HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
Focal Point: Julie Shuyue Qiao
Email: [email protected]
"It is essential that we achieve a just transition. A just transition means greening the economy in ways that are fair, inclusive, and leave no-one behind." Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO Director-General
Mission
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is devoted to promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. Pursuing its founding mission, that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace, remains at the core of ILO's work.
As the only tripartite UN agency, the ILO brings together government, employer and worker representatives of 187 Member States to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes that promote decent work for all women and men.
Today, the ILO's Decent Work agenda helps advance the economic and working conditions that give all workers, employers and governments a stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress.
Alignment with the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the UN system, 2020 - 2030
The Environmental Sustainability Committee of the ILO has agreed on an Environmental Sustainability Action Plan for 2024-25 aligning its objectives and commitments to the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the UN System 2020-2030. The Action Plan encompasses the 5 environmental impact areas and 6 management functions of the UN Strategy and includes quantified emission reduction targets.
More information can be found on previous action plans in the ILO Environmental Sustainability Action Plans 2018-21 Report and on current activities on the ILO website.
Emission Reduction
The ILO is strongly committed to enhancing environmental sustainability and reducing carbon emissions. The ILO Environmental Sustainability Policy, signed by the ILO Director-General in 2016 and updated to version 2 in 2024, is an important milestone in this regard. It sets the goal of continuing to measure, reduce and report on greenhouse gas emissions, improving waste management and reducing water consumption.
The implementation of the Policy is overseen by the Environmental Sustainability Committee and initiatives to achieve environmental improvements are driven by the Environmental Sustainability Action Plan. This includes specific targets for emission reductions from both air travel and facilities.
A notable emission reduction project is the second phase of the renovation works of ILO headquarters, which started in 2022. The first phase of the renovation (office floors) was concluded in 2019, year of the Centenary of the Organization. This included improved insulation, highly efficient glazing, ventilation units with high-performance heat recovery system and many other improvements to reduce energy consumption. A highly performing building management system was also installed, which allows for close monitoring of energy consumption. This has allowed for further energy saving measures to be implemented.
In July 2025, ILO has installed 1'360 solar photovoltaic panels on the rooftop of HQ building, covering 2'663 m2. The panels have a peak power production of 584.8 kWp and 498’960 kWh / year. This corresponds to 8% of the HQ’s annual electricity consumption, or approximately 6.2 tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided.
Besides the measures listed below, ILO runs an initiative on Ecomobility:
- Air compressors for bikes and additional bike racks were installed
- Charging stations for electric cars were installed in 2019
- Bike to Work campaigns were organized in 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2025
- Electric vehicle was purchased replace conventional vehicle at ILO headquarters in 2024
EMS and Reduction Efforts
The ILO set up its Environmental Management System (EMS) in 2016, with an updated version 2 in 2024, to enable a systematic, coordinated and integrated approach to achieving the objectives of its Environmental Sustainability Policy. The EMS is overseen by the Environmental Sustainability Committee. Every biennium, the Committee agrees on an Action Plan which includes GHG emission reduction targets, as well as many other environmental targets & objectives. The Committee meets biannually to review progress.
Each year, as part of the Greening the Blue Report on Environmental Governance, each participating UN entity’s progress on the development of an 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 2024 reporting year, ILO’s EMS approaches the set criteria.
Waste Management
Improved waste management practices are a key element in ILO's efforts to enhance environmental sustainability.
At headquarters in Geneva, a centralized waste management system was implemented since 2017 to increase the recycling of major waste streams. Waste recycling centres with bins for organic, paper, glass, aluminium, PET and batteries were placed in strategic areas on each floor, and replaced individual waste bins in offices. Since 2024, new recycling waste streams were introduced, including coffee capsules, CD and white paper. The strategy was accompanied by campaigns to sensitize and engage staff to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. This successful experience is now being replicated in other ILO buildings worldwide.
Ten ILO field offices have participated in the initiative to develop and implement effective waste management with the aim to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. The initiative has also built capacity among staff in the field and supported the development of improved waste management plans.
In addition, the current Environmental Sustainability Action plan focusses on waste reduction initiatives, such as paperless processes & meetings and the removal of single-use items in catering. More energy-efficient printers with reduced environmental impacts were installed at ILO headquarters, along with recycled printing paper.
The implementation of performance work plans resulted in the reduction of paper waste in the print shop and across the offices. In 2025, the ILO headquarters also reduced the number of printing stations on each floor, to further reduce printing.
The use of official electronic correspondence increased.
Since 2021, the ILO HQ has been recycling unwanted furniture with the SIG-éco21 program for circular economy.
Water and Wastewater Management
Reducing water consumption and ensuring appropriate wastewater disposal is a priority in ILO premises, in particular in water-scarce locations. We monitor and report water consumption in ILO-owned premises and actively explore means to use water more efficiently.
The renovated ILO headquarters building has new water-saving features in toilets and kitchens. Some ILO external offices in water-scarce locations have plans to harvest rainwater for irrigation and ponds.
Environmental Training for Personnel
Since August 2022, the ILO has made the full Greening the Blue tutorial available to all staff on our internal HR platform and has been promoting its uptake.
For the 2024 reporting year, ILO’s provided training on environmental sustainability to personnel on a voluntary basis.
STAFF ENGAGEMENT, CAPACITY BUILDING AND AWARENESS RAISING
- An ILO Green Week was organized in 2019, 2021 and 2025
- Frequent communication through internal channels to engage & inform staff about ILO greening efforts
Offsetting
In 2024, the ILO emitted a total of 9,972 tonnes of CO2 equivalent from its headquarters and 50 field offices. 100% of these were offset with CERs purchased from UNFCCC’s Adaptation Fund.
ILO Environmental Sustainability Action Plans 2018-21 – Narrative Report
ILO Strategic frameworks in the area of environmental sustainability and climate change website
The UN Climate Action for Jobs Initiative https://www.climateaction4jobs.org