International Organization for Migration (IOM)

DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S MESSAGE

“Climate change has a direct and often devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions around the world, and climate-related disasters cause more new displacements than conflict. As the scale of IOM's work grows to meet this demand, we must ensure that our work and our collaborations with our partners have the lowest environmental impact possible.”

Amy Pope, Director-General, IOM

Mission

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and societies.

As the leading international organization working on migration, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to:

Assist in meeting the growing operational challenges of migration management.
Advance understanding of migration issues.
Encourage social and economic development through migration.
Uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

IOM’s mission statement is available here: https://www.iom.int/mission

IOM is committed to leading environmental sustainability innovation for impact and scale in the humanitarian and migration management sectors. Caring for people and the planet is one of our core values, and we are committed to mainstreaming environmental sustainability into our projects and programmes, and facilities management and operations.

IOM's Strategic Plan (2024 – 2028) is available here: https://www.iom.int/iom-strategic-plan-2024-2028

ALIGNMENT WITH THE STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM, 2020–2030

IOM’s environmental sustainability and environmental management efforts are aligned with the UN system-wide commitments, including the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations system 2020–2030 – Phase I: Environmental sustainability in the area of management (Sustainability Strategy I) and Phase II: Towards leadership in environmental and social sustainability - (Sustainability Strategy II).

Emission Reduction

IOM recognizes that a healthy environment is inherently linked to the safety, security and well-being of migrants and societies.

IOM’s goal is to build on already available good practices and policies and strengthen internal governance related to environmental sustainability, with a focus on three key environmental management areas: energy, water, and waste management.

Since joining the United Nations Environment Management Group in 2017, and in order to adhere to the environmental sustainability commitments of the United Nations, IOM has been gradually improving its environmental reporting. Environmental reporting was piloted in three offices in 2017, ten offices in 2018, and was rolled out globally in 2019.

IOM offsets all unavoidable emissions derived from facilities and operations through the procurement of carbon credits certified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (certified emission reductions). 60,037 tons CO2eq worth of carbon credits were purchased in 2024 to address these unavoidable emissions. This amount was determined using the UN Greening the Blue verified total emissions from 2023 and incorporating an additional 5% error margin on top of that.

Since 2020, IOM offices around the world reported to be working towards reducing their o GHG emissions by:

Recommending switching off unused electronic devices, such as air-conditioners, water dispensers and central printers, when leaving the office in the evening (inter alia IOM Nigeria, IOM Guinea-Bissau, IOM Ireland, IOM Turkey).

Saving energy by replacing lights with LED or CFL, introducing dark hours in the office and working without lights and AC for 1 hour, adopting energy-saving thermostat settings (inter alia IOM Egypt); encouraging staff to use stairs, instead of the elevator (inter alia IOM Guinea-Bissau).

Promoting renewable energy use on-site (inter alia IOM Bangladesh, IOM Chad/ Baga Sola & Faya, IOM Central African Republic, IOM Egypt, IOM Netherlands/Utrecht, IOM Nigeria field hubs, IOM South Sudan/Malakal and Pibor, IOM Slovakia/Bratislava, IOM Timor-Leste, IOM Viet Nam located in Green One UN House (GOUNH).

Locating IOM offices in United Nations common premises with advanced sustainability features (inter alia IOM Denmark at UN City Copenhagen, IOM Viet Nam at Green One UN House (GOUNH)).

Ensuring that most of IOM’s data centres are climate neutral, thanks to the use of third-party cloud services powered by renewable energy.

Integrating renewable energy solutions to power facilities (IOM USRAP in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, IOM Central African Republic, IOM Kosovo, IOM Mauritania, IOM Zambia).

Saving energy by improving energy efficiency through the replacement of lights with more energy-efficient bulbs (IOM Bosnia and Herzegovina, IOM Malta, IOM Tunisia, IOM USRAP in several facilities in East Africa), using movement detector lights (IOM Tunisia), introducing dark hours in the office (IOM Morocco) and working without AC for 1 hour (IOM Cambodia), turning on ACs only on days with high temperatures (IOM Poland).

EMS and Reduction Efforts

IOM is institutionally committed to work towards an ambitious environmental governance and environmental management system to achieve the highest possible level of environmental sustainability in its projects and programmes as well as facilities, and operations. The Organization aims to set up an environmental management system by 2025, in line with existing UN system-wide commitments.

IOM has already developed a variety of policy tools seeking to reduce the environmental impacts of its operations through efficient resource management.

IOM also incorporates environmental sustainability principles through project development and implementation. IOM’s Project Handbook, the main internal guidance document for project design and implementation, highlights environmental sustainability as a cross-cutting priority to be integrated into all projects. Guidelines on environmental risk assessment are available in the Project Handbook to ensure risks and impacts are systematically addressed.

Since 2020, IOM offices around the world reported to be working towards reducing their environmental footprint by:

Raising environmental awareness of staff through verbal reminders, meeting discussions, Environmental Working Groups (inter alia IOM Egypt), establishing Environmental Sustainability Committees (inter alia IOM Thailand), publishing regular Green Focal Point newsletters (inter alia IOM Ireland), sending email notifications and staff-advisories (inter alia IOM Austria, IOM Jordan, IOM Iraq, IOM Mexico, IOM Philippines), organizing brown bag lunches regarding climate change, conducting monthly Green Team meetings, and wearing green every Friday to show solidarity on the Climate Crisis (IOM Philippines).

Developing and circulating internal documents such as a draft Environmental Management System Manual (IOM Australia), Green Office administrative instructions (inter alia IOM Bolivia, IOM Guinea, IOM Guinea-Bissau, IOM Nigeria), a national environmental sustainability strategy (inter alia IOM Egypt), and environmental sustainability action plans (inter alia IOM Niger, IOM Turkey).

Recommending the use of plants in the office to improve air quality, such as snake plant, Chinese evergreen, philodendrons, rubber plants, ficus, aloe vera, and ferns (inter alia IOM Nigeria).

Conducting the first environmental assessment of the United States Refugee Admissions Program, one of IOM's largest and most enduring global humanitarian programmes.

Establishing an environmental sustainability action plan for a global programme (IOM USRAP).

Updating a directive for the mandatory phase out of plastic IOM bags and the adoption of compostable alternatives (IOM USRAP).

Launching an environmental policy (IOM Nigeria).

Establishing an Environmental Green Initiative Group to oversee the implementation of the environmental policy and collectively design and adopt good sustainability practices (IOM Nigeria).

Raising environmental awareness of staff through a communications campaign to promote conscious use of energy (IOM Honduras), a newsletter on World Environment Day to promote green initiatives (IOM Ghana).

Launching environmental and sustainability action plans (IOM Ecuador and Niger).

Delivering training to staff in environmental sustainability to increase awareness, collect ideas to improve sustainability in the office and promote environmental action (IOM Djibouti).

Each year, as part of the Greening the Blue Report on Environmental Governance, each participating UN entity’s progress on the development of an Environmental Management System (EMS) is evaluated according to the UN system’s EMS criteria (these criteria are available on the Methodology webpage). Upon this evaluation the entity is then rated Exceeds, Meets, Approaches, or No response. For the 2023 reporting year, IOM’s progress on the EMS is rated as: Approaches.

Water and Wastewater Management

IOM launched its water inventory in 2019 for the 2018 reporting year and received water-related data from IOM offices located in 91 countries. In 2020, IOM offices from 84 countries participated in the water inventory for the 2019 reporting year. In 2022, IOM offices from 110 countries participated in the water inventory for the 2021 reporting year. In 2023, IOM offices from 118 countries reported on their water consumption for the 2022 reporting year.

IOM offices from 113 countries reported on their water consumption for the 2023 reporting year.

The water inventory collects data on the volume and source of water used onsite and highlights good practices, for example:

Adopting and endorsing a written water management policy at country level (17% of reporting offices, inter alia IOM El Salvador, IOM Nigeria, IOM Kuwait).

Placing posters above kitchens and bathrooms sinks encouraging staff to avoid wasting water and unnecessary flushing (inter alia IOM El Salvador, IOM Malaysia, IOM Nigeria, IOM Tunisia, IOM Nepal).

Reporting any water leaks in building to ensure efficient use of water resources (82% of reporting offices), for example, by checking water tank for leaks every morning and evening (inter alia IOM Chad); having an in-house maintenance unit with technical staff responsible for regular checking of all leakages, electric appliances, security items, pipelines and drain (inter alia IOM Jordan), making available to staff a Facility Maintenance Application Form to report leaks (IOM Nigeria).

Encouraging regular checks by staff to ensure efficient use of water resources (77% of reporting offices).

Encouraging water efficient irrigation methods for landscaping (17% of reporting offices), for example, by installing water sprinklers to reduce the use of water for irrigation (inter alia IOM Tajikistan, IOM Zambia); using rainwater source for irrigation (inter alia IOM Tanzania/Kibondo); using grey water output of wastewater treatment plant for irrigation (inter alia IOM Viet Nam, IOM Nepal, IOM Mauritius).

Encouraging the installation of water meters to identify water usage in each operational site (22% of reporting offices, including IOM Angola, IOM Chile, IOM Georgia, IOM Hungary, IOM Mexico, IOM South Sudan/Wau, IOM Viet Nam, IOM Ghana, IOM Panama, IOM Estonia, IOM Spain).

Closely monitoring boiler cycles and blowdowns (20% of reporting offices, including IOM Tajikistan, IOM Cambodia, IOM Albania, IOM Lebanon, IOM Jordan).

Optimising cooling systems to prevent excess water usage (28% of reporting offices, including IOM Korea, IOM Nigeria).

Participating in water audits (inter alia IOM Armenia).

Installing water faucets that have flow restrictors (inter alia IOM Viet Nam, IOM Denmark).

Encouraging the use of green cleaning products (inter alia IOM Egypt, IOM Nigeria, IOM Turkey).

Installing smart water sensors for automated shut-off at water dispersion points (inter alia IOM Ecuador).

Equipping water tanks with automatic water level controllers, to avoid over-filling (inter alia IOM Bangladesh).

Reusing wastewater from air conditioners for watering plants or cleaning surfaces (inter alia IOM Uruguay, IOM Nigeria).

Fuel

Since 2021, IOM offices around the world have worked towards further reducing their reliance on fuel by:

Signing the first ever Peace-Renewable Energy Credit (P-REC) contract in the UN System, as part of the solarization of the humanitarian hub in Malakal, South Sudan. The additional funds generated through the P-REC were able to support the solarization of a nearby teaching hospital for the benefit of the nearby community.

Launching decarbonization pilots in five IOM missions to assess the financial and environmental benefits of transitioning from diesel-powered generation to renewable energy sources, and to examine innovative financing strategies to support these investments.

Exploring opportunities for fleet greening and management together in a joint study with UNHCR, WFP and UNFPA, and with the support of UNEP.

Managing fleet more efficiently by combining passengers into one vehicle if their routes can be aligned (IOM Bangladesh, IOM Lebanon, IOM Djibouti, IOM Colombia), promoting carpooling (IOM Sri Lanka) and purchasing or leasing hybrid vehicles (IOM Albania, IOM Netherlands).

Biodiversity

Since 2020, IOM offices around the world have reported working towards promoting biodiversity by:

Planting trees to absorb carbon dioxide and reduce landslide risk by increasing soil retention (inter alia IOM Bangladesh, IOM Ethiopia, IOM Niger).

Waste

IOM launched its waste inventory in 2019 for the 2018 reporting year and received waste-related data from IOM offices located in 75 countries. In 2020, IOM offices from 72 countries participated in the waste inventory for the 2019 reporting year. In 2022, IOM offices from 97 countries participated for the 2021 reporting year. In 2023, IOM offices from 108 countries reported on their waste for the 2022 reporting year. IOM offices from 110 countries reported on their waste for the 2023 reporting year.

The waste inventory collects data on the amount and type of non-hazardous and hazardous waste generated onsite and the ways this waste is managed. The inventory captures IOM offices’ waste footprint and highlights good practices related to refusing, reducing, reusing and recycling.

IOM offices around the world are taking the following measures to reduce their waste footprint by:

Writing, adopting and endorsing a waste management policy (17% of reporting offices, inter alia IOM Australia, IOM Viet Nam)

Raising awareness of staff on waste management through participation in environmental campaigns and initiatives, such as "Say Yes to Less" (inter alia IOM Headquarters, IOM Egypt), "Green It Up" (inter alia IOM Philippines), and celebration of international days, such as Earth Day (inter alia IOM Headquarters), World Clean Up Day (inter alia IOM Egypt), World Habitat Day (inter alia Niger).

Encouraging staff to sort and properly manage trash and recycling, for example, by placing recycling bins in each room throughout the office (inter alia IOM Ireland); collecting lids, batteries, tonners, paper, boxes, etc. for recycling, and organizing adequate reuse or disposal through expert companies (inter alia IOM Colombia, IOM Headquarters); sorting waste between recyclables (papers, plastics, metals, glass) and general waste, with identified baskets for each type (inter alia IOM Argentina/Regional Office, IOM Headquarters); donating scraped electronics to different charity organizations to be recycled, reused, or used for vocational training (IOM Kenya).

Including take-back clauses in procurement contracts (24% of reporting offices), such as, for used cartridges and toners, glass drink bottles (inter alia IOM Germany/Nuremberg), water bottles for mains-fed filtered drinking water (inter alia IOM Japan), used plastic bottles given back to vendors for recycling (inter alia IOM El Salvador, IOM Russia).

Installing mains-fed filtered drinking water to reduce single-use plastic bottle use (69% of reporting offices), for example, by placing filters on each office floor and connecting them to main water supply (inter alia IOM Bulgaria); connecting water dispensers to the building water line (inter alia IOM Greece, IOM Headquarters); installing water purifying systems at the site from the borehole (IOM Tanzania/Kasulu, IOM Kazakhstan, IOM Bulgaria).

Encouraging staff to use reusable containers, cutleries, plates, cups, and paper straws, and to bring their food in reusable bags, in order to avoid single-use plastic usage, for example, by switching from using plastic bottles and cups in the office to water jugs and glasses (inter alia IOM Nigeria, IOM Ghana, IOM Malawi); banning single-use plastic bags and styrofoam (IOM Ghana, IOM Egypt, IOM Iraq, IOM Korea, IOM Azerbaijan), encouraging staff to bring their own cups to the shared coffee machines on each floor (inter alia IOM Denmark); stopping using bottled water and start using only refillable bottles (inter alia IOM Iraq); switching from plastic to environmentally friendly kitchenware and not allowing procurement of plastic kitchenware (inter alia IOM Jordan, IOM Nigeria, IOM Burkina Faso); using paper cups instead of plastic cups (inter alia IOM Kenya); stopping the procurement of plastic cups for staff use and requesting them to have their own reusable cups at the office (inter alia IOM Haiti).

Encouraging digital methods to collect and circulate information in new IOM-wide administrative systems (inter alia IOM Micronesia, IOM Iraq, IOM Belgium, IOM Greece, IOM Indonesia).

Encouraging staff to adopt sustainable printing habits (83% of reporting offices), in order to save paper and to reduce waste by printing only necessary documents, by setting printers to double-side (91% of reporting offices), black-and-white printing, recommending to print several pages on one sheet when printing a large document (inter alia IOM Honduras/Tegucigalpa); considering switching to ink-saving and space-reducing fonts (inter alia IOM Egypt); asking clients to take photos of IOM informational materials on their phones and email documents to stakeholders in order to reduce paper consumption and printing (inter alia IOM Australia/Sydney).

Reducing waste generated from printer cartridges by using refillable options (38% of reporting offices, inter alia IOM Kazakhstan, IOM Viet Nam, IOM Dominican Republic, IOM Iran) and working with suppliers that have a recycling programme (IOM Germany).

Raising environmental awareness of staff through slogans "Think Green before you print", "Please consider the environment, do you really need to print this mail?", "Print less, save tree" in email signatures and posters in front of printers (inter alia IOM Armenia, IOM Bahrain, IOM Bangladesh, IOM Dominican Republic, IOM Egypt, IOM Estonia, IOM Guinea, IOM HQ, IOM Netherlands, IOM Russia, IOM Senegal, IOM Tanzania/Moshi, IOM Zimbabwe).

Performing paper inventory and setting up specific paper reduction goals (inter alia IOM Dominican Republic, IOM Egypt, IOM Ireland).

Encouraging the use of biodegradable or recyclable products, for example, using 100% recycled envelopes, papers and folders in the office (inter alia IOM Australia/Melbourne); distributing reusable cloth bags to staff (inter alia IOM El Salvador); using paper shopping bags instead of plastic ones (inter alia IOM Estonia); giving preference to products in biodegradable packaging by procurement (inter alia IOM Malaysia, IOM Qatar, IOM Tunisia); acquiring biodegradable cups for waiting areas (inter alia IOM Uruguay); using single-use teaspoons that are made of paper (IOM Netherlands).

Reducing the environmental footprint of events (inter alia IOM Slovenia), for example, by banning all contracted vendors to use plastic when catering IOM events and activities (inter alia IOM Kyrgyzstan, IOM Philippines); not using plastic bottles during workshops and meetings (inter alia IOM Austria, IOM Kazakhstan); eliminating printed meeting agendas (inter alia IOM Egypt), including vegetarian food options during workshops (inter alia IOM Philippines).

Encouraging thoughtful use of resources and products, for example, by re-using several times plastic passport holders (inter alia IOM Uruguay); purchasing purified water from suppliers using returnable containers (inter alia IOM Guatemala); using water dispensers with re-fillable water bottles (inter alia IOM Malawi), using pencils, erasers and sharpeners instead of ballpoint pens.

In countries with good water quality, encouraging staff to use tap water for drinking (in multiple-use personal water bottles and mugs) in order to avoid usage of single-use plastic cups and bottles (inter alia IOM Austria, IOM Denmark, IOM Estonia, IOM Finland, IOM Ireland, IOM Netherlands, IOM Poland, IOM Slovakia, IOM Slovenia, IOM United Kingdom).

Encouraging composting of organic waste, such as food and garden waste (inter alia IOM Cambodia, IOM France, IOM Iran, IOM Mexico, IOM Morocco, IOM Kenya, IOM Philippines, IOM South Sudan, IOM Tanzania/Dar Es Salaam, IOM Thailand).

Supporting creative upcycling solutions, for example, by donating empty Nespresso capsules to artists for making jewellery and decorative artwork out of them (IOM Egypt).

Environmental Training for Personnel

The Greening the Blue Tutorial has been made available to IOM staff through the organization’s internal training platform as well as IOM’s internal Environmental Inventory platform. The Tutorial is available in English, French and Spanish.

Since 2022, IOM staff took part in several in-country NEAT+ environmental screening trainings for humanitarian projects and Integrated Water Resource Management training.

In 2023, IOM created an Environmental Management training for staff to present IOM’s Environmental Management System and environmental standards, and how to apply the standards for facilities and operations as well as projects and programmes.

IOM also designed the "Reducing Environmental Impacts of Displacement in the Pacific" training, tailored to the Pacific context and integrating UN and IOM environmental assessment processes and resources (IOM Vanuatu). The course has also been made available to IOM staff through the organization’s internal training platform.

Procurement

Whenever applicable and practically possible, IOM incorporates environmental performance considerations in its supply chain management. Among other things, IOM’s Procurement Manual encourages IOM personnel to adopt the whole life cycle costing concept in procurement processes and select environmentally friendly solutions and services whenever possible, in line with the UNGM Sustainable Procurement Indicators.

Travel

Encouraging train travel over air travel as per revised Official Travel Policy.

Next Steps

IOM will continue its participation in the UN environmental inventory, as part of the UN system-wide commitment to advance environmental sustainability, including climate action, and to publish transparent environmental performance data through the annual Greening the Blue report. In line with the iterative approach, IOM is committed to further improving data quality, consistency and accuracy of the environmental inventory.

IOM developed its global Environmental Sustainability Work Programme (2021 – 2025) in line with the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations system 2020–2030. As part of the Work Programme, IOM is currently working towards launching its first environmental policy, which seeks to align IOM activities with global environmental standards to improve environmental sustainability, resource efficiency and quality management.

Examples of IOM Sustainability Initiatives: