Katharine Fox, WRAP - Valuing sustainability
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Katharine works for WRAP which is a climate action NGO working in more than 40 countries around the globe to tackle the causes of the climate crisis and give the planet a sustainable future. In this session, you will learn about WRAP’s plastics programme and how sustainability has been incorporated as a core value in delivery of the programme, with the aim of inspiring the audience to take action in their own work.
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Katharine Fox, WRAP - Valuing sustainability
- 1. Valuing Sustainability Katharine Fox Global Delivery Lead, WRAP WRAP’s global plastics programme
- 2. Photo credit: UN Photo/Michos Tzovaras
- 3. Photo credit: UN Photo/ Michos Tzovaras
- 4. About WRAP WRAP is a climate action NGO that has worked in 50+ countries Our core purpose is to help you tackle climate change and protect our planet by changing the way things are produced, consumed, and disposed of.
- 6. Sustainability: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” United Nations Brundtland Commission, 1987
- 9. Photo credit: BBC/Lisa Lapinjoh/Joe Platko People
- 11. Partners: WRAP’s global plastics network
- 12. Partners
- 13. WRAP’s impact in numbers Our work delivered benefits up to 7x greater in value than the costs incurred by WRAP WRAP’s UK activity incurred 167 tonnes CO2eq of emissions to deliver a reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions of almost 5,000,000 tonnes CO2eq Year: 2019/20
- 14. Photo credit: UNEP/Cyril Villemain Policy
- 15. What’s next?
- 16. Thank you Katharine Fox Global Delivery Lead, WRAP wrap.org.uk @WRAP_UK
Editor's Notes
- Hello Name Reference to previous speakers/ day’s event How sustainability is embedded in WRAP’s delivery. Hopefully you’ll learn something new about sustainability along the way, and find inspiration to apply to your own programmes and sectors.
- I wanted to start with why am I here in front of our today. i.e what brought me to sustainability? Does anyone know what this picture is showing? [show of hands]
- I remember seeing coverage of the Rio Earth Summit on a children’s news TV show. Children around the world were contributing their pledges. My pledge (although I didn’t send it in) was to work towards a better world. Captured my attention and inspired my commitment towards the environment. I’ve always known that I wanted to work in sustainability so joining WRAP as a project manager 7.5 years ago was a definite career highlight. I’m now leading our global delivery in materials (aka plastics and textiles). From a sector perspective, the Rio summit was a key milestone. It acknowledged and recognised sustainable development i.e. that we need to balance economic social and environmental considerations.
- WRAP is a climate action NGO working around the globe to tackle the causes of the climate crisis and give the planet a sustainable future. Our vision is a thriving world in which climate change is no longer a problem.
- As part of our mission to make the world a more sustainable place, we bring people together, we act on the facts, and we drive change. SHIFT was introduced around 6 years ago. Fluid like in all orgs Sustainability – [We’re mission driven. We act in the public interest to help people & planet to thrive.] Honesty - We have the honest conversations and, when necessary, face the uncomfortable truths Integrity - We act on evidence and stand by our convictions Fairness - We listen actively & report impartially. We treat our staff and suppliers fairly Teamwork - We collaborate to succeed This works in tandem with the FREDIE principles - diversity and inclusion. We were awarded the National Centre for Diversity FREDIE Award for best small / medium company, reflecting the progress and commitment we have made These values underpin how we deliver our programmes of work. Focus on the ‘S’. What does sustainability mean to you? [turn to the person next to you]
- Definition of sustainability For WRAP, We’re mission driven. We act in the public interest to help people & planet to thrive. This principle underpins all of our delivery. DID YOU KNOW? 45% of global GHG emissions can only be tackled by changing the way we make and consume products and food. We are driving resource efficiency and accelerating the move to circular living, while focussing on the areas of production and consumption with some of the biggest environmental impacts: Food and drink Plastic packaging Textiles By transforming these sectors, we can also drive progress on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on poverty and hunger, sustainable cities, responsible consumption and production, waste, climate change, and life below water and on land. What does that look like in practice?
- We Are WRAP film
- People, Policy and Partners – are central to everything we do. By centring our delivery around these elements, we are able to deliver system wide impact in a way that is in keeping with our values and brand. It has become the norm and embedded within everything that we do. Start with People. Internally: Create a sustainable team Culture of continuous improvement Autonomy and accountability Employees were encouraged to live the SHIFT and FREDIE principles – e.g. reduce food waste and the environmental impact of their clothes and textiles, alongside energy and water use, promote and support diversity.
- Keeping things relevant – The UK plastics Pact launched in 2018 from what we call the ‘blue planet II moment’ which focussed the minds of consumers on the problem of discarded plastic finding its way into natural habitats, including the sea. Since then, public interest and media scrutiny have not waned. listening and research. Data from a new study (to be published soon): 70% or more of the UK population: Say plastics is an important issue to them. Want to reduce the amount of packaging they buy, but feel there is little they can do to follow this through. Believe supermarkets should do more to sell loose fresh produce.
- We respond to this, to help educate and motivate citizens to increase recycling. In 2022, Recycle Now’s Recycling Locator tool, below, was used over 7.5 million times by UK residents to find out exactly what they can recycle at home or in their area. A key resource is WRAP’s ‘Recycling Locator’ which enables people to find out where they can recycle specific items. As a business you can signpost to it to help your customers. Or as an individual, you can find out where to recycle those crisp packets or bread bags, for example. Or partner with us to join the 21st year of the Recycle Now campaign this autumn.
- Tackling the issue of plastic waste cannot be done by one country, region or continent by itself. To ensure the programme has long lasting and sustainable outcomes, we work with in-country partners around the world. We work in partnership to deliver solutions that empower global supply chains to move at pace and ahead of legislation. How? We support the development of Plastics Pacts and other partnerships, bringing together businesses, governments, and NGOs to take voluntary action against measurable targets. For example, WRAP launched the world’s first Plastics Pact in the UK with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2018. There is now a plastics pact on every populated continent, all working towards a circular economy for plastics.
- What was the event: organised a 3 day workshop in Cape Town with our local partner GreenCape and EMF Why was this different? First time we brought together all of the Plastics Pacts Agenda: 3 days of intense workshops, social programme (social enterprise dinner, Table mountain, hike), reception to support recruitment of SA PP Programme perspective was valuable in contributing to our corporate KPIs: impact of global plastics pacts by Further developing our relationships with the Pact network Building new connections between the pacts – building trust, facilitate knowledge sharing, accelerate progress. Deeper engagement more engagement than we would have achieved through online calls of the same duration. International – first time organising a large workshop outside the UK The workshop was successful Behind-the-scenes work to ensure the event’s sustainability: No single use plastic Electric bus for site visit transfers Supporting a start up social enterprise for the catering Donating PPE equipment for the site visit to local waste picker’s association You might be thinking: hang on a minute, didn’t everyone fly to South Africa? The impact of our collective work will be greater than the emissions Let me show you an example:
- Independent evaluation of WRAP’s work showed that our work delivered benefits up to seven times greater in value than the costs incurred by WRAP. This showed that in 2019/20, our UK activity led to a reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions of almost 5 million tonnes CO2eq, which equates to savings of around 27,000 tonnes CO2eq per WRAP employee. This is equivalent to taking 1.6 million cars off the road for a year. In delivering this reduction, we incurred emissions of around 167 tonnes CO2eq in 2020/21, showing the significant overall benefit of our activities Small investment to achieve greater impact.
- But the delivery model can only go so far without policy. I started with a UN conference, and that’s where I’m going to finish. [refer to picture] This art installation ‘Turn off the plastic tap’ was outside the UN Environment Programme HQ in Nairobi in 2022 when the UN agreed to develop a legally binding Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution. Negotiations are continuing throughout 2024 and the Treaty is due to be ratified in 2025. This presents HUGE policy opportunities which will cement the long-term sustainability of WRAP’s work on plastics. 1. During the negotiation period: supporting governments by providing expertise and showcasing practical solutions that can address priority local/national issues associated with plastic pollution. 2. WRAP’s delivery model can support implementation at a national, regional and global level by drawing upon the successful approach of existing initiatives such as the Plastics Pacts. We can help businesses and governments to meet the demands of the legally binding Treaty. People, Partners and Policy – interconnected and all critical for achieving sustainability.
- We bring people together, we act on the facts, and we drive change. Continue to deliver and build impact to 10X our impact. We are on a journey How do we replicate this approach for other areas we work on e.g. food and textiles. Align with our FREDIE principles to promote greater diversity and inclusion. Just transition, making sure we incorporate the social element alongside the environmental. Working with partners to share our respective expertise and build stronger more resilient and impactful work together. I’ll close with an open question to the audience. Everyone is on a journey. Where is yours going to take you next?