Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
www.cbd.int
HQ: Montreal, Canada
Number of staff: 95
Number of locations: 2
Key Figures*
Total emissions: 3,426 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Emissions per staff member: 36.1 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Emissions from air travel: 1,555 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Air travel as a proportion of total emissions: 45%
Air travel per staff member: 16.4 tonnes CO2
Building-related emissions: 707 kg CO2 equivalent per square metre
* 2008 data amended for available locations
“Every small step counts and helps to build towards larger initiatives. It is our role, and moral responsibility as the SCBD, to forge new ground and set new standards.”
Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity
Executive Secretary’s message
“The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), as the lead international instrument in the field of biodiversity, fully supports the commitments of the Secretary- General made on 05 June 2007 to reduce carbon emissions and to work towards a more efficient use of energy and resources.
"As the leading international instrument for the conservation and protection of biodiversity, we feel it is our job not only to green our practices but also to ensure that our practices do not directly harm the very thing we are trying to protect: biodiversity.
"As we all know, biodiversity is at the root of all life and every activity. Thus, actually achieving conservation of biodiversity requires a multi-layered web of intersecting initiatives involving all stakeholders. Every small step counts and helps to build towards larger initiatives. It is our role, and moral responsibility as the SCBD, to forge new ground and set new standards.”
Ahmed Djoghlaf
Mission
At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for "sustainable development" – meeting our needs while ensuring we leave a healthy and viable world for future generations. One of the key agreements adopted at Rio was the Convention on Biological Diversity. It establishes three main goals: conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.
Experience so far
A difficulty that SCBD faces in reporting the energy consumption of the office is that the secretariat is located in a commercial building which sells its energy to a hotel. The energy consumption is shared between the building and the hotel and is not metered separately, but counted as one unit. A hotel has different electricity consumption patterns than an office building, which makes it difficult to identify CBD's electricity share.
Related efforts
A highlight of the offsetting of the SCBD activities is the Riparian Restoration Programme. The biodiversity friendly way to offset carbon emissions is part of a larger award-wining project led by the Parana State government. The Riparian Forest Program is partner of UNEP’s “Billion Tree Campaign”. By the end of 2008, 100 million trees have been planted along conservation corridors that connect parks. By using endemic and locally occurring trees, in areas adjacent to natural gene banks, reforestation leads to the restoration of ecosystems associated with the original Atlantic Rain Forest, and protect river borders from erosion. The area is a buffer zone for the protected areas around Foz de Iguacu National Park, and is part of one of the most biodiverse – and threatened – ecosystems in Brazil. All plantations are done in legal reserves on rural properties and farms, whose owners must sign legally binding commitments to permanent (or at least 30 years per contract, automatically renewed – this is the time span used to calculate offsets) protection of the areas. The site planted for the SCBD is on State-owned land. It is envisaged that the area will be converted into a protected area – the SCBD Park.
Offsetting
Since 2006, the SCBD has offset the carbon emissions of:
1. Official staff travel as well as travel of funded delegates and travel of interpreters to SCBD meetings.
2. Paper consumption at meetings, in the SCBD office in Montreal and used in official publications.
3. Hydro-electrical usage of the SCBD office in Montreal.
4. Staff commute to work at Montreal office.
Next Steps
The Secretariat is looking at various options for emission offsets beyond 2010, and until 2010, has made an arrangement for all emissions of the Secretariat with the Government of Parana through a riparian reforestation project in the Atlantic Rainforest ecozone (Riparian Restoration Programme).
