Who?
The International Rescue Committee responds to the most significant humanitarian crises by helping people survive, recover, and rebuild their lives. With climate change disproportionately affecting those living through conflict and natural disasters, addressing the impacts of the climate crisis has become a core part of the IRC’s mission.
The challenge
Programmatically, the IRC was already supporting vulnerable communities by responding to emergencies like drought and floods, as well as helping them build resilience and adapt to the changing climate. Operationally, IRC UK also had a Net Zero commitment and Carbon Reduction Plan in place.
Moorhouse conducted an impactful workshop with the IRC to help them create ways to draw this work together. Specifically, the IRC was looking to better frame the climate-humanitarian emergency and its response, to increase its support for the people they serve.
How we helped
We facilitated discussions about what sustainability means to the IRC in the context of its mission and purpose. We listed drivers for change to reinforce the benefits of focusing on and embedding sustainability across IRC UK. This included discussion around the pillars of sustainability and its ability to further the organisation’s mission. We explored ways to bridge the humanitarian-climate divide, including through climate funding opportunities, which have the potential to result in policy changes and powerful partnerships.
Outcomes
We facilitated two ideation exercises with workshop attendees to draw out gaps and strengths in how the IRC presents the needs of its clients and its work in the climate space. We then identified areas where the IRC can focus its cross-functional collaboration to embed climate action internally across their organisation and the activities and resources needed.