In this episode we speak to mdsustain, a sustainability consultancy who partner with businesses to invest in a green future, and Ripple Effect, a past UK Aid Match grant holder who specialise in sustainable agriculture. Listen in to hear about Ripple Effect's sustainability journey with mdsustain, how this helped shape their sustainability vision for the future, and tips for other organisation’s looking to become a greener, more environmentally conscious organisation.
Gem 00:10:
Welcome to The Learning Post, a podcast dedicated to sharing learnings and insight from UK Aid Match. My name is Gem Clark, and I'm the Deputy Fund Director for UK Aid Match and your host for this episode.
Today, I'm joined by Samarjeet Singh Thapa (Sammy), Sustainability Data Analyst for mdsustain and Meshark Sikuku, Farm Systems and Sustainability Coordinator for Ripple Effect.
mdsustain is a sustainability consultancy who partner with businesses and organisations to invest in a green future. And Ripple Effect are a UK-based civil society organisation who specialise in sustainable agriculture, gender and social inclusion, and enterprise development predominantly in East Africa.
00:53:
Today, we're going to find out how mdsustain have worked with Ripple Effect to support them in their sustainability journey, and how this has enabled them to become a greener, more environmentally conscious organisation.
So to start with, Sammy, could you give us a bit of background about mdsustain and how you work with organisations to support their sustainability?
Sammy 01:14:
Thanks, Gem. mdsustain, which is delivered by MannionDaniels, was started in 2022 as a way to work with organisations to help them address their impact on the planet. We work with charities, non-profits, and small and medium enterprises to help define and establish their sustainability ambitions and then measure and manage their emissions. We work with clients at any stage of their sustainability journey from those who are just starting out to those who are looking to deepen their sustainability efforts, and we tailor our approach using expert tools, guidance, and support depending on each client's needs.
We currently have two packages available, namely sustainessentials and sustainessentials plus. In addition to these we also provide carbon offset solutions.
02:13:
We intend to support businesses at a time where sustainability is becoming a driving force across sectors. In particular, we are seeing that many organisations are facing mounting expectations from regulators to integrate sustainability into their operations. This is also true for SMEs. There are more and more organisations participating in sustainability reporting, focusing on areas like carbon footprints and compliance with international standards. CSOs and charities have an opportunity now to leverage sustainability for building resilience, but also to gain competitive advantages and meet the increasing demands of their stakeholders around having green credentials.
However, even with this demand for sustainability solutions increasing, charities and not-for-profits often go underserved due to most sustainability service providers rushing to cater to organisations that are major polluters. Such organisations usually have more funds at their disposal as opposed to charities and non-profits. Therefore, at mdsustain, we are interested in filling this need in the international development sector itself.
Gem 03:36:
Thanks, Sammy, really interesting to get the background on mdsustain and to get a little flavor of the different offerings and ways it's supporting CSOs and SMEs.
Let's talk about Ripple Effect, who are one of the first pilot clients for mdsustain back in I think 2022. Can you tell us a little bit more about this partnership from your side, Sammy?
Sammy 03:56:
So Ripple Effect were a UK Aid Direct and UK Aid Match grant holder, and they are based in Bath, which is also where the mdsustain office is. So we are neighbours, and we had this connection through the funds. As you mentioned, they were one of our pilot clients, and in our journey together, they were able to benefit from our online modular learning materials on sustainability. Through a consultative process, we worked with a team at Ripple Effect to understand their work, and we were able to support them to define their sustainability ambitions and set realistic carbon reduction targets across the various components of their business. We worked together to calculate their carbon footprint back in 2022, and this became their carbon baseline. And from there, we supported them to set up a net-zero trajectory using the science-based targets and have been able to complete their 2023 footprint as well, constantly tracking their progress on their own path to net-zero.
Gem 05:07:
Great. Thanks, Sammy.
Meshark, it sounds like Ripple Effect have really benefited from working with mdsustain. It would be great to hear the thought process behind joining a pilot like this, and why sustainability is an important part of Ripple Effect's vision for the future.
Meshark 05:23:
Thanks a lot, Gem, for having me here to share about our partnership with mdsustain. Indeed, as Sammy said, our partnership began slightly earlier than 2022, and actually, we didn't start right from organisation carbon footprint monitoring, but we began from the basic foundation of sustainability. This involved several trainings and workshops facilitated by mdsustain that then culminated in designing Ripple Effect's environment sustainability commitments, and policy that were both approved by Ripple Effect Group boards. This indicated that there was commitment from the topmost level of the organisation and then trickling down to the country programmes.
6:08:
This was critical to Ripple Effect for a number of reasons.
First is that sustainability is a core part of our organisational strategy. Our mission is to equip and inspire African communities to transform lives and protect the planet. So, our strategic goal is to safeguard the environment through establishing policies, continuous trainings, and monitoring the impact of operations on the environment.
Secondly, environment sustainability is extremely important in places we work. Much of our work is based in rural Africa, in countries like Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, which are vulnerable to the effects of climate crisis and compounding issues of hunger and poverty. We are committed to be part of the solution to address these challenges head on, to protect the lives of the communities we work with.
And then finally, our work is rooted in agricultural sustainability, and environmental sustainability is key to this.
According to the very recent study by a number of scholars and published in the Journal of Environment Management in March 2024, 87% of rural communities in East Africa are smallholder farmers who depend on natural resources like land, water, forest, range lands, biodiversity for their livelihoods. Ensuring the health of these resources is essential for sustainable agriculture and the health of these communities.
07:36:
So why did we partner specifically with mdsustain, and not other services?
When we had the initial discussion with mdsustain, we really liked their approach. Remember I said that we began by developing a sustainability policy…this was part of their guidance, and it was really important to us because it gave us a very clear focus. We also liked the capacity strengthening approach to be able to carry on with the exercises ourselves. So mdsustain took us through a series of steps one by one, which was actually a training process. This was something new for us, and now having been through it, I'm now able to articulate and lead the process within our organisation.
Gem 08:23:
Thanks, Meshark. That intersection of sustainability and programming and sustainability as an organisation is a really interesting one, and something I think more and more CSOs are starting to see the importance of.
As Sammy mentioned, you also went back to mdsustain later for a carbon footprint assessment. How did this strengthen your sustainability further?
Meshark 08:43:
Yes, there were two main drivers. First is the simplicity of the data collection tool. This tool, which was given to us by mdsustain during the training is quite simple and straightforward with clear guidance. I'm now training others myself within the organisation such as the finance and admin managers to be able to use the tool, and it can actually be used by non-technical people. Secondly is the support we got, which is always seamless and efficient. And of importance also, the support in guiding us to have a carbon footprint reduction plan.
This second time has been much shorter, but also much easier, and was an engaging two-way consultative process. This made it feel more like a teamwork, which to us both trying to achieve the same goal, and I will say this is how it needs to go all the way from data collection to the time final report is finalized.
One challenge we encountered as part of the process is that we had delays in collecting data. For example, the data for 2022 was collected in 2023, and likewise, 2023 data was collected in 2024 so we had to go back to the records and archives, as I call it, to start retrieving the data. This is quite cumbersome and time-consuming, and sometimes it can lead to data inaccuracies. What we are doing now is to integrate this data into processes from the year 2025. This is where the data is collected in a continuous process within other systems, such as vehicle travel sheets, fuel purchases, procurement of capital and consumable goods, travel records, and so on. So this will enable us to have the data immediately at the end of the year. Now, given that the sustainability building blocks are in place, this will be a better way of collecting sustainability data that is anchored on organisational systems and processes.
Gem 10:46:
Thanks, Meshark. It sounds like the partnership has helped create a foundation which Ripple Effect is now fully integrated into its systems and ways of working.
Just before we wrap up things, do you have any recommendations for other organisations who are thinking about reducing their environmental footprint?
Meshark 11:02:
Yes, for this journey to be successful and achieve sustainability, I would say three things…
One is there should be deliberate purpose, willingness, and support from the top organisation of company executives. This will make everything move. Many organisations may not see the need for sustainability so this is key. Two is it is important to train and sensitize the rest of the organisation or company on sustainability goals so that they can all be part of the reduction goals. And then finally, we need to incorporate data into systems like institutionalization. Every department needs to be aware of the data requirements, as well as reduction targets.
Sammy 11:52:
Thank you, Meshark, I completely agree with what you just said. We are also seeing a growing number of regulatory frameworks globally around sustainability. As I mentioned earlier, large corporations are increasingly adopting stringent sustainability standards, and we feel that international donors will also start doing the same if they haven't already done so. And in the case of corporations, they expect their suppliers and small partners to comply as well. And this will be the case for CSOs and charities from their international donor partners, so adopting a strategic mindset towards sustainability is important.
As Meshark mentioned, acting now and integrating sustainability into your processes will future-proof your business, but also attract future investments, enhance your own brand reputation, and perhaps even appeal to prospective employees who value environmental and social responsibility.
Gem 12:59:
Thanks Sammy and Meshark for those final tips and for such a great conversation today, you've shared some really valuable insights that will hopefully inspire other organisations as they navigate their own sustainability journeys.
If you'd like to know more, you can check out mdsustain's website.
Thanks to everyone for listening, and don't forget to subscribe to The Learning Post so you don't miss any future episodes.