Walk our Talk in Cuba!

Walk our Talk

Operational management at BZ should reflect the same values internally that we stand for internationally. Mission Sustainable's work to make BZ a just and sustainable organisation focuses on three themes: climate, circular economy and supply chain responsibility. BZ published its first sustainability report in May 2023, a milestone achievement in which it reported on progress towards sustainability goals in 2022. In January 2024 BZ was awarded a CO2 Performance Ladder certificate, confirming the systematic steps BZ is taking, led by senior management, to reduce our carbon emissions. But how do you turn sustainability policy into sustainable action? Examples include sorting waste, more sustainable travel, vegetarian catering, solar panels on embassy roofs and recycling clothing. Walk our Talk is helping BZ become a more sustainable and socially responsible organisation.

Voucher

The missions put Mission Sustainable into practice. Until July 2024, they can use a Walk our Talk' voucher to make their operational management more sustainable. The mission in Havana used the voucher to hire a consultancy to give a course on waste sorting and sustainable work practices and procurement. Eight other embassies in the region also took part. Participants were also introduced to businesses that provide environmental services so that people can work on sustainability themselves, and a Cuban sustainability expert gave information about the local options. Together with these parties, the participants thought about sustainable solutions that they could put into practice.

Sorting waste

‘The Dutch embassy leads the way in Cuba when it comes to sorting waste sustainably,’ says Havana's embassy secretary Joëlla van Rijn. 'Last September we invited other embassies in Havana to join the course that we arranged with the Walk our Talk voucher. And then we had a meeting to look at possibilities for working together on the challenges of sustainable waste management and sustainable procurement. Besides sharing knowledge and information, we also showed them all the sustainable measures that we've taken in our embassy: a water filter, energy-efficient LED lights, good procedures for sorting and recycling waste and used paper, and our use of solar energy. This is unique in Cuba: we’re the only embassy here that has such facilities. We’ve made pretty good progress in implementing sustainability measures, in part thanks to the expertise of our local staff. Other embassies have been inspired by our approach, and particularly the local team's commitment to our Mission Sustainable philosophy.’

In scarce supply

Joëlla: ‘We and other embassies in Havana are eager to reduce our energy consumption and manage waste sustainably. But infrastructure for that is scarce in Cuba. It’s often hard to find companies that offer environmental services, or the companies are too small and have too little capacity. Sustainable procurement is a challenge too, because you can buy almost nothing in Cuba. We depend on a limited number of suppliers, and it's not always possible to opt for a sustainable alternative. People were impressed that our embassy had already gathered so much information about sustainable services and options and already taken a range of measures.’

Cooperation and connection

Joëlla stresses the importance of cooperation: 'The Walk our Talk voucher has enabled us to work on sustainability together with other embassies in Havana. We share knowledge, successes and challenges and motivate each other. It brings embassy staff together, and everyone is committed to putting sustainability into practice. We're now working with a group of other embassies to see whether we can organise waste management and possibly also sustainable procurement collectively.’ Cooperation and sharing information with other embassies is something we could do in other countries too.