EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
“While climate change impacts us all, its harmful effects are not distributed evenly. The most vulnerable populations disproportionately shoulder the burden – women and girls chief among them. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, works to mitigate the impact of climate change on women and girls, while calling for greater awareness of the gender dimensions of the climate crisis. We are also taking action by minimizing the environmental footprint of our operations and programmes, as evidenced by the implementation of our Environmental Efficiency Strategy, and Social and Environmental Standards for Programming. At UNFPA, we believe that taking care of our shared planet is the first step towards securing a safe, healthy and sustainable future for all."
Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
FIELD OFFICES
Mission
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.
ALIGNMENT WITH THE STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM, 2020–2030
- The UNFPA Environmental Efficiency Strategy was endorsed early 2021 and it is based on the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the UN system 2020-2030.
- The implementation takes place in two phases. Its first phase (2021-2025) focuses on the offices with the highest environmental impact and has an overall emissions reduction target of 30%.
- The HQ team works in cooperation with Representatives and their assigned Green Focal Points, using a simple rating system based on the strategy goals.
- The progress and impact of this strategy is monitored mainly through the annual GHG inventory as well as through mandatory strategic indicators for Field Offices.
- The progress of the implementation is annually reported to the UNFPA Executive Committee, ensuring accountability at the top management level.
Emission Reduction
ENVIRONMENTAL INVENTORY APPROACH
- The UNFPA includes all its main and sub-offices in its reporting boundary (295 offices).
- The inventory includes emissions from fuel for generators, boilers, and vehicles, refrigerant leakage, purchased electricity and heating, and duty air and non-air travel.
- Proxies have been used for electricity purchased, based on the regional average consumption per office space (kWh/m2).
Further information: https://www.unfpa.org/corporate-environmental-responsibility-unfpa
- In 2008, the UNFPA adhered to the UN Movement towards Climate Neutrality and committed to reducing its environmental footprint.
- Over more than 10 years, the UNFPA has monitored the carbon footprint of its functional operations. On one hand, focusing on improving the data collection quality, and on the other hand, on implementing energy efficiency initiatives and reinforcing renewable energy in the field.
- Between 2018 and 2024, the UNFPA has reduced the carbon footprint of its operations by 28%.
- Emissions per capita reduced by 43% since 2018.
- Between 2023 and 2024, emissions from Air Travel reduced by 11%.
EMS and Reduction Efforts
- The UNFPA Environmental Efficiency Strategy is an Environmental Management System that provides the framework for emissions reductions from UNFPA’s operations. It focuses on six management functions: 1. Procurement; 2. Human resources; 3. Facilities management; 4. Travel; 5. Events; and 6. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
- Field offices annually report on the progress of the implementation of the EMS.
- Senior management now have environmental performance indicators in their annual appraisal.
For the 2024 reporting year, UNFPA's progress on the EMS is rated as: Meets.
Waste Management
WASTE MANAGEMENT
- Data on waste production and treatment is also collected during the annual inventory.
- All offices now have data for waste produced based on a regional proxy per staff member on offices providing data (kg/staff).
- UNFPA now includes emissions from waste in its GHG inventory.
- Emission from waste disposal in 2024 were 97 tCO2e.
Water and Wastewater Management
- Data on water consumption and wastewater treatment is also collected during the annual inventory.
- All offices now have data for water consumed based on a regional proxy per staff member on offices providing data (m3/staff).
Environmental Training for Personnel
- Greening the Blue Tutorial is mandatory to all personnel at the UNFPA.
- An induction session dedicated to the UNFPA Environmental Efficiency Strategy is also proposed to newcomers.
- Dedicated training is provided to the network of Green Focal Points to help them implement the Environmental Efficiency Strategy in their offices.
For the 2024 reporting year, UNFPA’s status on providing training on environmental sustainability is: Yes, it is mandatory for all personnel.
Offsetting
- The UNFPA purchased 15,285 carbon credits in 2025 to compensate for the unavoidable emissions from facilities and travel in 2024.
RECENT NEWS AND STORIES
The UNFPA Unveils its Environmental Management System - 11 June 2021