{"id":1586,"date":"2022-10-05T10:36:31","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T08:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.environnementhumanitaire.org\/who-are-we\/"},"modified":"2025-06-18T12:24:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T10:24:33","slug":"qui-sommes-nous","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.environnementhumanitaire.org\/en\/qui-sommes-nous\/","title":{"rendered":"Who are we?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The R\u00e9seau Environnement Humanitaire<\/a> (REH) was created in 2012 due to a collective need to discuss environmental issues and improve the way these are addressed in humanitarian action.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by Groupe URD since its creation, it initially brought together individuals working in the humanitarian sector who were keen to see their environmental concerns taken into account by their organizations and partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2012-2014<\/div>\n
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The REH\u2019s foundations<\/strong> were laid during an initial period of development (2012-2014).<\/strong> This involved assessing the progress made by each organisation, as well as their needs and difficulties. Thematic meetings were held, which gave rise to technical briefing notes and articles. The members of the network during this launch phase were: Action contre la Faim, the French Red Cross, ICRC, M\u00e9decins du Monde, M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res Suisse, UNDP, Solidarit\u00e9s International, Terre des Hommes Lausanne, Triangle G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Humanitaire, the UNEP\/OCHA Joint Environment Unit and Groupe URD.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n \n

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2015-2020<\/div>\n
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Over the period<\/b> 2015-2020<\/b>, the network grew and its members became more diversified<\/b>. A Groupe URD member of staff was given the role of facilitating the network. These developments took place as environmental issues, and particularly climate change, began to receive increased attention internationally<\/b>, and NGOs started to join the conversation<\/b>. Increasingly aware of the issue, a large number of NGOs have made commitments to reduce their environmental footprint and take greater account of these aspects in their programs<\/b>, notably through the declaration of commitment by humanitarian organizations on climate signed at the National Humanitarian Conference in December 2020.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n \n

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2021-2022<\/div>\n
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2021 marked the beginning of a new period for the REH, which now provides its member NGOs with operational support<\/strong>. Members want the network to be able to help them concretely to reduce their environmental footprint, starting with their carbon footprint. As a result, the organisation of the network has had to be revised and it has adopted a more formal form of governance<\/strong> so that it can facilitate concrete initiatives by its members while maintaining its initial activities of sharing and disseminating knowledge. With input from several members of the network, a form of governance based on consensus decision-making was adopted in February 2022. This establishes the new way that the network is organised, as explained in the \u2018Organisation\u2019 section<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

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Mission<\/h2>\n\n
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Launched in April 2012, the Humanitarian Environment Network aims to advance environmental mainstreaming among member organizations but also more broadly in the international aid sector. To ensure that environmental issues are better taken into account, it has set itself three objectives: <\/p>\n