This document summarises a collaborative seminar for volunteer workcamp organisations held in Akranes, Iceland, in 2005. The seminar addressed a lack of knowledge and skills within the volunteer sector to operate in a more environmentally sustainable manner.

We all live on the same planet and we all have a responsibility towards it and the living beings that depend upon it. Humans are an integral part of the global ecological system and our actions impact upon it from the local level (e.g. rubbish thrown on the ground) to the global level (e.g. climate change caused by carbon dioxide released by humans). Workcamps are no exception to this and it is therefore important to think about their potential environmental impacts.

In this section we will look at water and land use, environmental sustainability and ethical banking and investment.

References and further research:

European Union http://europa.eu.int, see environment sections.
United Nations Environment Program http://www.unep.org
International Energy Agency http://www.iea.org
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change http://unfccc.int/
Centre For Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology http://www.crest.org/
European Federation for Transport and Environment http://www.t-e.nu/
UK National Society for Clean Air http://www.travelcalculator.org/
http://www.wastewatch.org.uk/
http://www.recyclenow.com/
Fair trade labelling info http://www.fairtrade.net/
World Water Council http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/
Emissions Calculator http://www.climatecare.org/