Transcript the PPT presentation

Foreword
“The United Nations system is strongly
committed to leading by example and
ensuring that our operations are
continuously monitored and improved not just in terms of what we deliver, but
also how we deliver. We are also looking
to this year’s UN Conference on
Sustainable Development -- Rio+20 -- to
generate ideas that will energize
sustainability efforts worldwide.”
Preface
• All UN entities are working together under the
banner of ‘sustainability’
• In 2010, UN’s emissions were 1.8 million tonnes
of CO2 equivalent and 8.2 tonnes of CO2
equivalent per capita.
• In 2012, the year of Rio+20, UNEP leads the UN
in continuing to work towards neutrality.
• Working towards climate neutrality binds all
entities together in a global community.
The UN system
1. Climate neutrality and sustainability
within the UN system
• In 2007 the UN Secretary-General announced that the UN would be moving
towards climate neutrality and the UN Climate Neutral Strategy was
approved by the UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination
• The 2007 UN Climate Neutral Strategy commits heads of UN entities to:
– Estimate their greenhouse gas emissions,
– Undertake efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the greatest extent possible,
and
– Analyze the cost implications and explore budgetary modalities of purchasing carbon
offsets.
• The Issue Management Group (IMG) on Environmental Sustainability
Management implements the strategy and reports to the UN Environment
Management Group (EMG) and is supported by UNEP’s Sustainable United
Nations (SUN) facility.
• This report details the UN system’s footprint in
2010 and efforts made in 2011 to reduce it.
2. UN greenhouse gas emissions for 2010
• The UN greenhouse gas inventory follows the principles of the
Greenhouse Gas Protocol developed by the World Resources Institute and
the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
• The UN measures the six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol
and commonly reports them as CO2 equivalent.
• The UN measures emissions from facility operations and travel that can
be influenced by management level decisions.
• The inventory covers 54 UN entities.
2010 emissions from UN entities
Total emissions by source
Total emissions by source excluding DKPO
2010 emissions per capita
Emissions Reduction Strategies: an overview
• Emission Reduction Strategies detail each UN entity’s commitments and
plan for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
• 34 of 54 (63%) participating entities have completed draft emission
reduction strategies.
• The following trends have been observed in strategies submitted in 2011:
– Organization – implementing green efforts is increasingly being recognised as an official
responsibility.
– Targets – most organizations are aiming for annual overall reductions of 2-5%.
– Financing – small upfront investment can result in long-term savings.
– Travel – is a major source of emissions and a key focus for most agencies.
– Facilities – many organizations are upgrading older equipment to increase energy
efficiency and reduce running costs.
– Sustainable procurement – most strategies include a plan
to improve procurement policies.
Examples from Emissions Reductions
Strategies received in 2011
Emissions from travel and efforts to
reduce them
• Emissions from travel (particularly air
travel) are the largest source of
emissions (64%).
• Finding alternatives to travel not only
present opportunities to reduce
emissions but also operational
expenses.
• The following tools were launched in
2011:
– Vehicle procurement guidelines
– ICAO Green Meetings calculator
– Blue and REDD Carbon mobile phone
app.
2010 travel related emissions per capita
Emissions from facilities and efforts to
reduce them
• Emissions from facilities are the
UN’s largest source of emissions
after travel.
• Actions taken so far include;
retrofits and upgrades to existing
structures and up-to-date design
and technology for new
construction.
Emissions from facilities and efforts to
reduce them cont.
• The following features are common to many of the strategies submitted in
2011:
– Audits and management plans - Focal Points are fine-tuning their Terms of Reference so
audits reflect organization specific needs.
– Certification - green building certification such as Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design for Existing Buildings (LEED EB) and LOTUS are providing
structured frameworks and guidance for making improvements.
– Energy sourcing - some agencies are switching from fossil fuels to low carbon
alternatives.
– Energy consumption - making energy consumption more efficient is a key way to
achieve a quick return on investment. High and low-end technologies can be used to
reduce energy consumption in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. Retrofitting light fixtures and installing motion activated light sensors are among initiatives to
reduce emissions from lighting. Larger scale initiatives are happening at a regional level
where large-scale retro-fits and new builds are being carried out.
Staff engagement and Greening the Blue
• www.greeningtheblue.org provides UN
staff with guidance on how to progress
the environmental, social and
economic performance of the
organization.
• There are over 15 Green Groups, 50
Focal Points and 100 Green Champions
from all agencies.
• The website hosts a range of multilingual promotional materials and is
supported by a social media presence.
• UN.org has now set up it’s own
sustainability page.
Procurement
• Sustainable procurement practices are widely used in Emission Reduction
Strategies.
• HLCM Procurement Network has included sustainable procurement
among its five strategic priorities and is promoting it through its work
plan.
• SUN has developed a support pack including a generic guide on
sustainable procurement, product –specific guidelines on eight product
categories and an on-line training module is being launched in 2012.
• Going forward, assistance will be given to agencies interested in launching
sustainable tenders.
Offsets
• Some UN emissions are unavoidable and need to be offset.
• UN specific guidance has been developed on offsetting emissions – Carbon
Credits – Recommendations for selection and procurement.
• Several entities are now purchasing offsets and many are taking an
interest in using offsets to make their UN events carbon neutral.
Sustainability Management Systems
• In September 2011 the Strategic Plan for Sustainability Management was
approved.
• The plan highlights the need for an integrated approach based on a clear
mandate from governing bodies.
• The plan requires UN agencies to undertake two actions:
– Implement agency focused Sustainability Management Systems following a common
approach for all agencies.
– Design a Common UN Sustainability Office to coordinate essential joint activities.
• The Strategic Plan goes further than the UN Climate Neutral Strategy not
just monitoring Greenhouse Gas emissions but also fresh water use and
waste generation
• This initiative will be adopted alongside two others: Enterprise Resource
Planning system and the EMG led consultations on advancing the
framework for environmental and social
sustainability in the UN system.
Challenges
•
There are many challenges in greening the UN:
– Mandate - the forthcoming Rio+20 United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development could give a new impetus to internal
sustainability at the UN.
– Leadership - interviews with the heads of 20 UN agencies on the
importance of future-proofing their organizations will provide a vision of
what a sustainable UN might look like.
– Budgeting - current structures hinder sustainability initiatives which often
produce longer-term returns on investment. Restrictions on carrying
budgets forward and moving budgets between capital and operational
limit opportunities for innovation.
– Finding the right balance – there is a danger of staff becoming immune to
terms such as ‘sustainability’.
Next steps
• Move the UN to a position of leadership in the pursuit of sustainability
• Ensure sustainable development principles are integrated into every
aspect of UN policy and day-to-day work practices
• Design a system for environmental sustainability management
• Provide an range of options for the common sustainability office
Case studies
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Ombudsman’s office reaches out using remote conferencing.
Nairobi’s New Office Facility: Building for the future
UN Secretariat in New York powered by renewable energy
Offsetting at the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre
The inside story: UN Department of Field Support
The inside story: UNDP
WFP’s Ombudsman’s Office reaches out
using remote conferencing
Video conferencing enabled the WFP Ombudsman to raise awareness of
conflict and dispute resolution amongst 600 staff in
35 countries in just over two months.
UN Office in Nairobi’s new office facility:
Building for the future
The new UN office facility in Nairobi was created to work with the
ecological characteristics of the natural surroundings
and is capable of being energy-neutral.
UN Secretariat in New York
powered by renewable energy
New York’s UN Secretariat has been renovated to reduce its energy consumption by
50% and carbon emissions by 45%. By purchasing
Renewable Energy Certificates the campus can operate
on 100% renewable energy.
Offsetting at the UNDP regional office in
Bratislava
Energy savings and income from the rooftops solar panels at the UNDP Bratislava
Regional Centre paid for 650 tons of Gold Standard
Certificated Emission Reductions to offset 2010 emissions.
The inside story: UN Department of Field Support
DFS is developing and coordinating environmental initiatives to
reduce the field missions’ footprints in host
countries.
The inside story: UNDP
Over 60 UNDP offices are monitoring and reporting annual greenhouse gas
emissions from their global operations and are working
to produce a UNDP Environmental Management System.