Introducing the Forces Wives Challenge Sustainability Plan
I’m Emily Bailey, and I have joined FWC as the Sustainability Lead. Sustainability is a massive subject and something I am passionate about. There is often a sense of overwhelm, we know we need to look after our planet for future generations, yet it can seem like a massive task. I am here to ensure we make positive impacts whilst enjoying challenges. Small changes will have a ripple effect on the planet and community.
Forces Wives Challenge, by our very nature, is a low-impact community; walking, swimming, horse riding, and canoeing are some of the best ways to see the world with as little impact as possible. Recognising that everything has an impact and flipping that into a positive impact is crucial for our planet and the people living on it. Sustainability is a journey with no end point, we will continue to update our goals.
We’ve developed a sustainability plan that is unique to Forces Wives Challenge. We can’t change the world by ourselves, so the best way to make a difference is to tackle relevant issues and choose where we can make a positive impact. To focus our thoughts, we have used the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to steer our strategy. There are 17 SDGs; by choosing 5, we can focus on where we can make the most significant impact.
Gender Equality
FWC promotes gender equality by giving access to outdoor challenges to our community. FWC is making a positive change as there are opportunities for women who otherwise would not connect with these types of activities. We have set targets to encourage more women into outdoor activities, encourage the use of female guides and support women-led business (bonus points if that business is a forces spouse!)
Climate Action
There is no denying we are amid a climate emergency, and whilst FWC is low impact, we can certainly do more. We will now monitor our carbon impact on each of our challenges. We will measure how people arrived at a challenge and how many people were in the car and aim to facilitate car shares and public transport options. We will choose flights with a lower impact for overseas challenges and fly directly wherever possible. We will look at public transport options for all challenges - Sweden by overnight train, anyone?
The final step is offsetting any carbon emissions we can not reduce - offsetting and net zero is a whole other blog post!
Life On Land
Challenges will have an impact on the land which we tread. These include erosion of pathways and ecosystems, wildlife disturbance, poor waste management and overtourism on busy trails.
We will consider the time of year of challenges and how busy it may be and plan accordingly. Where appropriate, we will organise a voluntary trail or beach clean for members to participate.
We will share a “Beyond Leave No Trace” pledge to share with members attending challenges. We work with organisers and landowners to ensure our challenges have minimal impact. Did you know we donate to the National Trust for our Pen y Fan challenge?
Responsible Consumption and Production
Challenges will involve waste production. We all take water, and snacks and need to toilet on a walk! How we deal with these things will greatly impact the environment. We will reduce waste through simple initiatives - most of us know of the reduce, reuse and recycle model. Reducing single-use plastic is easily done with a reusable water bottle, plastic-free snacks and picnics. Our “Beyond Leave No Trace” pledge will include ideas on how to do this and responsible toileting!
The most sustainable kit is the stuff you already have (or what lurks in the back of a kit cupboard - we know military green is not a great colour, but if it works, why not?!). We know new bits of kit are often required, so we plan to offer more information on the good places to buy or borrow.
Sustainable Communities and Economic Growth
Creating sustainable communities goes hand in hand with decent work and economic growth. FWC is all about building a community of forces wives to - FWC 'fosters friendships, boosts confidence and builds resilience’. As a community, we can promote a sustainable future by ensuring challenges are inclusive and lifelong friends are made.
Our community can help benefit the host communities where challenges take place by supporting local businesses and the environment that is so precious to the people that live there. Visitors can antagonise host communities when the benefits aren’t tangible. By ticking all the boxes above and constantly working on sustainability, communities will welcome the positive impacts of FWC visiting their area.
How can you help?
Please help us by completing the post-challenge questionnaire so we can measure carbon and economic impacts and reduce them year on year. If you can’t measure, you can’t manage it!
Read through the ‘Beyond Leave No Trace’ pledge before participating in a challenge.
Get your friends on base involved and car share or use public transport to get to the challenge.
For example, I got the train to Pen y Fan and saved 28kg CO2e instead of driving my hybrid car. The average person in the UK has a carbon impact of 14-15kg CO2e a day!
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about sustainability; I love talking about it and doing my bit to make the world a better place. I regularly blog about sustainable tourism and my adventures at www.emily-bailey.co.uk or follow me on Instagram @justourismUK