2050Today Members
United Nations Office at Geneva
Signatory institution of the 2050Today Charter
Sustainability is at the heart of the United Nations in Geneva. We have implemented measures to be more sustainable, resilient, and cost-effective than ever before. Ensuring long-term sustainability of operations is also central to the Strategic Heritage Plan for the Palais des Nations. Through innovation and cooperation, the United Nations in Geneva is committed to contributing to a greener United Nations, showing leadership in integrating the Sustainable Development Agenda in management planning and processes.
Contribution to climate action
UNOG is the representative office of the Secretary-General in Switzerland and the largest duty station outside of UNHQ. It services 8,000 meetings annually and is a regional provider of diverse administrative and operational support to more than 30 UN entities in Europe and their field offices around the world. UNOG is a focal point for multilateral diplomacy and a global service provider of excellence in the areas of administration, conference management, security, information and knowledge-management.
In addition to signing the 2050Today Charter, UNOG also entered into a landmark agreement with Services Industriels de Genève (SIG) by signing the “Ambition Negawatt Vision” charter. Through this charter, UNOG has committed to several specific actions, such as upgrading lighting systems and expanding solar photovoltaic power generation capacity.
These collaborations also align with the ambitious objectives and targets set by the UN Secretariat’s Climate Action Plan and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
Despite the efforts to avoid and reduce greenhouse gases to a maximum, the nature of UNOG’s operations makes a complete avoidance of emissions impossible. To achieve “carbon neutrality”, UNOG compensates any remaining emissions through Certified Emission Reductions (CER) certificates from UNFCCC’s Adaptation Fund. These CERs help developing countries to adopt climate-friendly energy technologies. UNOG is thus “climate-neutral” since 2017.
Thematic actions
Biodiversity
With 1,305 individual trees, Ariana Park’s tree heritage is one of the site’s greatest natural assets. Herbaceous surfaces, which are also of great ecological importance, represent more than 54% of outdoor spaces. A flora and fauna inventory carried out in 2023 found several sectors with semi-dry mid-European grassland vegetation, a rare and protected environment which is favourable to many faunal species. There are more than 9.5 ha of grasslands on the site (41.3% of the herbaceous areas).
Maintenance practices are constantly evolving to support biodiversity in the park (installation of structures that support wildlife, refuge areas left during mowing, etc.). To combat insect pests in an environmentally friendly manner, UN Geneva has put an end to the use of synthetic pesticides in favour of biological controls. A differentiated management approach has been adopted, which is based on the principle of adapting management and maintenance according to the type of surface, its use, ecological potential and landscape interests.
Energy
Cooling and Heating
In the past, the Palais des Nations was heated with fuel oil. The heating system was upgraded to run on natural gas in 2008, reducing the Palais’ greenhouse gas emissions by 1’280 tCO2/yr.
In 2009, UN Geneva connected to “Genève-Lac-Nations” (GLN) to cool the premises using lake water. This reduced electricity consumption by 490MWh/yr and water consumption by 8’000 m3/yr. In the future, the new “Genilac” connection combined with the installation of 4 heat pumps will not only cool but also heat UN Geneva’s buildings. With this new technology, up to 80% of the heat requirement will come from a renewable source, leading to substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information on UN Geneva’s work with SIG, click here.
Solar energy
In 2014, thanks to the support of Switzerland, UN Geneva installed 3’223 m2 of photovoltaic solar panels to produce electricity and hot water in buildings A, B, C, D, K and S. To help power the Palais, the new building H was also equipped with 460 m2 of solar panels that will be operational from 2024 onwards. In total, the Palais des Nations features 3’683 m2 of solar panels.
Additionally, with the support of Green Cross International, 20 solar lamps have been installed in Ariana Park to ensure a minimum amount of lightning for security purposes at night.
Energy saving projects
Between 2010 and 2022, UN Geneva reduced electricity used in the Palais by 9%. This was achieved through a combination of institutional measures, innovative partnerships and a transformation of work processes.
A donation from Switzerland allowed UN Geneva’s energy consumption to be reduced by:
- Replacing most of the windows and blinds in office spaces
- Installing photovoltaic panels (see above)
- Replacing light fixtures in common spaces and office spaces
- Automating lighting controls in common spaces
Additionally, UN Geneva’s Facilities Management Section has implemented several major energy saving projects that contribute to environmental sustainability at the Palais:
- A heat recovery system on the air conditioning of the data center
- A heat recovery system on the cafeteria refrigeration system
- The replacement of the refrigeration system of the cafeteria
In addition, the Facilities Management Section does finetuning and optimization of the technical installations after handover of the buildings from the SHP project.
Waste management
Efforts are also being made in waste management according to the principle of “reduce, reuse, recycle”. Centralised recycling points have been set up throughout the Palais, and personal bins have been mostly removed. Paper towels in toilets have been replaced by hand dryers with a comparatively better environmental footprint.
Almost 100% of the park’s organic waste is recycled on-site, reducing both costs and carbon footprint: compost and ramial fragmented wood are reused for their many benefits for soil life and plants.
Current efforts are aimed at further reducing food and packaging waste, for example by encouraging staff to bring their own coffee cups. In addition, reusable boxes are available to replace single-use containers for take-out food in the cafeteria.
Footprint and emissions by scope
2050Today’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement methodology follows the GHG Protocol. The Protocol provides standards and guidance for organizations to measure and manage climate-warming emissions. It was created in 1998 through a partnership between the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
According to the GHG Protocol, the distribution of emissions is done by scopes:
Scope 1 represents direct emissions linked to the consumption of fossil fuels.
Scope 2 represents indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by the reporting company.
Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain (i.e. purchased good or services, business travel, employee commuting).
The 2050Today carbon footprint takes into account the reported emissions generated by the activities of the institution over one year and is divided by categories:
Energy and water
It takes into account the amount of the consumed electricity produced and purchased by the institution. The energy consumed to heat and/or cool the institution’s building area and the consumed water are included as well.
Mobility
It takes into consideration business travels and commuting (on a survey basis).
Food
The CO2 impact of food includes the catering of the institution and individual consumption (on a survey basis) during working hours.
Purchased goods
The perimeter of purchased goods is set to a list of new office equipment, new mobility equipment (vehicles) and construction materials.
Waste
The perimeter of the waste inventory is set to waste production from facilities and internal operations of the institution
It has to be noted that the collected data of the 2050Today members resulting in each carbon footprint are not yet fully standardized and might not be entirely complete. Data collection is being progressively harmonized and improved. Therefore, direct comparisons between tCO2 / employee among institutions – be it in general or per sector – are not yet possible nor relevant.
To ensure the reliability, the accuracy and a recurrent updating of the carbon footprint assessment, 2050Today is advised by an international Carbon Footprint Scientific Committee.
