Building Back Greener: Assessing the Potential of Environmental Management Systems in Disaster Reconstruction

Abstract: Environmental problems commonly occur in the aftermath of natural disasters. If not managed properly, they jeopardise the success of the entire recovery process. The humanitarian sector has realised this threat and is looking for ways to properly mitigate environmental problems while maintaining their necessary flexibility. The conventional industry broadly uses environmental management systems (EMS) like ISO 14001 to manage their impacts. This thesis aims to assess the potential of ISO 14001 in disaster reconstruction. To this end, it first identifies the environmental problems and their underlying causes. Then it analyses the requirements of ISO 14001 to identify opportunities and barriers for implementing the standard. Based on this, it discusses the overall feasibility and effectiveness of ISO 14001 in disaster reconstruction. The result of this research is that ISO 14001 has the potential to be an effective tool for improving the environmental impacts in the humanitarian sector. Its effectiveness depends however strongly on the quality of the implementation in the field and the context of the disaster. Its feasibility is reduced by a lack of donor support and questionable buy in by the field staff. Thus, it only seems interesting for larger organisations with stable funding and preexisting environmental expertise. Further research opportunities include a more practical evaluation of ISO 14001, as well as assessing the potential of other environmental management tools from the conventional industry in humanitarian emergencies.