moving towards a climate neutral un: the un systems footprint and efforts to reduce it (2011...

7/31/2019 Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN: The UN Systems Footprint and Efforts to Reduce It (2011 edition)

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MOVING TOWARDS A CLIMATE NEUTRAL UNThe UN systems ootprint and eorts to reduce it

2011 edit ion


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MOVING TOWARDS ACLIMATE NEUTRAL UNThe UN systems ootprint and eorts to reduce it

This is a UNEP publication, prepared in its capacity

as secretariat o the UN Environment ManagementGroup. The publication has been produced with thesupport o Martineau & Co, Zo Environment Networkand Thad Mermer.

Cover photo: Mlenny, istockphoto.com

2012 United Nations Environment Programme

This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part inany orm or educational or non-prot purposes withoutspecial permission rom the copyright holders, providedacknowledgement o the source is made.

UNEP would appreciate receiving a copy o any publicationthat uses this publication as a source. No use o this

publication may be made or resale or or any commercialpurpose whatsoever without prior permission in writtenorm rom the copyright holders. The use o inormationrom this publication concerning proprietary products oradvertising is not permitted.

Disclaimer

The designations employed and the presentation o thematerial in this publication do not imply the expression oany opinion whatsoever on the part o the United NationsEnvironment Programme concerning the legal status oany country, territory, city or area or o its authorities, orconcerning delimitation o its rontiers or boundaries.

Mention o a commercial company or product doesnot imply endorsement by the cooperating partners.The views expressed do not necessarily represent thedecision or the stated policy o the United NationsEnvironment Programme, nor does citing o tradenames or commercial processes constitute

endorsement.

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2011 edition


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Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN// 3

terms owhatwe deliver, but also howwe deliver. We arealso looking to this years UN Conerence on Sustainable

Development Rio+20 to generate ideas that willenergize sustainability eorts worldwide.

I thank the Heads o UN agencies and their sta or workingtogether to move their entities towards sustainability.And I commend this publication to all those within and

beyond the UN amily who want to play their part inplacing the world onto a truly sustainable ooting.

New York, April 2012

M

oving Towards a Climate Neutral UN showcasesthe enthusiasm o UN sta across the world or

making the operations o the UN system moresustainable.

We are making steady progress. In March, the main UN

website launched a new section oering a wide rangeo inormation on the Organizations sustainabilityperormance. In April, I opened the new UN building in

Nairobi a beacon o sustainable construction. In May, anew position - UN Senior Advisor on Sustainability - was

Foreword

created to coordinate the Secretariats work on climate

neutrality. In August, I presented the UN21 Award to

the UN Environment Programme and the Departmento Field Support or their eorts to green the UN.And in September, senior ocials o the inter-agency

Environment Management Group approved a StrategicPlan or Sustainability Management in the UN system.

The United Nations system is strongly committed toleading by example and ensuring that our operationsare continuously monitored and improved - not just in

Ban Ki-moon

United Nations Secretary General


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O

ver the last ew years the UN system has moved

rom recognising the need to embed sustainability

into its operations, to getting on with the businesso doing it.

The UN amily consists o organizations with numerousmandates, implemented by sta rom dierent countriesand cultures, and has amously complex rules and

regulations. Yet 54 UN entities have been workingtogether with increasing eectiveness under the bannero sustainability, with UNEP acilitating the call by the UNSecretary General and the Chie Executive Boards decision

or the UN to move towards climate neutrality through theEnvironment Management Group hosted by UNEP andimplemented through the Sustainable UN (SUN) team.

This third edition oMoving Towards a Climate Neutral UNdetails the UN systems carbon ootprint in 2010 and the

progress made in 2011 to reduce it.

In 2010 the UNs emissions were 1.8 million tonnesCO

2eq in total and 8.2 tonnes CO

2eq per capita. Eorts to

reduce these emissions are underway, and will continue

throughout 2012.

The process o moving the UN towards climate neutrality

gives us direct experience o the complexities associatedwith preparing a large international organization or agreen economy. But we recognise that this work is vital ordelivering sustainable development, and has the potential

to realise the best o human ingenuity and creativity.

In the run up to Rio+20 UNEP continues to improve itsown sustainability perormance in the way it works. Last

year saw the sta at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi andcolleagues in UN-Habitat move into a new purpose-built, resource-ecient building at the Gigiri compound.Making best use o natural light and ventilation, the newoce is a showcase or environmental architecture and

green technologies, as well as being a pleasant place inwhich to work and a magnet or architects and publicplanners in the region keen to emulate the concept and

practical ideas demonstrated.

By championing a climate neutral UN the variousorganizations, agencies, programmes and unds are

becoming part o a global community developing

innovative solutions and sharing lessons learnt on thechallenges and opportunities at hand.

Nairobi, April 2012

Preace

Achim Steiner

Under-Secretary GeneralExecutive Director, UNEP, andChair, UN Environment Management Group


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T

his report would not be possible without the tirelesseorts o the Focal Points o the Issue ManagementGroup on Environmental Sustainability

Management. These Focal Points are responsible orcompiling the greenhouse gas inventories or theirorganizations and have undertaken, with the support osta rom across the UN system, to measure, monitor and

reduce the ootprint o their organizations. Once again,we would like to commend them or their work - a modelor intra as well as inter-agency cooperation in the UN:

Robert Erenstein (CTBTO), Sophie Ravier (DFS/DPA/DPKO), Mohammed Yunus (ECA), Andrea Henrichsen(ECLAC), Peter Van Laere (ESCAP), Walid Al-Deghaili,

Halim Nader (ESCWA), Tina Mittendor, Mitchell Hall

(FAO), Steven E. S. Giwa (IAEA), Lorenzo Gavilli (ICAO),Matthias Meyerhans (IFAD), Sarah Raposa (IFC), Peter

Poschen-Eiche, Raynald Dubuis (ILO), Jo Espinoza-Ferrey, Aubrey Botsord (IMO), Alexander Kasterine,Amanda McKee, Juliette Ovelacq (ITC), Peter Ransome(ITU), Tor Bothner (OCHA), Karina Holm (OHCHR),

Segolene de Basquiat, Tricia Graham (OICT), Catharinavan Wijk (OPCW), Vsevolod Soloviev (OSCE), SusanBolvenkel-Prior (UNAIDS), K. Somarajan Pillai (UNCCD),

Fernando Zarauz (UNCDF), Lucas Assuno (UNCTAD),Friedrich Soltau, Chantal-Line Carpentier (UNDESA),Andrew Hudson, Anne Fernqvist (UNDP), Leslie Cleland

(UNECE), John Miller (UNESCO), Dragoslav Jovanovi(UNFCCC), Oliver Buehler (UNFPA), Kathleen Creavalle

(UN-HABITAT), Valentine Ndibalema (UNHCR), JulieMacKenzie (UNHQ), Chiara Giamberardini (UNHQ Oceo the Under-Secretary General or Management), Jerry

Chomanczuk (UNICEF), Ranko Vujai (UNIDO), FrdricDelpech (UN/ISDR/IEH), Sharon Oseku (UNITAR), CarolineLepeu (UNOG), Stephen Stannah (UNON), Niels Ramm,Nives Costa (UNOPS), Romain Kieer (UNOV), Laura

Londen (UNRWA), Pro. Kazuhiko Takeuchi (UNU), SvendAmdi Madsen, Heidi Nabel-Meyer (UNV), Tracey Raczek(UN Women), Anne-Claire Blet (UPU), Georgina Stickels

(WFP), Marina Maiero (WHO-HQ), Isabelle Boutillon(WIPO), Ah-Kim Lee Choon (WMO), Faisal Al-Hothali,Adam Rubineld, Monika Kumar (World Bank), Robert K.Dixon (GEF), Devin McDaniels (WTO), Philippe Lemaistre

(UNWTO).

UNEP would also like to express its appreciation to the

secretariat o ICAO or the development and maintenanceo a custom-built interace to the ICAO Carbon EmissionsCalculator, or use by the UN system.

Acknowledgement is also due to the World ResourcesInstitute, the World Business Council or SustainableDevelopment, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change, the United States Environmental ProtectionAgency (and its Climate Leaders Programme) and theInternational Energy Agency or the inormation and

data used in the UN greenhouse gas calculator.

Considerable time was given by sta rom DFSsInormation and Communications Technology Divisionto develop the UN greenhouse gas calculator and the

reporting tool. Particular thanks are due to Syed Ahmed,Luke Redmond, Arijana Galic, Mukesh Sharma, DiptiMayekar, Manikanta Gurram, Jitendra Panchal, NareshKumar, Vaishali Polekar and Ayesh Gessra.

The Helpdesk, staed by Florian Krautzer o ZoEnvironment Network, Geneva, has provided invaluable

support throughout the process to sta across the UN.

Thanks also to Brahmananda Mohanty and sta atEPRO Consulting JSC, Hanoi, or their help with urther

developing and rening the methodologies and

databases.

Sta and consultants rom the Sustainable UnitedNations acility who have supported this work includeLouise Boom, Dominique Brie, Shoa Ehsani, Jacob Kurian,Isabella Marras, Imogen Martineau, Julie MacKenzie,

Thad Mermer, Mirja m Steglich and Niclas Svenningsen.Thanks also to the Environment Management Group -Hossein Fadaei, and Julie Nevski, and senior managers at

DTIE - particularly Sylvie Lemmet and Arab Hoballah.

Finally, we wish to express our deep appreciation to the

Government o Norway or the support and unding thatenables the UN climate-neutral initiative.

Acknowledgements


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Contents

Foreword 3Preace 4Acknowledgements 5

Highlights o 2011 7The UN system 8

1. Climate neutrality and sustainability within the UN system 92. UN greenhouse gas emissions or 2010 103. Emission Reduction Strategies: an overview 15

4. Emissions rom travel and eorts to reduce them 175. Emissions rom buildings and eorts to reduce them 196. Sta engagement and Greening the Blue 227. Procurement 23

8. Osets 249. Sustainability Management Systems 25

10. Agency ocus 2611. Challenges 2812. Next steps 29

Annexes

Annex I: Statement adopted by the UN System Chie ExecutivesBoard or Coordination (CEB) at its October 2007 Session 30

Annex II: Greenhouse gas inventory methodology 31Annex III: Acronyms 34Annex IV: Whos who 35

Annex V: Detailed emissions table 36

Case Studies

Ombudsmans oce reaches out using remote conerencing 17

Nairobis New Oce Facility: Building or the uture 20UN Secretariat in New York powered by renewable energy 23

Osetting at the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre 24UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre 24

The inside story: UN Department o Field Support 26The inside story: UNDP 26

Charts and Tables

Table 1: Reported 2010 emissions rom UN entities 12Chart 1: Sources o UN greenhouse gas emissions or 2010 13Chart 2: 2010 emissions per capita 14

Table 2: Examples o comitments and actions rom

the Emission Reduction Strategies received in 2011 16Chart 3: Travel-related emissions 17Chart 4: Travel-related emissions per sta capita 18

Chart 5: Emissions rom acilities 20

Note: In the PDF document you can navigate back to the Contents page by clicking

on the publication title in the header.
http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-


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January

UNEP, UNOPS and the WFPs Fleet Forum published

guidelines to assist UN agencies in procuring bettervehicles. The guidance helps operations managersconsider environmental and social impacts resulting

rom the production, use and disposal o vehicles, aswell as technical specications.

February

Guidance or the purchasing o catering services wasissued by the SUN acility in collaboration with UNOPS

and the HLCM Procurement Network.

March

UN.org - the main website or the UN system -launcheda new page on sustainability. The page highlights theUNs environmental, social and economic perormance

and provides inormation on the UN Climate NeutralStrategy.

UN oces in New York, Geneva and Nairobi joined

millions o people across the world to mark Earth Hourat 8pm on 26 March 2011 by switching o the lights toraise awareness o energy waste.

April

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the ambitiousnew showcase building which houses the UN inNairobi. 6,000 square metres o solar panels, energysaving lighting, natural ventilation systems and other

green eatures enable the oce to generate electricityor its 1,200 occupants.

For the second year running the UN reported its

greenhouse gas emissions. The total or 2009 was 1.7million tonnes CO

2eq, or 8.3 tonnes CO

2eq per capita.

Highlights o 2011

May

In preparation or World Environment Day 2011,

Greening the Blue launched a photo competition. UNsta were invited to submit images on the theme oVisions o a sustainable UN.

The UN Secretariat in New York established anew position to coordinate its move towardsenvironmentally responsible operations. The post o

Senior Advisor on Sustainability is co-unded by UNEPand provides support to the SUN acility as well.

June

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon renewed hiscommitment to keeping sustainable development at

the top o his agenda ollowing his re-election by theUN General Assembly.

July

The World Bank achieved Gold Certication orLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design or

two o its Washington oces.

August

The Secretary-General presented DFS and UNEPwith the UN21 Award. UNEP was recognised or its

continuing eorts to advance sustainability initiativesacross the UN, and DFS or a host o measures to reduceCO

2emissions rom eld operations.

September

Senior ocials o the inter-agency Environment

Management Group approved a Strategic Plan orSustainability Management in the UN System, tomove the UN towards a consistent, systematic and

cost-eective approach to managing sustainability.They also acknowledged the importance o a commonsustainability oce to support implementation othe plan.

Buying or a Better World, a guide to sustainableprocurement, was published by UNEP, ILO, UNOPS andITC/ILO in collaboration with the HLCM Procurement

Network. The report provides advice on how thepurchase o products and services can support the

UNs sustainability aims.

October

Once again, the UN oce at Geneva invited hundredso sheep to graze the grasslands surrounding the Palaisdes Nations. The sheep cut the grass in an ecologicallysustainable manner whilst providing natural ertilizer

or the grass and fowers to grow in spring.

November

In celebration o UN Day, the UN in Viet Nam hosted a

green picnic or nearly 600 sta, amily and riends. Theday included a range o activities and attractions.

December

The number o Green Champions and Green Groupsacross the UN doubled in 2011, with over 100volunteers rom across the UN working to make their

oces more sustainable.


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Programmes and Funds

UNCTAD United Nations Conerence on Trade and Development

ITC International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO)

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNCDF United Nations Capital Development Fund

UNV United Nations Volunteers

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme

UNHCR Oce o the United Nations High Commissioner or Reugees

UNICEF United Nations Childrens Fund

UNODC United Nations Oce on Drugs and CrimeUNRWA1United Nations Relie and Works Agency

or Palestine Reugees in the Near East

UN-Women United Nations Entity or Gender Equality and theEmpowerment o Women

WFPWorld Food Programme

Research and Training Institutes

UNICRI United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice ResearchInstitute

UNIDIR1United Nations Institute or Disarmament Research

UNITAR United Nations Institute or Training and ResearchUNRISD United Nations Research Institute or Social Development

UNSSC United Nations System Sta College

UNU United Nations University

Other Entities

UNAIDSJoint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

UNISDR United Nations International Strategy or Disaster Reduction

UNOPS United Nations Oce or Project Services

Advisory Subsidiary Body

United Nations Peacebuilding Commission

Functional Commissions

Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Narcotic Drugs

Population and Development

Science and Technology or Development

Social Development

Statistics

Status o Women

Sustainable Development

United Nations Forum on Forests

Other Bodies

Committee or Development Policy

Committee o Experts on Public Administration

Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations

Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

United Nations Group o Expertson Geographical Names

Other sessional and standing committeesand expert, ad hoc and related bodies

Related Organizations

CTBTO PrepCom Preparatory Commission or theComprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization

IAEA2International Atomic Energy Agency

OPCW Organisation or the Prohibition o Chemical Weapons

WTO3World Trade Organization

UN Principal

Organs

GeneralAssembly

SecurityCouncil

Economic andSocial Council

TrusteeshipCouncil 5

International Courtof Justice

NOTES:1 UNRWA and UNIDIR report only to the General Assembly.

2 IAEA reports to the Security Council and the General Assembly.

3 WTO has no reporting obligation to the General Assembl y (GA) but contributes on anad-hoc basis to GA and ECOSOC work inter alia on nance and developmental issues.

4 Specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the UN and each other

through the coordinating machinery o ECOSOC at the intergovernmental level, andthrough the Chie Executives Board or Coordination (CEB) at the inter-secretariat level.

This section is listed in order o establishment o these organizations as specializedagencies o the United Nations.

5 The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994 with the independence

o Palau, the last remaining United Nations Trust Territory, on 1 October 1994.

This is not an ocial document o the United Nations, nor is it intended to be all-inclusive.

Subsidiary Bodies

Main and other sessionalcommittees

Disarmament Commission

Human Rights Council

International Law Commission

Standing committeesand ad hoc bodies

Subsidiary Bodies

Counter-terrorism committees

International Criminal Tribunal or Rwanda (ICTR)

International Criminal Tribunalor the ormer Yugoslavia (ICTY)

Military Sta Committee

Peacekeeping operations and political missionsSanctions committees (ad hoc)

Standing committees and ad hoc bodies

Departments and Ofces

EOSG Executive Oce o the Secretary-General

DESA Department o Economic and Social Aairs

DFS Department o Field Support

DGACM Department or General Assemblyand Conerence Management

DM Department o Management

DPA Department o Political Aairs

DPI Department o Public Inormation

DPKO Department o Peacekeeping Operations

DSS Department o Saety and Security

OCHA Oce or the Coordination o Humanitarian Aairs

OHCHR Oce o the United Nations High Commissioneror Human Rights

OIOS Oce o Internal Oversight Services

OLA Oce o Legal Aairs

OSAA Oce o the Special Adviser on Arica

OSRSG/CAAC Oce o the Special Representativeo the Secretary-General or Childrenand Armed Confict

UNODA Oce or Disarmament Aairs

UNOG United NationsOce at Geneva

UN-OHRLLS Oce o the High Representative orthe Least Developed Countries, Landlocked DevelopingCountries and Small Island Developing States

UNON United Nations Oce at Nairobi

UNOV United Nations Oce at Vienna

Specialized Agencies4

ILO International Labour Organization

FAO Food and Agriculture Organizationo the United Nations

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scienticand Cultural Organization

WHOWorld Health Organization

World Bank Group

IBRD International Bank or Reconstructionand Development

IDA International Development Association

IFC International Finance Corporation

MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

ICSID International Centre or Settlemento Investment Disputes

IMF International Monetary Fund

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization

IMO International Maritime Organization

ITU International Telecommunication Union

UPU Universal Postal Union

WMOWorld Meteorological Organization

WIPOWorld Intellectual Property Organization

IFAD International Fund or Agricultural Development

UNIDO United Nations Industrial DevelopmentOrganization

UNWTOWorld Tourism Organization

Regional Commissions

ECA Economic Commission or Arica

ECE Economic Commission or Europe

ECLAC Economic Commission or LatinAmerica and the Caribbean

ESCAP Economic and Social Commissionor Asia and the Pacic

ESCWA Economic and Social Commissionor Western Asia

Secretariat

The UN system


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T

he goal o moving the UN towards climate neutralitywas rst made public in June 2007 by the UNSecretary-General. This was ollowed later that year

by the approval by the UN Chie Executives Board orCoordination (CEB) o the UN Climate Neutral Strategy.

The 2007 UN Climate Neutral Strategy commits heads o

UN entities to:

Estimate their greenhouse gas emissions,

Undertake eorts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

to the greatest extent possible, and

Analyze the cost implications and explore budgetarymodalities o purchasing carbon osets.

Since then, the work o implementing the strategy hasbeen undertaken by the Issue Management Group (IMG)on Environmental Sustainability Management, which is

composed o individual Focal Points, each representing adierent UN entity. The IMG reports to the UN EnvironmentManagement Group (EMG) and is supported by UNEPsSustainable United Nations (SUN) acility.

This is the third annual edition o this report. It details theUN systems carbon ootprint in 2010 and eorts made in

2011 to reduce it. Previous reports can be downloadedrom www.greeningtheblue.org.

1. Climate neutrality and sustainability within the UN system


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Methodology

The UN greenhouse gas inventory ollows the

principles o the Greenhouse Gas Protocoldeveloped by the World Resources Institute and

the World Business Council or Sustainable Development,

though modied to suit the specic needs o participatingUN entities.

The October 2007 decision o the CEB limits the boundary

o the UN greenhouse gas inventory to emissions romacility operations and travel that can be infuenced bymanagement-level decisions. These include emission

categories associated with the purchase or production oelectricity and heat (such as steam), use o rerigerants (or

air-conditioning as well as rerigeration) and transportation.The inventory includes all six greenhouse gases covered

by the Kyoto Protocol: CO2, CH

4, N

2O, HFCs, PFCs and SF

6.

The emissions are reported both separately or eachgreenhouse gas in terms o their mass, and as an aggregate

using the common comparable unit o carbon dioxideequivalents (CO

2eq). The specic emission categories and

the methodologies used can be ound in Annex II.

The common minimum boundary excludes several sourceso greenhouse gas emissions that could result rom UNactivities. Recommended best practice is to voluntarily

document all sources o emissions not included in theminimum boundary under an additional category calledOptional Emissions. These include:

Emissions associated with decisions or whichindividual sta members are responsible and thatrelate to their personal sphere (e.g. emissions rompersonnel commuting to and rom the work place),

Emissions rom projects implemented by externalentities,

Emissions due to couriers and postal mail,

Embodied carbon in products and equipment used

by the UN, or instance ood, beverages, paper andcomputers, and

Emissions rom the decomposition o organic waste

and rom waste water treatment arising rom UNpremises.

The reporting and estimation o the emissions is done

through the ollowing tools: ormatted les or datacollection, available in English, French and Spanish; anonline oce emissions calculator; a stand-alone air travel

emissions calculator; and a web-portal, where the datales can be uploaded and emission results generated.

The substantive inputs or developing the system wereprovided by SUN, and sotware development was led by

DFS. The air travel emissions calculator is a proprietaryproduct o ICAO.

Over the course o 2010 improvements were made to themeasurement system, or example:

ICAO updated their air travel emissions calculator with

the latest industry data and statistics.

A number o proxy methodologies were developed orupdated or reporting type and number o sta, and

or several emission sources when the activity data

was not available. For example, a proxy was developedor estimating emissions rom travel unded throughlump sum grants and another proxy was developed or

estimating electricity consumption in oces that donot have access to electricity consumption data, basedon climatic conditions and green building standards.

Fuel economy actors or commonly used vehiclecategories were developed or updated.

Results

For 2010, UN greenhouse gas emissions were 1.8 million

tonnes CO2eq in total and 8.2 tonnes CO2eq per capita.These gures are similar in magnitude to the results or2008 and 2009. The per capita emissions show a wide range

among the agencies, o between 2.5 and 36 tonnes, thespread illustrating the dierences in emissions intensities,operation types and geographical locations. Outside thecommon minimum boundary o the UN greenhouse gas

inventory, 12,000 tonnes CO2eq o Optional Emissions and

1,000 tonnes CO2eq o biomass-related emissions were

also reported.

Air travel accounts or hal o the UN systems total

emissions. Per capita air travel emissions were 4.2 tonnesCO2eq, with a ew agencies reporting gures over 10

tonnes, especially those with more centralized operations.Building-related energy intensity1 was 172 kWh per m2. Thisindicates the eciency with which energy was produced

or used in buildings and acilities, including stationarycombustion, and purchased steam and electricity.

Building-related emissions intensity2 stood at 104 kg

CO2eq per m2, which includes leakage o rerigerants,

in addition to emissions rom energy sources used inbuildings.

Completeness

This inventory covers 54 UN entities. O these, 43

reported data in 2010 two o them, or the rst time.Six organizations that reported their greenhouse

1 Sum o energy consumed as Purchased Electricity, PurchasedSteam and Stationary Consumption, all expressed in kWh.2 The gure covers only 43 UN entities that reported their dataor 2010.

2. UN greenhouse gas emissions or 2010


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emissions or 2009 ailed to do so or 2010 due todiculty in assigning sucient resources and sta timeor this exercise, or (in the case o UNIFEM) because o

organizational restructuring. For similar reasons, veagencies that reported in 2008 could not report either in2009 or 2010. For these organizations the latest availabledata rom 2008 or 2009 have been used.

Five organizations that reported their data in 2010 havedone so through other organizations, as detailed below:

The data or OCHA, UNCTAD, UNECE and UNISDR havebeen included within the data reported by UNOG.

UNODC and UNOV have reported their data jointly.

The changes made to data collection and reporting tools,the development and updating o proxy methodologies,

have made data reporting easier. It is expected that this willacilitate a larger coverage o oces and acilities over time.

Responding to the magnitude and signicance o

emissions rom air travel and public transportation usedor ocial travel, a decision was taken by the EMG to maketheir reporting mandatory, despite this being optional

under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. In accordancewith the guidance o the Greenhouse Gas Protocol,emissions rom the combustion o biomass or bio-uelsin equipment and vehicles are reported as an inormation

item only. Similar guidance exists or Ozone DepletingSubstances controlled by the Montreal Protocol such aschlorofuorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofuorocarbons

(HCFCs), which are mostly used as rerigerants. However,due to their signicant presence in UN acilities they havebeen included under the Optional Emissions category. Ithas also been decided to make the reporting o CFCs and

HCFCs mandatory in the uture.

While recognising the signicance o non-CO2

eects oaviation, no provision was made or their estimation orincorporation, pending more clarity and internationally

accepted guidance on this issue.

Data quality

Aspects o the methodologies used or the reporting year2008 have been simplied over time in recognition ointernal capacity and resources limitations. It is accepted

that in some circumstances this aects the accuracy othe inventory. Such changes were made in Rerigerants,Purchased Steam and Vehicles (mobile sources). Where

data was not readily available, estimates were based onclearly dened assumptions and proxies. A review o the

methodologies, data and process is undertaken annuallyand the IMG is actively involved in this process. More

rigorous methods and procedures will be introduced,based on eedback, as resources allow.

A ew agencies have prepared Inventory ManagementPlans (IMPs) and others are expected to ollow suit. TheIMP is an internal document that records the details oeach inventory and helps to institutionalize the process

or preparing a high quality inventory.

Eorts have been initiated to develop a quality assurance

and control programme or the inventory, including

external verication.

Comparability

The use o a common methodology and the developmento proxy methodologies or issues identied as major

data gaps have helped to improve the comparabilityo the inventory across agencies and between years.However, detailed analysis is needed to interpret the

trends, considering the dierence in the size, nature andoperations o agencies, changes in coverage o ocesacross years, and the changes in methodologies, scope

and the underlying databases o the emissions calculator.

The data or reporting years 2009 and 2010 olloweda similar process and methodology and are thereore

comparable up to a point. It is more dicult to comparethe 2009 and 2010 data with that o 2008. Ater 2008,changes were made to the methodologies or Purchased

Steam, Purchased Electricity and Rerigerants. In addition,there have been rearrangements and changes in thecontents o the emission categories. In 2008, the totalemissions reported included Optional Emissions (inclusive

o Biomass-related emissions). For 2009 and 2010 the total

emissions does not include the Optional Emissions, whichare reported separately. The biomass-related emissions

are excluded rom the Optional Emissions and are beingreported as an inormation item only. Another importantdierence is that in 2008, the emissions rom Rerigerantsincluded CFCs and HCFCs, whereas since 2009 these are

reported under Optional Emissions.


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UN agency Number o

staf

Total

emissions

Emissions

per staf

Air travel Share o

air travel

Air travel per

staf

Building related

emission intensity

tonnes CO2

e q to nn es CO2

e q t on nes CO2

eq % of total

emissions

tonnes CO2

eq kg CO2

eq/m2

CBD** 95 3,426 36.1 1,555 45% 16.4 707

CTBTO 426 2,773 6.5 1,756 63% 4.1 42

DFS** 500 3,074 6.1 276 9% 0.6 45

DPA** 1,339 18,227 13.6 6,289 35% 4.7 1,445

DPKO** 114,206 966,068 8.5 456,010 47% 4.0 246

ECA 1,545 4,373 2.8 4,133 95% 2.7 3

ECLAC 700 3,868 5.5 2,737 71% 3.9 54

ESCAP 954 6,764 7.1 1,184 18% 1.2 277

ESCWA 401 4,155 10.4 658 16% 1.6 91

FAO 5,992 45,473 7.6 29,709 65% 5.0 66

IAEA 2,563 25,312 9.9 14,470 57% 5.6 69

ICAO 719 6,080 8.5 2,454 40% 3.4 33

IFAD 900 5,599 6.2 3,796 68% 4.2 71

ILO 3,117 15,000 4.8 9,550 64% 3.1 86

IMO 331 4,447 13.4 1,393 31% 4.2 127

ITC 320 3,447 10.8 3,285 95% 10.3 21

ITU 961 4,883 5.1 3,390 69% 3.5 25

OHCHR 520 5,164 9.9 4,787 93% 9.2 18

OPCW 611 5,163 8.4 3,573 69% 5.8 76

UNAIDS 904 6,678 7.4 4,313 65% 4.8 49

UNCCD 50 406 8.1 318 78% 6.4 14UNCDF 35 399 11.4 175 44% 5.0 182

UNDP 10,600 54,516 5.1 25,849 47% 2.4 91

UNEP 1,210 13,505 11.2 12,710 94% 10.5 40

UNESCO 5,333 26,581 5.0 10,589 40% 2.0 34

UNFCCC 500 5,119 10.2 4,941 97% 9.9 7

UNFPA 3,303 21,756 6.6 13,503 62% 4.1 38

UN-Habitat* 536 4,057 7.6 3,661 90% 6.8 30

UN agency Number o

staf

Total

emissions

Emissions

per staf

Air travel Share o

air travel

Air travel per

staf

Building related

emission intensity

tonnes CO2

eq t on nes CO2

eq to nn es CO2

eq % of total

emissions

tonnes CO2

eq kg CO2

eq/m2

UNHCR* 1,040 2,593 2.5 2,281 88% 2.2 20

UNHQ 8,185 76,912 9.4 29,126 38% 3.6 172

UNICEF** 1,197 9,565 8.0 6,316 66% 5.3 10

UNIDO* 2,019 11,127 5.5 7,015 63% 3.5 67

UNITAR 124 494 4.0 478 97% 3.9 12

UNOG1 2,502 13,105 5.2 9,638 74% 3.9 22

UNON 750 2,261 3.0 863 38% 1.2 40

UNOPS 2,548 11,054 4.3 4,565 41% 1.8 76

UNOV (incl.UNODC)

950 6,216 6.5 3,925 63% 4.1 41

UNRWA 2,565 12,623 4.9 447 4% 0.2 45

UNU 61 1,512 24.8 318 21% 5.2 199

UNV 150 416 2.8 282 68% 1.9 11

UNWomen*

(UNIFEM)917 3,599 3.9 2,838 79% 3.1 75

UNWTO 148 797 5.4 508 64% 3.4 42

UPU* 250 1,061 4.2 359 34% 1.4 70

WFP 12,390 80,045 6.5 22,422 28% 1.8 9

WHO 2,443 30,319 12.4 26,846 89% 11.0 31

WIPO 1,346 7,069 5.3 3,819 54% 2.8 37

WMO* 600 3,330 5.5 2,750 83% 4.6 21

World Bank(incl. IFC)

14,933 219,763 14.7 137,721 63% 9.2 104

WTO 845 6,061 7.2 4,955 82% 5.9 34

UN TOTAL 214,634 1,766,234 8.2 894,537 51% 4.2 105

TOTAL minus

DPKO

100,428 800,166 8.0 438,527 55% 4.4 102

Notes: * 2009 data , ** 2008 data amended or available locations, Air travel data extracted rom UNOG report,1 UNOG data includes OCHA, UNCTAD, UNECE, UNISDR)

Table 1: 2010 emissions rom UN entities


13/38


PublicTransport

2,187 tCO2eq(


14/38


Chart 2: 2010 emissions per capita

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

CBD**

CTBTO

DFS**

DPA**

DPKO**

ECA

ECLAC

ESCAP

ESCWA

FAO

IAEA

ICAO

IFAD

ILO

IMO

ITC

ITU

OHCHR

OPCW

UNAIDS

UNCCD

UNCDF

UNDP

UNEP

UNESCO

UNFCCC

UNFPA

UN-Habitat*

UNHCR

*

UNHQ

UNICEF**

UNIDO

*

UNITAR

UNOG

1

UNON

UNOPS

UNOV(inc.

UNODC

)

UNRWA

UNU

UNV

UNWomen*(UNIFEM

)

UNWTO

UPU

*

WFP

WHO

WIPO

WMO

*

WorldBank(incl.IFC

)

WTO

UN Average (8.2)

tCO

2eq/

staf

Notes: * 2009 data , ** 2008 data, Air travel data extracted rom UNOG report, 1 UNOG data includes CEB, OCHA, UNCTAD, UNECE, UNISDR

(tonnes CO2equivalent)


15/38


T

he Emission Reduction Strategies detail each UNentitys commitments and plans or reducing theirgreenhouse gas emissions.

Over the past two years, good progress has been made byUN entities in developing and implementing their EmissionReduction Strategies, thanks to their commitment.

At the end o 2010, 21 entities had completed their dratEmission Reduction Strategies. In the course o 2011 the

number o completed strategies increased to 34 (or 63%o the 54 participating entities). Lack o sta resourceswas the most commonly cited reason by those unable tocomplete the task.

The ollowing trends have been observed rom theEmission Reduction Strategies submitted to SUN in 2011:

Organization

Responsibility or implementing greening eorts is being

assigned to a specic department or unit. In the past, emissionreduction eorts were oten led by one sta member or agroup o sta, sometimes working out-o-hours. Emergingnow is a recognition that this is an ocial responsibility and

organizations are assigning specic environmental dutiesand goals to a department or lead sta.

TargetsMost organizations have identied a timerame inwhich they will achieve their targets. In most cases, this

timerame is a 2-3 year period, rom 2011 to 2013/2014.For the majority o UN entities, emission reduction targetsare based on the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report published

in 2007. This report estimates that a global emissionreduction in greenhouse gases o 50-85% is required by

2050 compared to 1990 levels, i the average increase intemperature is to be limited to 2 degrees Celsius, whichis viewed as the threshold to avoid long-term disastrous

environmental impacts rom climate change. In most UNentities, this is being translated as between 2-5% annualreductions in total emissions. Targets are also beingdeveloped or other sustainability goals e.g. or water and

waste.

Financing

A variety o ways have been ound to nance energyand resource eciency measures. One entity earmarkedunds or action sourced rom the regular budget o their

General Services department. Others have illustrated howa small upront investment can result in long-term savings

with a short payback period in order to obtain unds.

Travel

Travel remains a major source o greenhouse gas

emissions or most entities and is thereore a key ocus oreduction measures. Replacing travel with tele- and video-conerencing is a preerred approach in many entities. Forlocal level commuting, hybrid cars (with parking spots)

and annual events to promote cycling to work - coupledwith ree repair workshops and bike-sharing programs are also becoming part o organizational practices.

FacilitiesA number o organizations are upgrading older equipment

to be more energy ecient in an eort to reduce emissionsrom acilities and achieve cost savings. New modelso Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC)systems are being employed. In one such case, savings are

projected to amount to over US$200,000 per year. Smallerbut still important savings are also orecast rom upgradeso chillers, including reductions o 83,500kwh, US$15,000

and 41.42 tonnes o CO2eq or one entity. Energy ecient

lighting is another area, and annual savings o US$20,000are already being realised by one organization, with a pay-

back period o only three and a hal years. One organizationplans to install solar panels, reducing its emissions by 75.6CO

2eq per year, and annual cost savings o US$81,000. A

number o entities are replacing their ozone-depleting

rerigerants with more sustainable alternatives. Thepotential reduction in emissions rom this source can besignicant, 34% in one case.

Sustainable procurement

In most UN entities plans, improvements to procurement

policies and practices so as to better incorporateenvironmental and social considerations are either under

implementation or scheduled to be introduced during theperiod 2012-2014. Organizations say that improving their

carbon ootprint through procurement will send a signalto the marketplace.

Other sustainability issues

Voluntary green groups are emerging across the UNsystem, composed o environmentally concerned sta

and, in some cases, IMG Focal Points. Their work helps inthe implementation o the Emission Reduction Strategies.Groups meet regularly to tackle a range o issues and to

raise awareness among all sta o how they can develop

more sustainable ways o working.

Other common sustainability areas tackled by UN entities

include IT and waste management. IT eorts includeequipment upgrades to more ecient models (laptopsreplacing desktops, or example) or incorporating dierentpractices (centralized printing) as well as behavioural

changes such as turning o power sources when leavingor the evening.

3. Emission Reduction Strategies: an overview


16/38


Table 2: Examples o commitments and actions rom the Emission Reduction Strategies received in 2011The table below shows some o the commitments, policies and actions identied in the Emission Reduction Strategies submitted in 2011. Many strategies have yet to be approved andpublished by internal management teams: the identity o individual entities is thereore anonymous at this stage.

Overall targets Reductions rom travel Reductions rom building Osetting Other actions

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4% by

2013 compared to 2009 Increase recycling rom 45% (2010) to 55%

(2011) and 60% (2012)

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least4.8% per capita between 2008-2014.

Reduce travel-related emissions by 5%and building-related emissions by 5-10%between 2008 and 2013.

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% eachyear rom 2011 to 2013

Achieve total savings rom greenhouse

gas cuts and environmental measures oUS$110,000 per year

Reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 4%during 2009-2013

Cut down HVAC emissions by 33% between2011-2014

Reduce total emissions by 5% or 2012/2013

Increase in economy versus business class

ights E-conerences prepared by secretariat

whenever possible

Make travel by train mandatory i journey isless than 8 hours

Increase number o bicycles available

Introduce telecommuting/working romhome

Modiy sta rules to incorporate greenhousegas emission considerations

Ensure travel agent contracts incorporate

greenhouse gas emission considerations

Introduce travel agent criteria such as carbonootprint or each quote and ticket issued,option to book train instead o plane, providemost direct routing inormation

Bundle missions: sta combine meetings inone trip

Reduce number o sta travelling to samemeetings

Modiy travel rules relating to train andbusiness class air travel

Review travel approval process to encouragee-communications

Travel by train i less than 6 hours and costdierence not more than 15%

Amend travel policy: business class raisedrom 6 to 9 hours

Upgrade heating system

Air-conditioning o periods

Air curtains at ground entrance

Raise building temperature in summer andlower it in winter

Heavy curtains will keep ofces cooler- reducing energy consumed or airconditioning

Blinds and shades or cooling

Install light timers and motion detectors

Install solar panels

More efcient lighting

Minimize ceiling lights in avour o tasklighting

Explore osets or travel

100% osets due to purchased electricity

Replace stationary desktop computers with

more energy efcient laptop computers More multiunctional printers

Reduce printers by 50% by replacing withcentralized ones (network shared printersrather than desktop printers)

Institute swipe cards to reduce printing; costrecovery system

Deault on printers is two-sided and greyscale printing

Move to virtual servers

Hold workshop on green IT

Turn computers o overnight, turn on energysaving eatures or computers, photocopiers,and scanners and printers

Upgrade IT or energy efciencyimprovements

Install water ow reduction devices to reducewater consumption (very high return oninvestment)

Implement recycling system

Install water ountains and move away rombottled water


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E

missions rom travel (particularly air travel) are thelargest contributing actor to overall UN carbonemissions. Meeting with people across the world

is essential to the UNs work. But is every trip entirelynecessary? In the same way that Think beore you Printis now a common refex or many UN sta, eorts areunderway to ensure that Think beore you travel becomes

a similar habit. This applies not only to UN sta, but also toexperts, consultants and conerence-goers.

In 2010, travel in general accounted or an estimated64% o the UN systems greenhouse gas emissions. Airtravel alone accounted or 51% o total emissions, up

rom 48% in 2008 when it cost the UN over US$1 billion.Travel is thereore both an important challenge and anopportunity or reducing the UNs carbon ootprint and itsoperational expenses.

Throughout 2011, several tools were launched to help UNsta and organizations improve their travel habits.

The rst was a set o vehicle procurement guidelinesdeveloped through a collaborative eort between UNEP,UNOPS and the Fleet Forum. The guidelines provide

advice to agencies on purchasing better vehicles, using

4. Emissions rom travel and eorts to reduce them

Audio and video conerencing are oten seen assecond- best alternatives to meeting ace to ace,but when the WFP Ombudsmans oice needed

to reach sta in more than 30 countries to raise

awareness on conlict and dispute resolution, it wasthe preerred option.

Mediation is oten a lower cost option or resolvingdisputes than ormal channels, and we wanted to inorm

sta about mediation, assess their opinion and be ready

to clariy any doubts or concerns said WFPs thenOmbudsman, Georgia Shaver.

The awareness-r aising campaign targete d all WFP

employees located in selected country oices, suboices (i possible) and all regional locations. Working

with a consultant who had previously deliveredremote training or FAO, the Ombudsmans oice ran a

series o on-line conerences that reached 600 sta in35 countries over a period o more than two months.

Sta were asked to watch a pre-recorded presentationin advance o the training, and were invited to come

to the audio and/or video conerence prepared todiscuss and ask questions. Remote delivery was time

eective and the most inancially eicient way toreach the sta.

In addition there was no jetlag and ewer disruptions

to day-to-day work. Some sta enjoy duty travel, andield sta value ace to ace contact, but in inanciallyconstrained times Ms. Shaver ound hersel asking ithis was the best use o resources.

She acknowledges that there were technical issues:low connectivity in some oices led to sound quality

challenges on video calls and occasionally stadropping o the line. But ICT sta in headquartersand in the ield were incredibly helpul.

Despite the challenges, Ms Shaver says reaching out to

such a wide range o sta was a tremendous learningexperience or the presenters too, because they wereexposed to dierent ways o working. In some oices

and cultures, questions were very orthcoming. Inothers, it was harder to encourage sta to expresstheir views. It was also important to deliver thepresentations in languages other than English and

there was a lot o appreciation rom the sta when thepresentations were made in French and Spanish.

Chart 3: Travel-related emissions*

*including DPKO

Vehicles225,719

(20%)

Air Travel894,537

(80%)

Public

Transport2,187(


18/38


a liecycle approach that includes production and use

through to disposal. By raising awareness o the benetso sustainable procurement and actively seeking towork only with the most sustainable suppliers, the UN isreducing its own emissions and educating its partners

about responsible lie-cycle procurement.

Another tool came rom ICAO, which issued a simple

spreadsheet to help determine the best location or

international meetings. The tool prompts the user toenter the home bases o the meeting participants, and

then calculates the environmentally preerable locationsor holding that meeting. O course other actors mayinfuence the nal selection o venue, but at the very

least the Green Meetings

calculator ensures that thedecision-maker takes theenvironmental impacts intoaccount.

2011 also saw UNEP launcha ree Blue and REDD Carbon

mobile phone app, which

calculates the emissions or agiven journey and translates

the ootprint into anequivalent area o a particularecosystem such as a tropical

orest or saltwater marshlands that would be needed tooset it. The app then provides suggestions as to how tomake up or the potential damage rom the journey, or

example, by buying sustainably sourced sh. The apphas been produced in English, Arabic, Chinese, French,Japanese, Russian and Spanish and has been availablethrough the iTunes store since December 2011.

Because o the complexity o changing our travel habits,in 2011 the SUN team joined orces with the UNs Inter-

agency Travel Network to conduct research into barriersand enablers o sustainable travel policies within the UNsystem. The work ocused on ways in which UN travel

rules could support environmentally sensitive and cost-ecient travel behaviour, ocusing on a whole tripbalance between time and cost requirements. The study

will be published on Greening the Blue in 2012.

Whilst barriers to sustainable travel remain, progress isbeing made, at both strategic and grass roots levels, in

raising awareness o the importance o sustainable travelchoices. Key to achieving greater success in coming yearswill be addressing inconsistencies in policies that deter

sustainable choices.

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

18.0

CBD**

CTBTO

DFS**

DPA**

DPKO**

ECA

ECLAC

ESCAP

ESCWA

FAO

IAEA

ICAO

IFAD

ILO

IMO

ITC

ITU

OHCHR

OPCW

UNAIDS

UNCCD

UNCDF

UNDP

UNEP

UNESCO

UNFCCC

UNFPA

UN-Habitat*

UNHCR*

UNHQ

UNICEF**

UNIDO*

UNITAR

UNOG1

UNON

UNOPS

UNOV(inc.

UNODC)

UNRWA

UNU

UNV

UNWomen*(UNIFEM)

UNWTO

UPU*

WFP

WHO

WIPO

WMO*

WorldBank(incl.IFC)

WTO

tCO

2eq/staf

Chart 4: Travel-related emissions per staf capita (tonnes CO2equivalent)

Notes: * 2009 data , ** 2008 data, Air travel data extracted rom UNOG report,1 UNOG data includes CEB, OCHA, UNCTAD, UNECE, UNISDR

Screenshots o the Blue and REDD Carbon mobile phone app


19/38


F

acilities are a ocus o the UN systems emissionmitigation eorts because they are the largestsource o greenhouse gas emissions ater travel. In

some organizations, acilities overtake travel as a source oemissions.

The Emission Reduction Strategies submitted by UN

entities in 2011 detail measures to reduce greenhousegas emissions rom acilities. The actions taken so arinclude retrots and upgrades o existing structures

and equipment, or where new construction is planned,incorporation o the most up-to-date technology anddesign eatures available globally.

The ollowing section outlines some o the common

eatures outlined in the acilities section o the Emission

Reduction Strategies:

Audits and management plans

Energy audits are helping entities prioritize next stepsaccording to available unds and time. In some situations,or instance, where limited unds are available, Focal Points

organized audits ocusing only on options with minorinvestment and short payback periods.

Certication

Some entities are going through the process o greenbuilding certication. The process itsel oten helps

the acility manager recognize how to reduce buildingemissions. The Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign or Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) certication, orinstance, was awarded to one UN entity and provided

eciency upgrade inormation in a number o areasincluding lighting, plumbing, ventilation, water and energyeciency, recycling, maintenance and operations. The new

UN House in Hanoi, a major ongoing retrot project, has

incorporated in its design the requirements o LOTUS, a newgreen building rating system developed or Vietnam. Thesekind o certication systems provide structured rameworks

to help identiy opportunities or improvement and canhelp in streamlining, timing and prioritizing changes.

Energy sourcing

Replacement o ossil uels with low carbon alternatives

can result in major emission reductions. Several UN

entities are taking advantage o this opportunity. Forexample, UNHQ has recently switched over rom ossil uelbased electricity to that rom renewable energy sources.

Energy consumption

One o the quickest areas or a return on investmentis improving the eciency o energy consumption.Examples o eciency improvements in energy usedduring 2011 include:

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning: Facilitymanagers are reducing energy used or HVAC withboth high and low-end technologies. For example,

on the high end, acility managers are takingadvantage o intelligent systems that require cooling

based on occupancy. In one case a project takingplace between 2011 and 2014 is expected to reduceemissions related to HVAC by 33%. On the otherhand, low end options like installation o air curtainsare also being implemented.

Computer and server efciency upgrades: In additionto operational improvements to realise energy eciencyin IT equipment with environmental labels are being

considered or procurement.

Lighting: Lighting continues to be a quick and easyarea or achieving emission reductions. UN entities

are well under way in their retrotting o light xtures,

installing LED or exit signs, and including motionsensors to activate lights in low-use areas such as

stairwells and closets and shut-o timers in high-useareas.

Green Buildings

Buildings are being constructed or retrotted in variousUN locations, based on Green Building concepts:

5. Emissions rom acilities and eorts to reduce them

Chart 5: Emissions rom acilities*

*including DPKO(643,789 tCO2eq)

(tonnes CO2equivalent)

Purchased Steam39,092 tCO

2eq

(6%)

Rerigerants77,707 tCO

2eq

(12%)

Purchased Electricity220,273 tCO

2eq

(34%)Stationary Combustion

306,717 tCO2eq

(48%)


20/38


In Nairobi an entirely new sustainable building was

inaugurated in April 2011 (see below).

The new Green One UN House, is a major ongoingretrot project to co-locate UN agencies in Hanoi.

The design incorporates environmental architecture,green technologies, use o environment riendlymaterials and products and improvement in indoorenvironment quality. The project will be a pilot or a

new green building rating tool being developed bythe nascent Vietnam Green Building Council.

The new oce acility (NOF) in Nairobi is a perect

example o practical eorts to move the UN towardssustainability. In 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonurged the sta at all UN headquarters and oces to join

together and help combat climate change by makingeorts to more eciently use energy and resourcesand eliminate wasteul practices. The developers o thisNairobi acility have met this challenge and surpassed it

by introducing eatures that help combat climate changewhilst also working with the ecological characteristics othe natural surroundings.

Energy efciency

The main aim was to create a building that would be

capable o being energy-neutral. This means that theNOF is designed to generate as much energy as the1,000 occupants and acility operations consume. This isachieved, in principle, by complementing demand side

energy eciency measures with supply side measures,such as the installation o solar panels in sucient number

to generate power or all the buildings energy needs.

Environmental architectural principles have been used,including eatures that allow natural light to spreadrom the ceiling to the ground, thereby minimizing the

need or articial lights. Lighting panels have motionsensors that switch o lights when the occupant leavesa room, thereby saving electricity. In addition, the

building is designed to allow or natural ventilation,

creating a comortable internal ambient temperatureand eliminating the need or expensive air-conditioning.

Technology also eatures prominently in the buildings

ability to reduce energy demand. An external state-o-

the-art IT server pack works without air-conditioningand maintains the temperature o the servers using airand cool water. (Continued next page...)

Nairobis New Ofce Facility (NOF): Building or the uture

In New York, the ve-year US$1.9 billion renovation

o the 60-year old Secretariat building includesdesign initiatives that touch upon multiple aspectso environmental sustainability. Energy eciency isat the heart o the project. A state-o-the-art building

envelope, with a high-perormance double glazedcurtain wall, new automated blinds and new insulation,along with improved HVAC and lighting systems, will

result in 50% less energy consumption than in the pastand produce 45% ewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Low fow lavatories and bathroom taps will help

realize a 40% savings in water consumption, removalo hazardous materials will improve air quality, and aconstruction waste management programme (95%recycled) and use o recycled materials illustrate the

attention paid to waste eciency. Sta will move backinto the building rom July 2012.


21/38


22/38


G

reening the Blue is the UNs award winning website

on in-house sustainability. It provides UN sta with

support and guidance on measures to progress theenvironmental, social and economic perormance o theorganization. The site also acts as a valuable tool in sharing

best practice with organizations external to the UN.

IMG Focal Points and Green Champions launched a

plethora o green initiatives in UN oces around the worldlast year, many o which were reported on Greening theBlue. There are currently over 15 Green Groups, 50 FocalPoints and 100 Green Champions representing every UN

entities, and their critical contribution to implementingthe UN Climate Neutral Strategy oten goes unrecognized.

In 2011 Greening the Blue introduced promotional materialsin all UN languages, adding to the existing resource base oposters, logos, computer wallpapers and fyers. Awarenesswas urther raised through the use o social media networks,

with over 2,000 ollowers on both Facebook and Twitter.The Greening the Blue Twitter account is ollowed by themajority o UN entities and is regularly mentioned by UNleaders such as Christina Figueres (@CFigueres) and Helen

Clarke (@HelenClarkUNDP).

Another important development in 2011 was the inclusion

o a webpage dedicated to sustainability on www.un.org.

The page is a public demonstration o the importance othis agenda to the UN and provides a blueprint or otherpublic sector organizations to replicate

Support or Greening the Blue continues to grow month onmonth. Plans or 2012 include the launch o a Pledge Page,

an interactive map (which plots each person as they signup to an activity) and urther campaigns in the run up toWorld Environment Day and Rio+20.

6. Sta engagement and Greening the Blue

To celebrate World Environment Day 2011, Greeningthe Blue joined orces with the UN Photographic

Society to run a photo competition. Participants were

invited to submit images refecting the theme Visions

o a sustainable UN

Greening the Blue received 377 photos rom over 40

countries.

The winning entry was submitted by Nicolas

Jarraud and colleagues rom the UNDP and the UN

Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.

Niclas Svenningsen, head o SUN, explained:

This picture reects in an eye- catching way elements

such as recycling, team work and sta engagement

Poster or the 2011 Visions o a Sustainable UN photo competition Winning photo rom the competition by UN sta in Cyprus

Banner showing all languages available on the Greening the Blue website

Visions o a susainable UN


23/38


I

nterest in sustainable procurement continued to grow

across the UN throughout 2011, though progress on

implementation was slower.

That said, there are some promising signals with sustainable

procurement being widely used within the Emissions

Reduction Strategies o UN entities. Furthermore, the

HLCM Procurement Network has included sustainable

procurement among its ve strategic priorities.

SUN has developed a support pack to assist UN agencies

in implementing sustainable procurement through a

collaborative eort with UNOPS, ILO (and its international

7. Procurement

When it comes to clean, renewable energy, the stars were

aligned or New Yorks UN Secretariat in 2011. Its majorelectricity contract was due or renewal. The US$1.9 billionrenovation o the Secretariat building (due or completion

in 2012) was set to reduce energy consumption by 50%and carbon emissions by 45%. 2012 was slated to be theInternational Year o Sustainable Energy or All. Electricityprices had dropped. And, as o May 2011, the Secretariat

had a ull-time advisor on sustainability.

The outcome was a happy one. As o May 2012, the vast

bulk o electricity powering the main campus in New Yorkwill not only cost a whole lot less but will also be based100% on renewable energy. This was done by purchasingRenewable Energy Certicates (RECs), a tradable certicate

issued when electricity is generated and delivered to thegrid rom a qualiying renewable energy source.

Purchasing renewable electricity proved to be only

marginally more expensive - US$95,000 or 1% o anestimated cost o US$9 million or projected consumptiono 68.5 million kWh. Had the Secretariat in New York

decided to purchase energy rom non-renewable sourcesand then bought carbon credits to oset the relatedemissions, the cost would have been ar greater, in theorder o US$360,000, making osetting our times more

expensive than purchasing RECs.

Julie MacKenzie, the Secretariats Senior Advisor on

Sustainability was over the moon about the outcome,its compatibility with the resource-ecient design othe renovated Secretariat building, and its support orthe Secretary-Generals International Year o Sustainable

Energy or All:

RECs are an investment inrenewable energy. Purchasing

RECs contributes to expandingthe market supply o

sustainable energy. This is an

excellent instance o the UN

practicing what it preaches

and leading by example.

training centre), and the HLCM Procurement Network. This

consists o a generic guide on sustainable procurement

(Buying or a Better World), product-specic guidelines on

eight product categories, and an on-line training module

to be launched in 2012.

The work in this eld is now shiting rom a ocus on

developing guidance materials to more stress on

assistance or implementation. The Working Group on

sustainable procurement, which sits under the HLCM

Procurement Network, is planning to use its collective

knowledge to assist UN entities that are interested in

launching sustainable tenders.

UNHQ during Earth Hour 2011 (photo by Bo Li)

Julie MacKenzie, Senior Advisor on

Sustainability, UN Secretariat

UN Secretariat in New York powered by renewable energy


24/38


An exerpt om an interview with Henrieta Martonakova,

UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre, Slovakia

The Bratislava Regional Centre Green Oce Team was

set up in 2004. Since then we have worked to reduce

our greenhouse gas emissions and environmental

impact, ully supported by the management and with

active involvement o the sta.

We started with the low-hanging ruits, involving no-

cost or low-cost measures such as recycling paper, glass

and plastics, encouraging switching o o computers

and lights, purchasing bio-products, discouraging use

o plastic bottles and shopping bags, etc. Later we went

or technical solutions such as installing window with

better insulation, energy saving bulbs, water-saving

taps, solar panels, etc.

We know, however, that a considerable amount o

emissions will remain, primarily through essential air

travel needed to deliver the centres services to the 25

countries and territories in the region. We decided to

oset these remaining emissions, through purchasing

carbon osets rom projects ullling three criteria:

1. UNFCCCs Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

or Joint Implementation projects;

2. Providing additional sustainable development

benets, as can be proven through a certication

like the Gold Standard; and

3. Implemented in Europe and the CIS region. Hence,

we gave priority to a Gold CER project. We could not

source such a project in Europe or the CIS region so

selected the Ningxia Yinyi Wind Farm project (see

Osetting... box above).

A

t the heart o the UNs Climate Neutral Strategy

is the eort to reduce emissions. Unavoidable

emissions, however, need to be oset. UN specic

guidance has been developed on osetting emissions,

including that rom events and meetings.

In September 2011, the EMG approved the recommended

approach or voluntary osetting o GHG emissions by

EMG members titled Carbon Credits - Recommendations

or selection and procurement. Several UN entities are

now procuring high quality carbon osets, using this

guidance, and many are taking interest in osetting

emissions rom UN events and making them climate

neutral.

8. Osets

UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre

Henrieta Martonakova,

Programme Manager othe Regional Poverty and

Environment Initiative,UNDP Bratislava

The UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre has been climateneutral since December 2011. To oset their 2010

emissions, they purchased 650 tons o Gold StandardCertied Emission Reductions (CERs) rom the NingxiaYinyi Wind Farm project. This was unded in ull romenergy savings and income rom the Centres rootopsolar panels that sells excess power to the grid.

Ningxia, a remote part in Northern China, is home tothe rst wind-arm in the area using locally produced

generators comprised o 33 wind turbines each with acapacity o 1,500 kilowatts. By developing the electricityinrastructure, this project contributes to sustainabledevelopment in the area, including creation o

permanent jobs.

Osetting at the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre

The Bratislava Regional Centre green team

behind their solar panels


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FAO developed a drat

Sustainability Management

report, based on its ongoingeorts to develop an ISO

14001 based Environment

Management System and its

work with Emission Reduction

Strategies. This helped us to

present a clearer picture to

stakeholders demonstrating

the overall value o the various

sustainability initiatives.

T

he work on Sustainability Management Systems

(SMS) started with a request rom the Senior Ocials

o the EMG in September 2010. As a response,

the Strategic Plan or Sustainability Management was

developed and approved in September 2011.

The Strategic Plan highlights the importance o moving

away rom current ad-hoc approaches, towards an

integrated, approach based on a clear mandate rom

governing bodies. The plan requires UN agencies to

undertake two actions:

Implement agency ocussed Sustainability

Management Systems ollowing a common approach

or all UN entities; and,

Identiy possible options or a Common UN

Sustainability Oce to coordinate essential joint

activities, such as communication, reporting, training,

provision o technical support, etc.

The Strategic Plan complements the UN Climate Neutral

Strategy by including other environmental impacts

rom UN operations. Under an SMS, the ollowing issues

need to be monitored as a minimum requirement, using

appropriate indicators:

Greenhouse gas emissions

Water management

Waste management

Awareness-raising and/or training o sta members on

environmental sustainability issues.

The work related to sustainability management will not be

implemented overnight but will ollow a phased approach.

Implementation will also take into consideration two

developments underway in the UN system: a new

Enterprise Resource Planning system (which will

consolidate administrative applications) and the EMG

led consultations on advancing the ramework or

environmental and social sustainability in the UN system.

All three initiatives could play a key role in improving the

eciency and eectiveness o the UN.

9. Sustainability Management Systems

Mitchell Hall, FAO


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Each UN entity is fnding its own approach to sustainability. We interviewed two Focal Points to fnd out how theyre doing it.

An interview with Sophie Ravier at the UNDepartment o Field Support (DFS)

What is DFS doing to become more sustainable?

The Depart ment o Field Support (DFS), which

supports ield missions led by the Departments o

Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and Political Aairs

(DPA), is in charge o developing and coordinating

environmental initiatives to reduce the ield missions

ootprints in host countries. Concrete examples are

the possibility or the missions to procure photovoltaic

systems, and the development o the Global Field

Support Strategy which includes the design o water,wastewater, waste and energy (including renewables)

management modules.

We are also studying the socio-economic impact o

peacekeeping missions and their contributions to

local economies, in order to minimize any possible

unintended negative impacts.

What have been your biggest achievements so ar?

Certainly the adoption o an Environmental Policy or

UN ield missions stands out. This policy gives a clearramework and objectives or what UN ield missions

should do. It provides guidance on issues such as

energy, water, waste (including hazardous waste), wild

animals and plants, as well as natural and historicalheritage.

What have been your biggest challenges so ar?

Our biggest challenge is to implement the

Environmental Policy across all missions. Environmental

management is a new issue within peacekeeping,

so we have very ew experts in this ield. Moreover,

although the diversity o our sta is positive in many

ways, it also creates a challenge in terms o having the

same knowledge and practices o good environmental

management expected by UN personnel, whether

military, police or civilian.

Another challenge, I think, is convincing all colleagues

that good environmental management is not

something we do just to

look good, but is key to

operational eiciency, thus

helping to achieve the

mission mandate.

Why does sustainability matter to DFS?A peacekeeping mission is usually deployed in the

atermath o a conlict, in countries that need to

rebuild almost everything. It is thereore important

that the mission leads by example, including on

environmental issues. The objective being to have a

lasting and positive impact once it leaves.

What are your hopes / plans or the uture?

We are developing training materials in coordination

with UNEP and UNITAR. We hope to make training

mandatory or all. We are also working on getting

more environmental experts on board. We know that

our main emission sources come rom air travel, power

generation and road transport, so we are working to

reduce our emissions in those areas.

10. Agency ocus

The inside story - UN Department o Field Support

Sophie RavierEnvironmental Ofcer

UN DFS


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An interview with Andrew Hudson at the United

Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Why does sustainability matter to your organization?

UNDP is the UNs global development network,advocating change and connecting countries to

knowledge, experience and resources and coordinating

eorts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs). More than a core environmental issue, climate

change is seriously undermining eorts to achieve the

MDGs. Its adverse impacts are already in evidence and

are likely to disproportionately aect the developing

countries where UNDP operates, particularly Least

Developed Countries.

As UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said, the brunt

o the impact would be elt by poor and vulnerable peoplein developing countries. With little capacity to cope,

many more would become malnourished and struggle

to fnd water, and even be displaced. This highlights just

how intertwined the tasks o addressing climate change,

reducing global poverty, and reaching the Millennium

Development Goals are.

What is UNDP doing to become more sustainable?

UNDP, as a leading organization in the ght against

climate change, is committed to comprehensively

compiling its annual greenhouse gas inventory andto taking action towards reducing and, ultimately,

osetting its greenhouse gas emissions towards a

target o institutional climate neutrality.

Over 60 UNDP oces, including headquarters, are

already monitoring and reporting annual greenhouse

gas emissions associated with our global operations.

Many o these oces are taking small or big steps

towards reducing and osetting their carbon

emissions and other environmental ootprints. UNDP

is also careully reviewing operational guidelines to

urther incorporate environmental considerations

and to urther build in-house capacity and support orgreening UNDP across the board.

What have been your biggest achievements so ar?

Clearly the biggest achievement rom our work over

the past ve years is the number o engaged and

enthusiastic sta members committed to greening

UNDP. Today, more than 300 UNDP sta throughout the

world, working at all levels o the organization in both

operations and programming are working to measure,

reduce and oset UNDPs environmental ootprint.

UNDP now has two entirely climate neutral oces:in addition to the Bratislava Regional Center which

announced climate neutrality on 20 December 2011,

UNDP headquarters will reduce its greenhouse gas

emissions signicantly over the next ew years and,

through complementary osetting o remaining

emissions with Gold Standard Certied Emission

Reductions, will achieve climate neutrality as early as

2012. These two oces alone

represent 17% o UNDPs

emissions, so represent a

signicant step in moving the

whole organization towards

climate neutrality.

What have been your biggest challenges so ar?

UNDP operates in 177 countries and hence colleagues

work under greatly varying geographic, climatic,

inrastructural and political circumstances. We have

oces without access to electricity grids, other ocesare in island- or mountain-based regions requiring air

travel or short distances, and other oces operate

under very tight security standards or even rom

neighbouring countries. Thereore, there is no one-size-

ts-all greening solution or UNDP oces. An oce-by-

oce analysis is required to identiy appropriate and

eective greening opportunities or each UNDP oce.

What are your plans or the uture?

UNDP recently launched a green pilot in which 10-

15 UNDP additional oces will develop Greening

Strategies or their oces. Participating oces vary in

size, region, composition o environmental ootprint

and thematic ocus and are expected to become

regional showcases or making UNDP oces and

operations more sustainable. Experience gained in

these pilot oces and the ideas and eedback they

provide will inorm the development and design o

a comprehensive UNDP Environmental Management

System aimed at scaling up greening across UNDP

operations globally. We intend to develop and

implement such a system within the next two years

in order to comprehensively monitor, manage andminimize the environmental impact o global UNDP

operations. UNDP will periodically report back to

Greening the Blue as it continues to make progress

towards institutional climate neutrality and broader

greening.Andrew Hudson

Head, Water & Oceans GovernanceProgramme and Green Team Leader

United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP)

The inside story - UNDP


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T

here remain many challenges in greening theUN, but progress is being made in various ronts.

The challenges outlined here are the ones most

requently mentioned in by UN entities.

Mandate

Last years approval by EMG o a proposal or each

UN entity to implement a Sustainability ManagementSystem is a signicant step orward and will ensure that

a consistent and cost-eective approach to sustainabilityis adopted throughout the UN. Yet the decisions made

in September 2011 by the senior ocials o the EMGindicate that the CEB should be inormed o these eortsand might at some point make a decision in this regard.

The orthcoming Rio+20-United Nations Conerence onSustainable Development could also give a new impetus

to the UN internal sustainability. Meanwhile, the ocuso EMG and SUN work next year will be on making the

implementation o internal sustainability managementpractical and accessible to all agencies within theirexisting resources.

Leadership

In any organisation, large or small, the integration o

sustainability into daily work practices is made easier i itcomes rom the top. In 2011, the SUN team interviewed

twenty heads o UN agencies to seek their views on the

importance o uture-proong their organizations. These

interviews orm the basis o a report to be launched in

the rst hal o 2012, which will provide a vision o what asustainable UN might look like. The value o this work has

been in the process o ocusing the attention o UN leaders

on issues related to internal sustainability. It will be also

very useul in preparing or a common UN sustainability

oce (see next chapter).

Budgeting

The current budgeting structures hinder investment in

sustainability initiatives, which oten require more than

a biennium in order to see a return on investment. The

restrictions on carrying orward unspent balances romone budgetary cycle to the next, as well as those on moving

unds between capital budgets and operating budgets,

limit opportunities or innovation, such as energy saving

solutions, and can also prevent nancial savings.

Todays tough economic climate is making it increasingly

dicult to secure investment or green initiatives. With

budgets under mounting strain, it is not surprising that

UN managers and sta are reluctant to embark upon

innovative and less amiliar practices that require upront

investments, even when they could bring short to medium

terms savings. Well-documented case studies indicatingwhere savings could be achieved through sustainabilityinvestments (energy saving, resources eciencies, etc.)

speak more eloquently than lengthy reports. The webportal Greening the Blue will continue to share suchexamples and make internal sustainability more amiliarto UN decision makers.

Finding the right balance

There is also the ongoing challenge o keepingmessages resh and relevant. In an age when channels ocommunication are expanding exponentially, it is easy to

risk inormation overload. In particular there is a dangero sta becoming immune to terms such as sustainability.We need to ensure agencies are empowered to engage

their audiences with creative and meaningul messageson sustainability. These should not be the ashion othe moment but be ounded in daily work practices.SUN is currently working on a sustainability tutorial that

will be published in 2012 to inorm sta members aboutsustainability and how to put it in practice in their day-to-day oce lie.

11. Challenges


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D

espite the challenges just outlined, the UNsystem must position itsel as a leader in thepursuit o sustainability. The work undertaken

by UN sta can provide inspiration and set a precedentor environmental management and resource savingactivities, not only or member states but also ororganizations in both the public and private sector

across the world.

A rst step on this path is to ensure that sustainable

development principles are integrated into every aspecto UN policy and day-to-day work practices. The UN isundertaking a special eort to act as One on many ronts.

The joint work so ar undertaken on greenhouse gas

emissions reduction and environmental sustainability is

an excellent example o this.

In September 2011, the senior ocials meeting o theEnvironment Management Group, made two importantdecisions or the UN system3:

1. First, they approved a Framework or EnhancingEnvironmental and Social sustainability in the UN

system. This ramework provides a holistic approach

or enhancing sustainability o the UNs wor

moving towards a climate neutral un: the un systems footprint and efforts to reduce it (2011...

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