Inauguration potager urbain de l'UNESCO

UNESCO's Environmental Commitment and Policy

"I am strongly committed to making environmental considerations central to all of UNESCO’s operations, facilities and activities, drawing on our expertise from many successful UNESCO programmes in the area of environmental sustainability and climate action. We need to bring about sustainability from within." Audrey Azoulay - UNESCO Director-General

UNESCO's environmental sustainability management

UNESCO is strongly committed to environmental protection and climate action. A broad range of UNESCO programmes specifically support Member States to implement the Paris Agreement and reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through education, the sciences, culture and communication and information.

UNESCO also puts strong emphasis on making its own facilities, operations and programme activities environmentally friendly and on integrating environmental considerations into policies and guidelines, in line with the UN System Strategy for Sustainability Management (2020-2030). This is why UNESCO is setting up an Environmental Management System (EMS) in line with the ISO 14001 standard, addressing the organization’s long-term environmental performance.

Key objectives of UNESCO’s Environmental Sustainability and Management Policy:

  • Fully account for the externalities imposed by UNESCO’s own operations and facilities.
  • Minimize any possible negative impact on the environment through targeted measures and continuous improvement, and contribute positively to protecting the environment and communities in which the Organization operates.
  • Achieve climate neutrality by systematically measuring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and offsetting all emissions that cannot be reduced.

Key Figures

-8%
of UNESCO total carbon emissions

compared to 2020

1.83
tonnes of CO2 per UNESCO staff member

compared to the UN average of 4 tonnes

-14%
of global per capita water use

compared to 2020

-35%
of electricity use at Headquarters

since 2010

-53%
less waste produced

at Headquarters as compared to 2019

100%
of remaining carbon emissions offset

"climate neutral" since 2019

More information

UNESCO's Environmental Footprint
UNESCO and Climate Change
UNESCO's Urban Garden
UNESCO on UN Greening the Blue

Resources

UNESCO Environmental Sustainability Report 2022
UNESCO
December 2022

This report gives a full assessment of UNESCO's environmental footprint in 2021 - including greenhouse gas emissions from facility use, travel and transport as well as water and waste management, paper use and procurement - and showcases efforts by the organization's Offices worldwide to improve environmental performance.

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UNESCO’s Environmental Sustainability and Management Policy
UNESCO
May 2021

This Policy provides the framework and overarching principles to guide the mainstreaming of environmental sustainability considerations into UNESCO’s activities worldwide and is a strong commitment from senior management.

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Staff Guide for a Green UNESCO
UNESCO
January 2021

In this guide, UNESCO's staff as well as other concerned individuals find concrete tips on how to reduce their environmental footprint in their daily work and act​ively contribute to greening UNESCO. The guide contains good practices from and specific recommendations for both Headquarters and Field Offices.

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Strategy for Sustainability Management in the UN System 2020-2030
United Nations
May 2019

Phase I of this Strategy sets common objectives, indicators and targets for all UN System organizations regarding Environmental Sustainability in the area of Management.

Strategy

Contact information

Any person or entity that is aware of or concerned by possible harm to the environment caused by UNESCO’s facilities, operations, programmes or projects, may contact environment(at)unesco.org