Environmental Policy

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Overview

Marine Conservation Philippines strives to reduce our carbon footprint as well as the impact to the local environment by carefully considering usage of natural resources.

All buildings at MCP are powered by geothermal energy, with a few solar additions. We serve a primarily vegetarian diet, and source all of our groceries locally.

We have a comprehensive recycling policy, and recycle paper and cardboard, glass, metal, textiles and hard plastics from the MCP campus. We collect garbage on beaches and in mangroves too, and we annually recycle about 50 tonnes of materials. (approximately 40% of the garbage we collect, we’re able to recycle.)

Volunteers with Marine Conservation Philippines take part in mangrove replanting and reforestation, when we have the opportunity. Besides reducing siltation and taking up nutrients, mangroves are excellent carbon sinks, and our efforts to recreate these lost habitats help in a very real, hands-on, practical way to balance out the carbon emissions caused by flying to the Philippines for foreign volunteers. Volunteering with us, is thus not a case of merely helping locally, while causing global damage through carbon emissions – it actually helps both locally and globally.

Environmental Action Plan

While dated, the MCP Environmental Action Plan is a collaborative effort and the work of a handful of MCP interns, originally spearheaded by environmental consulent Amy Slack. It touches on past achievements, current progress and areas that need attention.
Environmental Action Plan

Last update: May 31st 2018

Food Policy

There is no doubt that more people moving away from a meat-based diet would reduce the massive drain on water and other natural resources that meat-production currently causes. At MCP we do not serve a strict vegetarian diet (although we of course cook appropriately for volunteers who are vegetarian or vegan!) We do however limit meat to Saturdays as well as source it all locally. For environmental reasons we never serve beef or lamb. Also we very seldom serve seafood, but when we do, we buy directly from local fishermen, who we know are involved in the protection of the local MPAs and assure us that the catch is fished sustainably.

MCP is working towards self-sufficiency. We grow some produce ourselves and we run our own chicken coop for fresh eggs. Additionally the botanical garden compound we live in has many fruit trees and a mango orchard, that provides us with lots of high-quality organic fruits when in season.

Aided by a grant from Google, MCP launched a campaign website in 2020 with vegetarian recipes, specifically targeting search queries on traditional Filipino meat-filled recipes, only replacing them with easy to cook and tasteful alternative vegetarian recipes.

About the Organisation

Organisational Expenditures

Careers and Employment