Migration Citizenship Development HAUTS-DE-FRANCE branch
LE GRDR
Migration Citizenship Development HAUTS-DE-FRANCE branch
The Hauts-de-France (HdF) branch of the GRDR Migration Citizenship Development works for the socio-economic integration of migrants. The association supports them in the realization of actions on their area of life or in favor of their country of origin and participates in actions in connection with West Africa and the Maghreb for projects of social and solidarity economy, local development and professional integration.
Field of activity
Humanitarian
Work team
5 employess and 8 volunteers in the HdF branch
City
Lille
Good ecological practices
The approach is global, but for the moment, the association has more specifically invested in the field of digital technology and mobility.
In the area of mobility, several actions have been taken to encourage the use of soft transport for home/work and professional trips:
set up a bicycle bonus to encourage the use of bicycles
take collective action with the City to obtain secure bicycle parking spaces
set up bicycle self-repair training workshops
carpooling and renting cars with Citiz.
“As far as international air travel is concerned, we propose to replace it with videoconferences, as long as this does not harm the links and actions carried out with our partners. We must analyze the situations without losing sight of the essence of our action. Eventually, the issue of carbon compensation could be a solution if we find the funding to apply it. “
On the digital side, the actions were:
purchase reconditioned computers, which generates a very significant gain in carbon emissions
set up a local server to store data without using the cloud
use responsible internet providers and hosts
use free software in an ethical concern
use an internal chat to limit the number of emails
regularly clean up email boxes
reduce printing and print on recycled paper and eco-friendly inks
What was the trigger?
The coordinator of the Hauts-de-France branch wanted to move forward on the issues of social and environmental responsibility and to carry out actions to align internal practices with the values promoted by the association. “The environmental dimension immediately met with a favorable response and mobilized both the teams and the administrators, perhaps because it seemed easier to work on than the other dimensions of the guide of good practices in the social and solidarity economy.”
Running the project
The branch had a role as a research head for the national association on the issue of its ecological transition.
The process of inventorying and identifying actions was carried out by two employees and then presented to the national management. The actions were then carried out in connection with the strategic orientation committee of the association.
Keys of success
- Share the process of changing practices with the entire work team and the various governance bodies
- Mutualize the changes with other structures of the social and solidarity economy that share the same building by setting up mutualized growing boxes in the courtyard, the collective switch to a renewable energy supplier (Enercoop) and the grouped purchase of environment-friendly cleaning products…
- Be accompanied by a structure on the methodological aspect: realization of the diagnosis, questioning grid and follow-up of the process
- Designate an identified referent whose mission is to support and lead the process over time. Otherwise, the daily routine will take over and the process of improving practices will be forgotten. This mission should be specified in the job description
- Conduct a regular review once a year to identify actions to be continued or started
- Make the team and newcomers aware of environmental issues
- Keep a file that lists the practices to be encouraged
Financial support
The approach was initiated thanks to a support, financed by the State (Ademe). This support allowed the realization of a diagnosis and the search for ways to change practices.
Encountered barriers
Some topics were more difficult to address, such as international travel, which remains necessary to carry out the association’s mission.
The lack of funding to support more impactful initiatives is a hindrance, for example to compensate for air travel.
Measures of change
The association has not measured the carbon impact of its actions, but the staff has learned about the energy savings associated with changing practices. For example, car-sharing can replace 5 to 8 individual vehicles: More info here.
Concerning technologies, the members of the association know that the environmental impact of the purchase of packaged material is important since 70% of the carbon emissions of the digital industry are produced during the manufacturing of the material. The remaining 30% are emitted during use or disposal.
The approach is mobilizing for the teams.
It also allows us to share experiences at the national level that can inspire the entire association.
