World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

www.wipo.int
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
Focal Point: Agnès Lostis
Email: [email protected]

Internal Sustainability Team:

In 2024, WIPO’s sustainability effort was driven by two full-time professionals responsible for the overall planning, implementation, and oversight of the Organization’s environmental sustainability agenda.

In 2024, WIPO established an Environmental Sustainability Management Group (ESMG), to serve as a steering committee, providing strategic direction and oversight of the Environmental Management System (EMS) implementation.

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Director General's Message

Innovation and human creativity are at the heart of addressing the pressing global challenges of our time. The intellectual property system plays a crucial role in incentivizing and rewarding that innovation, ensuring that innovators, entrepreneurs, and creators have the support they need to develop breakthrough solutions. At WIPO, we are committed to ensuring this system serves as an enabler -facilitating not only the development of new technologies, but also their deployment where they are needed most. Through our policy work, convening power and practical initiatives like technology exchange platforms, we work to ensure that human ingenuity translates into real-world impact. As we enable others to innovate for global challenges, we also recognize the imperative to lead by example - managing our own institutional impact and aligning our operations with the sustainable future we seek to foster.

Daren Tang, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Mission

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) leads the development of a balanced and effective global intellectual property ecosystem to promote innovation and creativity for a better and more sustainable future.

Field Offices

Headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.

WIPO has seven External Offices in Algeria, Brazil, China, Japan, Nigeria, the Russian Federation, and Singapore as well as a Coordination Office to the UN Organisations in New York.

Details can be found on the WIPO website:

https://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/offices/

https://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/new_york/ 

Alignment with the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations System, 2020-2030

In alignment with the strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations System, WIPO:

Has been reporting its GHG emissions since 2010 and offsetting residual emissions since 2015

Takes concrete measures to continuously reduce its carbon footprint and energy efficiency through targeted mitigation strategies

Issued its Environmental Policy in 2022

Is in the process of implementing a comprehensive Environmental Management System (EMS)

Emission Reduction

In 2024, WIPO reached a 36% decrease in its GHG emissions relative to the 2019 baseline year.

WIPO also offsets its annual residual emissions through the procurement of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) via the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) mechanism.

EMS and Reduction Efforts

In 2024, WIPO strengthened its environmental governance by establishing an Environmental Sustainability Management Group (ESMG), which serves as a steering committee, providing strategic direction and oversight of the Environmental Management System (EMS) implementation.

WIPO is continuing the implementation, use and improvement of its EMS to advance its environmental sustainability goals, aligning with the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations and the requirements of the international standard ISO14001.

Waste Management

WIPO has worked to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills through a combination of source reduction, reuse, and recycling. Paper and e-waste in offices, as well as plastic, metal and glass in the cafeteria were sorted to be reused or recycled.

Other unsorted waste from WIPO HQ was mainly recovered and used to produce electricity and heat as part of Geneva’s heating network.

Throughout 2024, WIPO implemented the first phase of a comprehensive waste management program to enhance sorting and recycling at its Headquarters in Geneva. This initial phase included the deployment of dedicated sorting bins, accompanied by clear, accessible guidance to ensure proper waste disposal practices.

Additional initiatives include the installation of water fountains and the distribution of reusable glass bottles to WIPO personnel to reduce plastic bottle consumption, as well as promoting the use of reusable takeaway containers in the coffee vending machines and at the cafeteria.  

Water and Wastewater Management

Water efficiency interventions continue to be implemented and systematically maintained within WIPO. These include the rehabilitation of hydraulic distribution networks, the deployment of water-efficient sanitary fixtures featuring dual-flush technology, the implementation of precision-controlled irrigation systems for landscape management, and the establishment of robust monthly consumption monitoring frameworks, enabling proactive leak detection and remedial interventions. 

These water management initiatives have yielded substantial operational improvements, resulting in a 46% reduction in total water consumption in 2024 relative to the 2019 baseline. 

Facility Management & Energy

WIPO has been enhancing the energy efficiency of its facilities through a set of measures across its operations, particularly at its Headquarters Campus. The energy consumption from facilities operations followed a downward trend in the last decade due to several technological upgrades (LED lighting fixtures and lighting sensors, renovation of the facades) as well as modifications in the facility management (e.g., heating stopped at night and on the weekend, as well as in certain places such as the underground corridors).

The organization also continued to cool its Geneva buildings using the Geneva Lake Water (Genilac) renewable cooling system, as well as to reduce its cooling needs with the use of green roofs on two of its buildings.

In 2024, the electricity consumption at WIPO Headquarters reached a level 28% below the 2019 baseline, and the natural gas consumption for heating dropped to 32% below the 2019 baseline.

Travel

Since 2023, WIPO has integrated environmental considerations into its Travel Policy. For example, WIPO ensures through senior level authorization that staff travel is mission essential.

In addition, WIPO accelerated its adoption of virtual and hybrid meeting formats, beginning in 2020, reducing travel while maintaining operational efficiency.

As a result, by the end of 2024, WIPO’s air travel GHG emissions had reached a level 31% lower than the 2019 baseline.

Commuting

WIPO actively promotes sustainable personnel commuting through soft mobility initiatives, including enhanced facilities and services for bicycle commuters. Since 2013, the organization has offered biannual bicycle maintenance services, with professional technicians inspecting and repairing the personnel’s personal bicycles free of charge.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

In 2024, several initiatives have been undertaken related to Sustainable Information Technology (Sustainable IT), including the drafting of an Employee Entitlements for IT Accessories policy, which aims at standardizing and rationalizing the number of computing devices issued to personnel.

WIPO has also started an analysis to map, measure, and better understand the environmental impact of the organization's ICT systems, evaluate its current level of maturity, and identify and prioritize actions. The assessment results will serve as a baseline for defining actions and measuring future progress.

Procurement

WIPO’s procurement framework follows the UN High Level Committee on Management (HLCM) Procurement Network’s definition of sustainability. WIPO seeks to promote sustainable procurement while ensuring fairness and effective competition. The organization recognizes that markets are at different stages in their sustainability journey and adapts its expectations accordingly engaging with suppliers as partners in this collective endeavour.

Environmental Training for Personnel

Since 2023, WIPO has been conducting regular personnel awareness workshops on environmental issues through different sessions that explore the environmental impact of digital technologies and information systems, ranging from data centers and cloud computing to smartphones and streaming services.

Offsetting

WIPO offsets its annual residual emissions through the procurement of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) via the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) mechanism.