Natura International contributes to conserving, protecting and promoting the natural ecosystems across Europe to support the economic, cultural and social prosperity of local communities. In order to achieve its aims, Natura International needs to ensure that it is aware of and addresses the impacts of its activities on the environment and on communities. We recognise that through our day to day operations we interact with and impact on the environment, economy, and social fabric of / in the communities where we work. To ensure that our operations and activities contribute to the principles of sustainable development we are committed to continuous improvement of our own and our partners environmental, economic and social performance.

Policy Objectives

This Policy sets out the approach for managing and mitigating these impacts within our organisation, as well as the partners through whom we work. Our specific objectives are:

• To manage our resource use in a way that contributes towards sustainable development.
• To make Natura International carbon neutral.
• To support economic growth and equity within the communities where we work.
• To assess, monitor, and manage environmental and social impacts of our projects.
• To support the principles of ethical and sustainable consumption.
• To uphold principles of cultural diversity and human rights within our work.
• To manage our financial resources efficiently and manage our investments in a way that supports socially responsible investment.
• To lead by example inspiring our partners and others to follow.

Strategy

We will do this through applying the following strategies:

• Adopting the precautionary principle: to apply the precautionary principle to our decision making in order to ensure that any potentially negative impacts to the environment or society are avoided.
• Adopting the principle of the ‘4R’s’ – reduce, reuse, repair, recycle: to manage and minimise environmental impacts.
• To evaluate and apply appropriate technological solutions that reduce costs, environmental impacts and build our and our partner’s understanding of alternative ways of doing business (e.g. video conferencing, energy saving bulbs).
• To develop an ethical procurement policy and strategy that manages the environmental and social impacts of the products that we use and of our suppliers. We will not purchase goods or services from suppliers which are found to be unacceptable in terms of these impacts.
• To develop a transport policy and strategy that seeks to reduce CO2 emissions as well as costs.
• To foster good relationships with local communities wherever we operate, including using local labour and materials and avoiding causing disturbance.
• To screen potential suppliers, including donors of funds, goods, or services and partners for their sustainability impacts.