Buildings

Buildings are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UN. Emissions are typically caused by electricity and fuel use for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, and powering of office equipment, and refrigerants used to cool the buildings.

The UN is working hard to ensure that our buildings have a reduced environmental impact, are pleasant to work in and are efficiently run.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 24 organizations of the UN system have already carried out assessments and improvements on at least some of their facilities. This includes hardware investments (improving insulation of the building envelope, replacing boilers, switching to compact fluorescent lights, installing double-glazing) and modified building control (restricting operational hours for indoor heating-cooling systems, connecting ventilation and lighting to motion sensors, regulating heating-cooling through sensors in each part of the building).

The Secretary-General’s “Cool UN” initiative also contributes to this effort. By reducing heating and cooling in relation to outdoor temperatures, supported by a relaxed dress code during the hot season, the UN Secretariat in New York reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 3,100 tonnes in 2008.

Investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings typically have multiple benefits. Even though up-front investments are required for this type of intervention, the annual savings through reduced energy consumption recoup the outlay well within the buildings’ life cycle.

With buildings at more than 530 UN duty stations around the world, and with many more smaller offices, not to mention the pre-fabricated buildings used in peacekeeping operations, the building stock leased or owned by the UN represents a significant emissions reduction potential. Buildings, together with travel, will most likely constitute the main focus for UN emissions reduction efforts over the next few years.

In 2009 the Inter-Agency Facility Management Network (INFM) established a working group to develop recommendations on the minimum efficiency performance of facilities owned or leased by the UN. Two guidelines on emissions reduction from existing buildings were released in 2009, and a third guideline on procurement of sustainable buildings is being prepared for release in 2010.

Increased use of renewable energy

In 2009 fifteen organizations reported that they had increased the share of renewable energy sources, or were planning to do so. In a few cases on-site renewable energy production through solar heaters (for hot water) or photovoltaic cells (for electricity production) were supplementing other energy sources. With the support from the German government, all UN organizations in Bonn have been using renewable electricity since January 2007.

Green offices and energy efficient office equipment

In addition to the design of the building itself, the set-up and operation of offices within the building can impact the climate footprint too. The accumulation of many small measures can have a large effect. This refers to issues such as using the energy-saving features of office equipment, reducing the amount of paper printed and minimizing the number of individual printers/copiers/ scanners, unplugging or turning off computers completely after working hours, maximizing the penetration of natural light into offices to reduce the need for artificial lighting (using transparent inner walls and bright colors on walls and ceilings). Thirty-two UN organizations report having carried out such measures at their headquarters.

Other organizations have issued Green Office Guides to help field offices implement immediate cost-effective actions toward greener day-to-day operations, including standard double-sided printing, saving and recycling of paper and toner, turning off lights and computers when not in use, and maximizing the use of natural lighting. Such measures are often very cost-effective. But staff members need to understand and support the reason for change, as their personal behavior often has a substantial impact on performance. This is one of the reasons why staff training and communication are important parts of emissions-reduction efforts at the UN.

Resources

You can find a full list of building resources and publications here.

Case studies

Several new buildings or renovation projects undertaken in the past two years have paid attention to energy efficiency and associated greenhouse gas emissions reductions. These include:

• The renovation of the UN Secretariat in New York (the Capital Master Plan)
• The new UNON/UNEP office building in Nairobi
• The Green One UN House in Hanoi

You can see a full list of UN building-related case studies here.

Next steps

Using both new technologies and old traditions, architects and developers around the world are finding better, more natural ways to build, light, heat and cool our buildings.