- UNEP's Gigiri Eco-building
A walk around the new United Nations Environment Programme “Green building” is breathtaking. The four-block complex located on the vast 140-acre piece of land in Gigiri has everything and anything you would call green.From the glorious thematic landscaping to the natural lighting, the building is a true picture of what countries should embrace as they move towards a green economy. >>More
- Greening the International Environment House
The International Environment House (IEH) in Geneva, following a USD 3.1 million retrofit, has gained the coveted MINERGIE certificate for building materials and energy efficiency excellence. In turn, energy consumption has been reduced by 58% and water savings amount to almost 25%.
- UNEP RONA: Moving Office and Winning LEED Gold Certification
UNEP RONA has been given a gold rating for building sustainability – the second highest rating awarded by the UN Green Building Council. The award was given for the standards UNEP RONA set for its new office and the eco-friendly building practices employed to implement them.
- Distance Working
The Sustainable United Nations (SUN) unit conducted a feasibility study for the UNEP/DTIE office in Paris, to determine the benefits of distance working. It found that there is significant opportunity for savings in operational costs and significant cuts in GHG emissions.
- Communicating Sustainability
The UNEP Climate Neutral Strategy is supplemented by communications efforts to make UNEP staff proud of being part of an organization that practices what it preaches.
The communications effort recognizes that staff engagement and involvement is vital for the long-term improvement of UNEP’s environmental performance. Thus, green notice boards have been put up, turn off campaigns run, double-sided printing encouraged and much more.
UNEP Climate Neutral Fund
One of the first UN organizations to get to grips with greenhouse gas emissions accounting, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has pioneered a procedure for offsetting the emissions it can't avoid. Having committed itself to become climate neutral by 1 January 2008, by reducing its emissions reductions where possible and making offset payments for the rest, the organization needed a way of estimating, managing and budgeting for these offsets. The solution it came up with, creating a special UNEP Climate Neutral Fund, was also intended as a model that other UN organizations could follow.
To read more Greening efforts within the UN, click here.
