United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

www.unesco.org
HQ: Paris, France
Focal Point: Mr Rudi Swinnen / Ms Miriam Tereick
Email: [email protected]
Internal Sustainability Team: The Sustainable UNESCO team is based at UNESCO Headquarters in the Sector for Administration and Management and handles the overall coordination of UNESCO's Environmental Management System (EMS). In addition, every UNESCO Office has a (part-time) EMS Focal Point and many colleagues across the Organization are involved in specific environmental management and sustainability initiatives.

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Mission

As a specialized agency of the United Nations, UNESCO contributes to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, sciences, culture, communication and information.

https://www.unesco.org/en/brief

FIELD OFFICES

HQ in Paris, France

+ 54 Offices and 14 Category I Institutes and specialised projects as well as 6 project sites in over 60 different duty stations and countries in all world regions

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

UNESCO is fully committed to implementing the UN Strategy and meeting all of its objectives. The key tool for implementation is the establishment of an organization-wide Environmental Management System (EMS) in line with ISO 14001 which started in 2019 and is coordinated centrally by the Sector for Administration and Management. Some recent and ongoing initiatives in this area include:

Streamlining of the annual inventory process to ensure better measurement of emissions
Introduction of an internal carbon tax on all official air travel (USD 80 per tonne of CO2eq since 2024) and revision of the Organization’s travel policy to reinforce environmental criteria and reduce air travel
Establishment of a waste management system with central collection points to improve waste sorting and recycling
Gradual replacement of fleet with electric/hybrid vehicles
Switch to electricity from 100% renewable sources at Headquarters; targeted energy-reduction measures such as limitation of heating and cooling period
Revision of procurement policy and practices to fully integrate sustainability considerations
Guidelines for Green Meetings
Paperless policy
Guidance to integrate environmental considerations into programme planning and implementation
Creation of a biodiversity and vegetable garden at Headquarters
Regular and targeted communication and staff awareness campaigns; publication of a “greening” staff guide

ENVIRONMENTAL INVENTORY APPROACH

UNESCO’s annual inventory includes emissions from all 54 Offices and 14 Category I Institutes and specialised projects as well as 6 project sites. We report data in all categories of the Inventory.

The inventory is coordinated by the UNESCO Sector for Administration and Management at Headquarters.

Emission Reduction

The overall emissions reported by UNESCO during the 2019 Inventory were significantly higher than in previous years as the coordination of the inventory exercise and reporting process was enhanced and streamlined. Since this transition, all Offices, Category I Institutes and all HQ Sectors reported data in all areas. Consequently, 2019 serves as a baseline for emission reduction efforts across the agency. Between 2020 and 2021, when COVID-19 limited international travel and telecommuting became heavily relied upon, emissions dropped drastically. Since 2022, however, emissions have been steadily rising as operational activity and programmatic outreach have expanded. To manage this trajectory, UNESCO must remain vigilant, and targeted measures have already been implemented to ensure the 2030 reduction targets remain on track.

EMS and Reduction Efforts

UNESCO has made substantial progress in the past few years in terms of environmental management, by setting up an EMS covering all its operations and facilities as the key framework for addressing the organization’s long-term environmental performance. In a staged approach, it englobes both Headquarters as well as all of UNESCO’s Field Offices and Category I Institutes. UNESCO’s Environmental Sustainability and Management Policy was adopted in 2020, and UNESCO’s Environmental Management Board approved ambitious emission reduction targets in line with the overall 45% reduction by 2030 compared to 2010 levels. This shall mainly be achieved through a reduction of air travel and energy efficiency measures/switch to renewables.

To date, UNESCO has implemented numerous environmental and sustainability initiatives and has participated in the Greening the Blue campaign since its creation in 2008. The intent of the EMS is to build on these initiatives by capitalizing on existing knowledge and organizational capacity while pushing the Organization further towards the 2030 vision in a systematic manner. The different governing bodies and senior management of the Organization are fully committed to this initiative.

At the same time, specific reduction efforts are being undertaken in the areas of facilities/building maintenance and renovation (including energy efficiency), travel and events. UNESCO Headquarters main buildings have been BREEAM-in-Use certified with a “Very Good” rating as of 2025, both in the area of building performance and building management.

Each year, as part of the Greening the Blue Report 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, UNESCO’s progress on the EMS is rated as: Meets.

Waste Management

A new waste management system was introduced at Headquarters in June 2020 with central collection points instead of individual office bins to improve waste sorting and recycling. It includes detailed monthly reports on the waste collected which will allow for the introduction of specific reduction measures. In four years, waste sorting at the source has increased by 13%.

Environmental Training for Personnel

An environmental awareness training is mandatory for all UNESCO personnel since end of 2021. It is composed of the UN Greening the Blue tutorial and the “Staff guide for a Green UNESCO”.

UNESCO’s status on providing training on environmental sustainability is: Yes, it is mandatory for all personnel.

Offsetting

Since 2021, UNESCO has compensated for 100% of its unmitigated carbon emissions caused by its travel and facilities worldwide, every year. While the priority remains on reducing emissions where possible, UNESCO has committed to fully compensating for its emissions that cannot yet be eliminated, in accordance with the UN Strategy for Sustainability Management 2020-2030. An internal expert panel is assembled to select a collation of internationally recognized and certified offsetting projects that reflect UNESCO’s mandate and global priorities, including considerations such as UNESCO’s programmes, geographical Priority Africa and Small Island Developing States as well is social Priority Gender.

More information on the selected projects for each year can be found in UNESCO’s annual Environmental Sustainability Reports.