In a landmark panel discussion on the Sustainable Humanitarian Supply Chain, organized by the International Humanitarian City (IHC) on December 6th at Expo City during COP28, Giuseppe Saba, CEO of IHC, declared 2023 will be remembered as the year when at the margin of COP28 the global visionaries (the Dreamers) advocated for a sustainable humanitarian supply chain, highlighting the collaborative call for action to all humanitarian stakeholders. The participants, representatives from the private sector and humanitarian organizations, pledged to collaborate and hold accountable for the progress they make towards reducing carbon emissions and transition to net zero.

Our director, Francesca Cocozza, highlighted the importance of adopting circular thinking to create sustainable products by considering the manufacturing process, the material composition, packaging, procurement practices, distribution and how this all-together impacts on the supply and value chain in terms of carbon emissions. In the quest to achieve net zero, the next decade demands not only a call for collaboration but also collective accountability, enhanced regulations and legislative support, the adoption of renewable energy, financial investment, and a net-zero mindset. “We need to cultivate the shift to a net-zero mindset, ” she said. This is the greatest impact we can all make – it goes beyond a single country, a single government, a single company, and it applies to all individuals, placing the environment at the centre stage of our decision-making process”.

The Sustainable Supply Chain Conference seeks to lead the way in a new direction towards environmental sustainability by encouraging humanitarian actors to think about how their actions will affect not just the present but also the entire future and generations to come.