World Trade Organization (WTO)
www.wto.org
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
Number of staff: 845
Number of locations: 1
Key figures
Total emissions: 6,061 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Emissions per staff member: 7.2 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Emissions from air travel: 4,955 tonnes CO2 equivalent
Air travel as a proportion of total emissions: 82%
Air travel per staff member: 5.9 tonnes CO2
Building-related emissions: 34 kg CO2 equivalent per square metre
“WTO fully supports the UN wide commitment to deliver as one in the fight against climate change and is determined to play its part in the architecture of multilateral cooperation to reduce its climate footprint.”
Pascal Lamy, Director-General’s World Trade Organization (WTO)
Director-General's Message
“Climate change is the biggest sustainable development challenge the international community has had to tackle to date. WTO fully supports the UN wide commitment to deliver as one in the fight against climate change and is determined to play its part in the architecture of multilateral cooperation to reduce its climate footprint. In response to the CEB initiative on climate neutrality, the WTO established a Task Force with senior management participation, conducted an initial assessment of its greenhouse gas emissions and identified key areas of action. Every effort will be made to engage staff towards a successful implementation of the «C-Neutral WTO» initiative. WTO will continue to cooperate with other agencies in this important common endeavour.”
Pascal Lamy
Mission
The World Trade Organization (WTO) provides a forum for negotiating rules aimed at reducing obstacles to international trade and ensuring a level playing field for all, thus contributing to economic growth and development. It also provides a legal and institutional framework for implementing multilateral trade agreements and settling disputes. Preserving the environment and using the world's resources in accordance with sustainable development goals are key objectives enshrined in the founding charter of WTO.
Reduction efforts
1. Promote the use of environmentally friendly materials and energy efficient technologies as part of the refurbishment and construction project at WTO headquarters
2. Encourage sustainable travel practices through the implementation of WTO's travel policy (e.g. by favouring direct flights over connections; grouping trips and meetings; planning events at locations nearest most participants, etc.) and alternative, non-travel options such as e-training and video conferencing in the delivery of technical assistance and training activities
3. Explore the possibility of implementing a subsidized public transport policy to encourage staff use of public transport for commuting to work
4. Develop awareness raising and communication tools, including an intranet site to provide information on WTO’s climate neutrality initiative and encourage the sharing of ideas on further actions that could be implemented by the organization
Experience so far
The WTO is already taking action to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The building refurbishment and construction project presents a significant opportunity in terms of WTO's efforts to move towards climate neutrality, and conservation and energy efficiency aspects have been fully factored into the exercise. For instance, the new building will incorporate various energy efficient technologies, including low energy lighting and insulation solutions, as well as geothermal technology for cooling and heating using water drawn from Lac Léman, as part of the Genève Lac Nations (GLN) project. The new building will meet the Swiss MINERGIE-P building sustainability standard for low energy consumption. In addition, the WTO is making the transition to a paperless Secretariat. The distribution of paper copies of documents at meetings has been discontinued, as has the paper distribution of certain regular documents to Members.
Next steps
WTO's inventory of emissions will be updated on a yearly basis. Reduction efforts will continue in key areas such as travel and energy/electricity use. Additional measures will be considered as part of the further refinement of WTO's strategy, on climate neutrality, including measures to offset emissions that cannot be reduced.
