Abstract
This chapter revolves around the commitment to sustainability of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It deals with the construction of a system of indicators of the greening of these organizations, taking as a reference the possible evidence of their commitment to sustainability. These indicators have constituted the basis for the design and validation of an observational record (an estimation scale) to assess said commitment. This observational scale, made up of 51 indicators divided into 10 large dimensions, enables the estimation of the degree of presence of these aspects in the work carried out by NGOs, using the information available on the corporate web portals of these organizations as a source of analysis. From an exploratory perspective, and after applying the designed instrument, this work aims to characterize the greening tasks developed by eight NGOs (in both Spain and internationally): Cruz Roja (Red Cross), Manos Unidas, Agua de Coco, APDHA Calor y Café, Médicos Sin Fronteras (Doctors Without Borders), Amnesty International, and Setem-Andalucía.
TopIntroduction
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are a fundamental dimension of current societies to channel citizen participation in the face of various kinds of problems. These organisations maintain a close and direct relationship with the people with whom they intervene, enabling the development of far-reaching participatory and mobilizing dynamics. At times like these, characterized by health, economic, social and environmental crises, NGOs intensify their role as agents of social change and become key tools for activating the social fabric and citizen engagement. Linked across local, national and international networks, these organisations make a very good use of the resources available to them and are capable of creatively energizing multiple-energies and using finances to carry out their objectives (Herranz, 2007). In general, NGOs enjoy wide support and social prestige, thought they are at times are subject to some criticism regarding their financing models, transparency, public information, resource management and internal organizational dynamics.
NGOs focus on values, principles and rights that states often abandon or do not sufficiently address (solidarity, cooperation, etc.), and thus become guarantors of controversial policies and initiatives, with states sometimes using these organisations as legitimating elements of these policies and initiatives. Although each organization has specific purposes, the general purposes sought by NGOs are related, in all cases, to change, social transformation and the improvement of cultural, territorial and personal contexts.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable shift toward a great number of NGOs, -whose end goal and purpose focus on educational, social-health, equity, development, inclusiveness and cultural integration objectives-, integrating an environmental dimension into the plans, projects and initiatives they develop. These organisations use a sustainability dimension as a nexus of coherence and environmental commitment for the development of their programs, as well as a challenge for the organization itself with its internal democratic structure, operating dynamics and management models.
This study focuses on sustainability commitment of NGOs. Its objective is twofold: on the one hand, to define some indicators of this environmental commitment; and on the other, to design and validate an observational instrument for the analysis of the NGOs corporate greening task present on their websites.
Among the main questions that this chapter addresses, we are interested in answering the following: why do NGOs need to innovate and improve their corporate communication? Why do NGOs need business greening?
Recently, a number of large corporations, companies and public and private institutions try to show an increasingly innovative corporate communication image. One of these most recent areas of innovation is one that emphasizes its environmental commitments and publicly shows society through its corporate image that this environmental dimension is explicitly defined and included in its corporate policies, in its products, programs and actions. And that appears as a desirable horizon to be progressively achieved in its strategic plans. Showing the green face of an organization, using environmental icons and advertising references based on climate action, emission reduction, circular economy principles, efficient energy management or adopting continuous recycling measures contributes positively to solving part of the environmental problems. Incorporating sustainability elements in your corporate portals gives a very good public image and adds value to an organization. Showing policies of ecological transparency and being accountable with any of the 17 SDGs of the United Nations 2030 Agenda is a factor of modernization. But also using "green products", displaying "ecological slogans" and making visible brands of "commitment to the sustainability of the planet" can simply be instruments of “ecomarketing” and “greenwaching”.
This chapter provides methodological instruments for the control of corporate transparency and proposes internal and external audit and evaluation tools of the quality of NGOs, in relation to their commitments to the environment and sustainability. The text offers a useful instrument that allows an in-depth analysis of whether the use of greening and sustainability elements linked to the image and corporate portal of NGOs actually entails broad commitments and effective engagement actions with the environment.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Environmental Education (EE): Is a holistic, lifelong learning process directed at creating responsible individuals who explore and identify environmental issues, engage in problem solving, and take action effectively to improve the environment. EE can be taught formally in schools, and universities; take place in informal learning contexts through NGOs, natural centers, botanic gardens…; and non-formal education programs such as outdoor education, or community education.
Environmental Indicators (EI): Indicators reflect measures of trends in the state of the environment and monitor the progress made in realising environmental policy targets. As such, environmental indicators have become indispensable to policy-makers. Various types of indicators are used to evaluate the state of the environment; five types are widely mentioned in research and report: indicators for driving forces, pressure and state are mentioned most often; followed by response indicators; and impact indicators are merely used for a few specific issues, such as changes in 15 human health due to an increase in concentration of pollutants, damage to forests due to emissions and disturbance of people due to noise.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs): A non-profit organization that operates independently of any government, typically one whose purpose is to address a social or political issue.
Greening: Is the process of transforming living environments, and also artifacts such as a space, a lifestyle or a brand image, into a more environmentally friendly version (i.e. 'greening a university' or 'greening a NGO'). The act of greening generally involves incorporating more environmentally friendly systems into one's environment, such as the home, workplace, and general lifestyle.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. The SDGs were set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030. They are included in a the Resolution called the 2030 Agenda. The 17 SDGs are: 1) No Poverty, 2) Zero Hunger, 3) Good Health and Well-being, 4) Quality Education, 5) Gender Equality, 6) Clean Water and Sanitation, 7) Affordable and Clean Energy, 8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, 9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, 10) Reducing Inequality, 11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12) Responsible Consumption and Production, 13) Climate Action, 14) Life Below Water, 15) Life On Land, 16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, 17) Partnerships for the Goals.
Sustainability: Sustainability is focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars: economic, environmental, and social—also known informally as profits, planet, and people.
Environmentalization: It refer the process of production and internalization of the environmental issue in the different spheres of social and moral instructions of individuals as an ethos. Is a transition process from social-democratic to neo-conservative regimes of social regulation of economy and society.