Strategy for sustainability management in the UN System 2020-2030 -

Phase I: environmental sustainability in the area of management

What will it deliver for the UN System?

• Common vision for internal sustainability
• System-wide and entity specific governance and accountability
• Shared objectives, indicators and targets to monitor and show progress

What difference will it make?

• Integration of environmental sustainability across facilities, operations and
programming
• Delivery of environmental benefits across five impact areas
• Commitment of management functions to deliver on objectives
• Comprehensive framework for monitoring and communicating results
UN System vision and strategy for sustainability 2020-2030
The vision: the UN System is a leader in integrating environmental and social sustainability
considerations across its work in a systematic and coherent way, practicing the principles that it
promotes and leaving a positive legacy.

Phase I: environmental sustainability in the area of management Phase II (by 2020):

Commitment to system-wide and entity-specific environmental
governance and accountability
Five environmental impacts:
1. Greenhouse gas emissions
2. Waste
3. Water
4. Air pollution
5. Biodiversity degradation
internal environmental
and social sustainability
in the UN system’s
policies, programming,
facilities and operations
Six management functions:
1. Procurement
2. Human resources
3. Facilities management
4. Travel
5. Events
6. ICT
EXAMPLE: reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Objective Commitments
Reduce absolute Optimize electricity consumption
in facilities
greenhouse gas
Switch to renewable energy
emissions by 2030 to limit sources
increase in global Optimize commercial air travel for
temperature to 1.5°C, in operations and programmes
line with Minimize/optimize fuel
consumption for ground travel of
recommendations of the UN staff for operations and
2018 IPCC report. programmes
All UN entities maintain their
climate neutral status
Indicators
% reductions in electricity use
% of renewables
% greenhouse gas emissions
reduction from air travel
% reduction in fuel use from
ground transport
% of UN system reported
unavoidable greenhouse gas
emissions offset
Greenhouse gas emissions by source and progress towards climate neutrality