities of items, and their associated packaging, presents a significant waste challenge during distribution.

Sustainable procurement considers the environmental, social, and economic consequences of product design, materials used, manufacturing methods, packaging, logistics, re-use, recycling, and eventual disposal.

In green procurement methods, organisations can meet their needs for goods, services, and utilities in a way that achieves value for money whilst reducing waste, environmental degradation, and pollution.

When deploying humanitarian assistance, organizations should assess affected populations’ needs, and either procure items they are familiar with, in the required quantities, or source and promote more sustainable items, to increase acceptance and reduce waste.

Avoid procuring single-use items and source items locally if they can be sustainably sourced and produced.

Sustainable materials management focuses on developing products with a lower environmental footprint, including manufacturing, sourcing, re-use, and recycling.

Near sourcing involves reassessing sourcing both at the global and domestic levels.

Sustainable distribution ensures that the mobility of freight-related to logistics operations is performed in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

Demand responsive systems set demand responsive systems where supply chains are tightly integrated so that the goods being delivered are the outcome of an expressed demand. A better level of order fulfillment tends to reduce returns. This is in line with the setting of pull-logistics systems that are increasingly replacing more conventional push logistics.

Assessment of humanitarian support to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh has identified waste from disposal of single-use items, from unused, unwanted, unfamiliar items, and reselling of unwanted items in local markets. All of this causes harm to the environment and reduces the effectiveness of assistance to affected people.

Number of single-use items avoided through promoting user acceptance and changing to reusable items.

Prevention of environmental damage

Mitigation of environmental damage

Time to undertake proper needs assessments.

Time and resources to work with supply chains to sustainably source items as locally as possible.