Sustainability Policy Nature For Health

Berkel-Enschot, Tilburg, Nederland, March 2020

At Nature For Health (NFH), we are committed to making this world better and more sustainable in all aspects of sustainability—ecological, social, and economic. We strive to integrate sustainability into all our strategies and actions. Our goal is to contribute to a healthy, green, and fair planet. We support societal transformations aimed at sustainability, including in the areas of climate change, the circular economy, and nature-based innovations.

We encourage our NFH bodies, our employees, partners, and everyone we collaborate with, including suppliers and other stakeholders, to do the same. We aim to align our sustainability policy with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Our sustainability policy is based on the following principles:

• To practice what we preach.

• To comply with, and wherever possible exceed, all applicable laws, regulations, and codes of conduct relating to sustainability, the environment, nature, climate adaptation, and circular approaches.

• To integrate sustainability considerations into all our decisions.

• To ensure that all NFH personnel are fully aware of the NFH sustainability policy and are committed to implementing and improving it.

• To minimize the sustainability impact of all office and transportation activities.

• To raise awareness of our sustainability policy among partners, clients, and suppliers, and to encourage them to adopt sound sustainable management practices.

• To evaluate our sustainability performance, report on it annually, and continuously strive to improve our sustainability outcomes.

Practical Steps to Put These Principles into Action. 

• We respect people, and we respect nature.
• We do not believe that we alone possess “the wisdom and the full truth.”
  However, we are convinced that contact with nature is generally very beneficial for human beings.

• We aim to think and act as ethically as possible, with consideration and respect for everyone’s role, position, and opinion—our NFH interactions with people must not cause harm to others. We will not engage in any activity that poses a risk of harming others.

• We support collaboration and building bridges between opposing views. We want to be a positive and fair force in society.

• We strive to promote social inclusion and social innovation in all our relevant activities. Everyone matters; we exclude no one, except in cases where people or companies deliberately harm others or nature and refuse to reconsider their behavior.

• We aim to fully implement both the Sustainability Policy and our NFH principles in our work practices.

• We volunteer with the local community and/or local civil society organizations and make donations to offset the CO₂ emissions of our activities.

• We ensure that any employees we engage take sustainability issues into account in their advice to clients.

• We strive to involve individuals in our activities who are going through difficult times and are working to get their lives back on track. We value their expertise and experience as “experts by experience.”

• We believe that the economy should serve both people and nature—not the other way around.

• We aim to initiate new business opportunities in the field of nature and health, including startups, new methodologies, services, and products.

• We assess the economic and financial implications of new initiatives, approaches, and products we promote in the area of nature and health.

• We are eager to collaborate with companies that have a clear sustainability policy and are open to promoting public values.

• We immediately contact the management of companies we work with if we find evidence or strong indications that they may be causing harm to people, health, or nature. If a company’s harmful behavior is found to be structural or deliberate, we withdraw from cooperation.

• We carefully assess the need for new products/services and consider environmental impact in purchasing decisions.

• We prefer environmentally friendly and efficient products, and companies with high standards of social responsibility.

• We green our office spaces and immediate surroundings with plants to improve indoor air quality.

• We purchase fair trade and/or organic beverages and minimize our use of paper and other office consumables—for example, by double-siding printed materials and identifying opportunities to reduce waste.

• Where possible, we reuse or recycle office waste, including paper, computer supplies, and surplus equipment.

• We aim to purchase electricity from suppliers committed to renewable energy.

• We seek to maximize the share of renewable energy sources and support investments in new renewable energy programs.

• We ensure that wooden furniture and other wood products are recycled or sourced from well-managed, sustainable sources certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

• We strive to reduce plastic use when purchasing office supplies.

• We will practice what we preach when it comes to the conservation and wise use of nature and highlight the importance of nature for our health—even in and around our office spaces.

• We will help keep the immediate surroundings of our offices green and clean and will remove litter.

• We will help create nature-friendly micro-environments for birds, insects, and other parts of nature, and prioritize non-artificial methods of fertilization and soil improvement.

• We use suppliers of renewable energy.

• We reduce energy and water consumption by using them sparingly. We turn off lights and electrical equipment when not in use.

• We adjust heating with energy use in mind, setting thermostats to “night mode” when the office is closed.

• We aim to use the most environmentally and health-friendly lighting options.

• We avoid purchasing bottled water for office or external events whenever possible.

• We open office windows to allow fresh air circulation while balancing the need to conserve energy during winter.

• We purchase recycled and recyclable paper products.

• We avoid unnecessary printing of documents.

• We reduce, reuse, and recycle all paper.

• Where possible, we prioritize digital distribution over printing publications.

• We use the least hazardous chemicals and the smallest quantity necessary.

• We seek eco-friendly alternatives to conventional cleaning and disinfecting products and soaps.

• We avoid physical travel to meetings when practical alternatives exist, such as teleconferencing, videoconferencing, or webcams. We prioritize efficient meeting scheduling to avoid multiple trips. These options often save time without compromising the benefits of regular contact with NFH teams, partners, funders, and stakeholders.

• We monitor and continually aim to reduce the CO₂ emissions of NFH events.

• We use public transport, cycle, or walk whenever practical.

• We aim to reduce the need for NFH staff to travel by supporting alternative work arrangements, including working from home, etc.

• We prioritize sustainable and locally sourced food.

• We aim to compost leftover food wherever possible.

• We strive to reduce plastic consumption when purchasing food.

• We reuse and recycle everything possible.

• We sort our recyclable waste, compost when possible, and prepare it for recycling in the most efficient and environmentally friendly manner.

• We aim to reduce both the volume and toxicity of waste generated in our office, at events, and in catering.

• We prefer more environmentally friendly and sustainable venues and hotels wherever possible.

• We prefer caterers who can demonstrate high standards of social and environmental responsibility, using seasonal and locally grown organic products.

• We request that caterers offer a high proportion of fresh, healthy food, including fresh fruit and vegetarian/vegan options.

• We will regularly discuss our sustainability commitments within NFH and explore ways to improve our sustainable behavior.

• We will share best practices/tips to help reduce our individual ecological footprint.

• We will update this policy annually in consultation with other stakeholders where necessary. The next update will focus on full alignment with the UN’s global sustainability goals.