https://ozone.unep.org/greening-our-meetings
HQ: Nairobi, Kenya
Focal Point: Ms. Stephanie Haysmith
Internal Sustainability Team: One part-time staff
Mission
The Montreal Protocol (Ozone) Secretariat’s mission is to facilitate and support the parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and other stakeholders as appropriate, in implementing actions to protect and heal the ozone layer against adverse impacts resulting from its modification, thus protecting human health and the environment, including minimizing impacts on climate.
Alignment with The Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations System, 2020-2030
With the adoption of an Environmental Management System (EMS) in 2022, the Montreal Protocol (Ozone) Secretariat became one of the first Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) to do so. By applying the EMS, the Secretariat is making further efforts to green its meetings and associated travel. All unavoidable emissions as a result of Secretariat activities are reported and fully offset.
EMS and Reduction Efforts
The Secretariat has had an EMS focal point in place since 2020. The EMS was adopted in 2021 and reporting has been ongoing since 2022. The Secretariat is one of the first MEAs to adopt an EMS. Whenever possible, the Secretariat looks to host its meetings in sustainably managed venues or works closely with host governments to communicate and inform on strategies to improve sustainability.
Since the implementation of the Secretariat’s EMS it has achieved the following: ·
- 100% of events will follow EMS planning procedures by 2025: OEWG45 (2023) 71%, MOP35 (2023) 53%
- 100% of minimum event organisers guidelines achieved for events by 2025: OEWG45 (2023) 81%, MOP35 (2023) 81%
- 100% of suppliers report on sustainable event guidelines by 2025: 100% (2023)
- 100% of unavoidable event carbon emissions for 2023 were offset via UN-approved, certified carbon credits
https://ozone.unep.org/ems
Waste Management
UNON effectively manages e-waste and household waste disposal, following standard procedures. The majority of waste is disposed of through donation or reuse, minimising environmental impact. Household waste is sorted, recycled and sustainably disposed. The Secretariat promotes paperless and plastic-free meetings. Participants are encouraged reuse lanyads and bring their own water bottles. Exhibitors and side event organisers are requested to abstain from distributing marketing material and merchandise. Where necessary, this is to be sustainably sourced.
Water and Wastewater Management
The Secretariat’s office is located within UNEP HQ at UNON. UNON manages water and waste management and provides the data on utilities consumed based on the area occupied by the Secretariat
Environmental Training for Personnel
An environmental awareness training is mandatory for all Secretariat personnel since 2022. Staff complete the Greening the Blue (GtB) tutorial to ensure all staff are equipped with sustainability knowledge. The Secretariat is 100% compliant.
Environmental Inventory Approach
The Secretariat reports on all of its operations and facilities emissions annually. Data is collected and collated by the EMS focal point. To capture and report on emissions emanating from unfunded travel, these estimates are calculated based on the distance between the travellers closest international airport and meeting location.
Offsetting
In 2023, the Secretariat produced 453 tCO2eq as reporeted by GtB plus an additional 703 tCO2eq (unfunded travel) from its operations and facilities. To address this, the total of 1,156 tCO2eq unavoidable emissions has been offset in full for 2023 through the purchase of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).