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In the face of climate change, loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution, UNESCO and the United Nations are calling for unprecedented, concrete and immediate action for the environment. A broad range of UNESCO programmes specifically support Member States to address environmental sustainability and take climate action.

In the framework of the Strategic Transformation, 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ also been putting a strong emphasis on making its own facilities, operations and programmes activities more environmentally-friendly, and on integrating environmental issues into policies and guidelines. We would like to present you some of the recent progress achieved, which has been led by the Sector of Administration and Management in close collaboration with Member States and all other Sectors.

We are aiming to receive ISO certification in 2021. A baseline and gap analysis have already been conducted, a working group established and a coordinator hired. UNESCO is now further defining roles and specifying its overall environmental policy.

A key objective of UNESCO’s environmental actions is to substantially cut carbon emissions: in line with the targets of the , we need to achieve a 45% reduction by 2030. In addition, all emissions, which cannot be reduced, will be compensated by purchasing offset credits. To finance these measures – and to raise further awareness on the environmental cost of air travel – UNESCO is establishing an internal carbon tax, most probably from September 2020, a small levy on all flight tickets purchased, across offices. This way, UNESCO will be able to claim climate neutrality as of this year.

The longer-term plan is to integrate a ‘plastic ban’ into UNESCO’s procurement policy.

Several Field Offices, such as Bangkok, Lima and Nairobi, have already adopted similar waste and plastic reduction policies. Bangkok is even leading a #BeatPlasticPollution campaign in across Asia-Pacific – you can find out more .

A crucial factor for the success of environmental management is the awareness and participation of staff. This is why effective communication around the EMS, behavioural change campaigns, surveys and staff action days at global level are key. The current telecommuting situation still limits the scope of what we can do, but for now, an intranet page and a monthly newsletter have already been set up. More systematic action campaigns will follow.

Many other measures – for example with respect to the reduction of energy and water consumption; organization of sustainable meetings – are part of the roadmap, and we will provide regular updates on the Strategic Transformation Portal.