United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
www.unwto.org
HQ: Madrid, Spain
Number of staff: 148
Number of locations: 1
Key figures
Total emissions: 693 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Emissions per staff member: 4.7 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Emissions from air travel: 411 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Air travel as a proportion of total emissions: 59%
Air travel per staff member: 2.8 tonnes CO2
Building-related emissions: 43.9 kg CO2 equivalent per square metre
Secretary-General's Message
“UNWTO has recognized the high dependence of tourism activities on climate conditions, and the high vulnerability of many destinations to climate-change impacts. Transport, which is at the heart of travel and tourism is an evident challenge – not only high-profile air transport with its direct interrelationship to greenhouse gases, but also road transport and cruises, the latter being one of the fastest growing areas of the sector.
"Our commitment towards reducing the carbon footprint in our own activities is total until we reach the objective of climate-neutrality. At the same time, we must carefully take into account the message we would like to send to our members, represented by their national tourism administrations, and especially those of the poor countries that are economically dependent on tourist arrivals from the main outbound countries."
Taleb Rifai
Mission
The World Tourism Organization is an intergovernmental body, fully integrated into the United Nations system as one of its specialized agencies, with a central and decisive role in tourism and travel issues.
UNWTO has a twofold mission:
- to provide leadership to the entire tourism sector, serving as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism knowledge, and
- to support its members in their efforts to develop tourism, improve competitiveness and achieve sustainability.
Experience so far
All actions taken by the UNWTO Secretariat regarding internal environmental issues are debated during the sessions of its legislative bodies, in order to engage and commit Member States to the climate-neutral objective.
Reduction efforts
- Coordination of trips has been improved to avoid overlaps (e.g. one person is entrusted with all the activities in the same country at one time).
- An environmental audit of the HQ building was requested to and conducted by the Spanish Government
- (which owns the building).
- UNWTO Headquarters’ material (light-bulbs, computers, etc.) is gradually being replaced by energy-efficient devices. In parallel, the use of printers has been optimized through better distribution and their number has been reduced.
- A videoconference facility has been installed.
- An internal environmental awareness-raising circular has been produced and distributed, including recommendations on reducing electricity consumption in offices and trips.
Offsetting
In October 2009, a proposal to offset all greenhouse gas emission for the year 2008 was submitted to, and accepted by, the UNWTO General Assembly. The UNWTO Secretariat is currently studying offset mechanisms, with the help of UNEP.
Next steps
UNWTO has a very clear position on the importance of combating negative impacts of climate change and adapting to them.
The Management Strategy document for the coming four-year mandate (2010-2013) refers to the climate-neutral commitment and advocates for the adoption of measures aiming at reducing travel as well as energy and paper consumption. It will serve as a basis for an environmental management system and include clear targets in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, paper consumption, etc.
In addition, the Organization will pursue its efforts to reduce its own emissions by raising awareness among its staff, encouraging more efficient travel, investing in energy-efficient material, etc.
