What is the 2050Today Charter?
United by the vision of decarbonisation, 2050Today members have decided to take action to confront the challenges of climate change by implementing concrete measures. Permanent missions, international organisations, academia and civil society entities have resolved to measure and work towards reducing their emissions while expressing their desire to work together for effective, inclusive and sustainable climate action.
By establishing the 2050Today Charter, the signatory institutions have set up a coherent, mutually supportive, and effective framework for reducing the GHG emissions together. The Charter confirms and highlights the international Geneva climate action contribution. It structures the members participation within a common and jointly agreed framework.
The Charter in a nutshell
The 2050Today Charter is a mile setting frame of reference designed to support participating institutions in their journey towards a carbon-neutral International Geneva. The document represents 2050Today’s commitment to harnessing its influence and extensive network to unite institutions, along with key actors and stakeholders in International Geneva, in fostering sustainable practices and behaviours towards effective climate action.
The Charter establishes a unified framework, outlining specific objectives, actions, and targets that each participating institution can adapt to create a tailored action plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It further provides essential guidelines to assist staff and suppliers in grasping the environmental and climate impacts of their activities. In particular it addresses the possible implications on the energy used, the means of transport chosen, the products selected, the food offered, the ICT used, the waste produced, the biodiversity protection and the behavioural changes that might be required.
To achieve the decarbonation of their activities, the Charter signatories express their resolve to take the following actions and measures, consistent with their respective legal frameworks:
- Measure and assess their activities in accordance with internationnaly agreed sustainability and GHG emissions objectives
- Define their own sustainability objectives and action plan to reduce GHG emissions
- Communicate about their actions
The Charter has been drafted with the contribution of the 2050Today participating institutions, the relevant Swiss authorities and expert partners. Its content is the sole responsibility of 2050Today. The Charter was adopted by its first signatories on 5 December 2023. It is proposed to be a common framework and to provide practical guidelines. It is open for signature to all International Geneva institutions.
How the 2050Today Charter works?
The 2050Today Charter is made of several components. It comprises firstly the climate action references, the principles, the reporting and timeline, the priorities, as well as the sectors of action.
Furthermore, it includes Guidelines by sector:
- Biodiversity
- Energy
- Food
- Mobility
- Sustainable IT
- Waste management
These Guidelines are supplemented by Thematic Objectives providing detailed indications and resources for implementation.
Lastly, an Assessment and Action Plan Tool is available for each sector to enable an in-depth assessment of the initial situation specific to each institution. Based on their own assessment, participating institutions can then define their action plan using the proposed objectives, actions, and targets.
The diagram below illustrates the different components of the 2050Today Charter.
2050Today Charter
- Climate action references
- Principles
- Reporting and timeline
- Priorities
- Thematic sectors of action
Implementation
Guidelines
- Biodiversity
- Energy
- Food
- Mobility
- Sustainable IT
- Waste management
Support
Tools
- Assessment and Action Plans Tools
Quick access
Click on the boxes to access the content of the 2050Today Charter, the Guidelines by sector and the Assessment and Action Plan Tools.
We, the signatory institutions, express our resolve to take the following actions and measures, consistent with our respective legal frameworks, towards a carbon free International Geneva :
1. Measuring regularly the carbon footprint of our activities;
2. Carrying out an initial assessment of our situation on one or possibly more sustainability sectors of the Charter;
3. Defining our own Action Plan and implementing it to work towards the corresponding targets;
4. Sharing the Action Plan with 2050Today and reporting on the set sustainability topics;
5. Communicating our climate action.
Permanent Missions to the United Nations in Geneva
International Organizations
Academia and Civil society entities
24. EPFL- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
25. HES- SO Genève
27. UNIGE – University of Geneva
28. CAGI – Geneva International Welcome Centre
29. CCIG – Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services
31. EBU – European Broadcasting Union
32. EGPAF – Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (Geneva Office)
33. FIPOI – Building Foundation for International Organisations
35. Geneva Call
37. ICVA – International Council of Voluntary Agencies
39. NRC – Norwegian Refugee Council IDMC – Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
40. Open Geneva
41. PATH – Foundation for Appropriate Technology in Health (Geneva Office)
Witnesses
Partners contributing to the achievement of the 2050Today Charter's objectives
2050Today Charter © 2023 by 2050Today is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
