United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
www.unfpa.org
HQ: New York, USA
Number of staff: 3,303
Number of locations: 120
Key figures
Total emissions: 21,756 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Emissions per staff member: 6.6 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Emissions from air travel: 13,503 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Air travel as a proportion of total emissions: 62%
Air travel per staff member: 4.1 tonnes CO2
Building-related emissions: 38 kg CO2 equivalent per square metre
“In the face of new environmental challenges, the United Nations must not only promote sustainable development, it must lead by example. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is committed to environmental protection and the implementation of the UN Climate Neutral Strategy."
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Executive Director's Message
"In the face of new environmental challenges, the United Nations must not only promote sustainable development, it must lead by example. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is committed to environmental protection and the implementation of the UN Climate Neutral Strategy. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fostering an organizational culture based on the conscious use of resources is essential in protecting the health and well-being of current and future generations."
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
Mission
The United Nations Population Fund is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
Experience so far
The ultimate goal of UNFPA Going Green – the Initiative for a Climate Neutral UNFPA – is to make UNFPA a “zero impact” organization by eliminating the negative environmental effects stemming from daily operations and facilities. UNFPA has initiated the process by developing the UNFPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator online tool, which is based on the UN Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator. A thorough analysis of the organization’s environmental performance was prepared to determine the best opportunities for reducing environmental impact. The result of this analysis is the UNFPA Emissions Reduction Plan: 2010-2013.
Reduction efforts
In support of UNFPA Going Green, the following measures have so far been implemented:
- Official endorsement of the UNFPA Emission Reduction Plan: 2010-2013 - UNFPA's blueprint towards climate neutrality and sustainable management practices.
- Development of the web-based UNFPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator, which enables UNFPA to measure GHG emissions for each individual field office as well as for the entire Organization. Successful reporting of UNFPA's greenhouse gas emissions inventories for 2008, 2009 and 2010.
- Revision of numerous internal policies to support sustainable management, including for travel, Headquarters management, asset management, and others.
- Development of the UNFPA Green Learning Afternoon – an informal training session on environmentally friendly office behaviour, which was conducted with UNFPA staff all over the world.
- Design of an internal website for the purpose of promoting the Going Green Initiative.
- Creation of the 2009 UNFPA Green Office Guide- an informal guide to reducing emissions and waste products and at the same time preserving finite resources such as water at the office.
- Greening of the UNFPA Headquarters move involving 450 staff, including diverting more than 80% of excess office supplies, electronics, and other work-related and personal items from the landfill.
- Designation of “Green Focal Points” at every UNFPA field office to serve as official contact persons on all environmental issues.
- Creation of the Green Team – an informal staff alliance promoting environmental issues at the Organization.
- Collaboration with other UN agencies currently working on greening to share experiences and resources.
Offsetting
UNFPA is committed to emission reduction and operating in a way that has a minimal or zero impact on the environment. As a result, the Organisation is focused on investing into reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the extent possible and moving towards sustainable management practices. Further analysis will determine if offsets are a viable option for alleviating the environmental impact of UNFPA facilities and operations in the future.
Next steps
In 2012, UNFPA will focus on the implementation of the UNFPA Emission Reduction Plan: 2010-2013, with a specific focus on General implementation of “low-hanging fruit” measures, such as switching to more efficient lighting and water fixtures, upgrading of ICT and telecommunication technology, procurement of more efficient vehicles and paper reduction measures.
