Sustainable humanitarian operations: An integrated perspective

Abstract

The immediate response to disasters, while well intended, sometimes causes avoidable humanitarian challenges later on. Drinking water may be essential, but it is not necessary to provide it in small plastic bottles. Injections may save lives, but inappropriately discarded syringes are hazardous. Can humanitarian relief be made more sustainable? This paper summarizes a 1‐day workshop on this topic, held at INSEAD in 2019 in connection with Luk Van Wassenhove's transition to emeritus professor. This workshop involved over 100 academics and practitioners. Five areas were discussed in detail: material convergence, coordination between humanitarian organizations (HOs), logistics, partnerships with industry, and health. The discussions demonstrate the possibility of better integrating sustainability with humanitarian operations despite the inherent tension between the immediate need to save lives and the longer term perspective associated with sustainability. This requires that various stakeholders, including HOs, donors, and watchdog organizations, think differently about the balance between short‐term and long‐term interventions, the metrics and incentives they apply, and the role of local versus global organizations. Leading practitioners and scholars in humanitarian operations are well aware of these challenges and opportunities in each domain separately; this paper aims to introduce these issues to a broader audience in a single more integrated overview, based on the themes that were discussed at the workshop.

Sustainable innovations for humanitarian operations in refugee camps

“…This will in turn lead to better acceptance by local populations, and ultimately facilitate the long-term integration of refugees in the host country. However, the coordination between different stakeholder groups can only be sustainable if the involved parties are able to build trust and develop a basic appreciation for each other's needs and contexts (Corbett et al. , 2022), which ultimately leads to a reduction in tensions.…”

“…One can observe that when Zaatari was opened as a short-term camp, the energy-providing infrastructure was not developed in an inclusive way, since it did not sufficiently consider the personal and cultural preferences as well as needs of refugees. Or as Corbett et al. (2022, p. 25) stated: “ The voices of beneficiaries must be heard to implement sustainable solutions that respect their culture and dignity.” Kalkanci et al .…”

“…According to Kleinschmidt (2015), this misperception has negatively affected living conditions for refugees: "a lack of willingness to recognize that camps had become a permanent fixture around the world, and the failure to provide proper infrastructure [is] leading to unnecessarily poor conditions and leaving residents vulnerable to crooks" (Radford, 2015). Humanitarian assistance should be based on the needs of the rescued people (Kunz and Gold, 2017), which Corbett et al (2022) refer to as beneficiary-centric approach. It is, therefore, crucial for humanitarian OM research to acknowledge the long-term nature of refugee camps and identify sustainable solutions that improve refugee situations in the long term.…”

Strengthening medical outreach: enhancing healthcare access in developing countries

“…However, they may not consider the long-term consequences for the affected region. The focus on cost-effective procurement for long-term development goals may also hinder sustainable initiatives [16,17]. Insufficient planning and organization can lead to the distribution of unnecessary supplies, further depleting natural resources.…”

Expanding the boundaries of the discipline: The 30th‐anniversary issue of Production and Operations Management

“…Corbett et al. (2022) provide a new perspective on integrating sustainability with humanitarian operations despite the inherent tension between the short‐term need to save lives and the long‐term sustainability goal. They discuss the possibility of reducing the underlying conflicts in five areas: material convergence, coordination between humanitarian organizations, logistics, partnerships with industry, and health.…”