UN Strengthens Environmental Governance to Reduce Carbon Footprint
Author: Jessica Hunt
According to a new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations entities strengthened their environmental governance and staff training in 2021, signaling another year of steady progress toward improving the organization’s environmental sustainability. The UN is intensifying its efforts towards making its buildings and operations more environmentally and socially sustainable as it works to battle the effects of the triple planetary crisis. The UN Secretary-General believes that enhancing internal environmental sustainability and minimizing environmental damage are essential components of successful leadership. By 2025, all UN system institutions are to have implemented environmental management systems (EMS), according to the organization’s Sustainability Strategy. In 2021, there were twice as many UN organizations with environmental management systems as there were in 2020. The requirements for deploying these systems are currently met or on the verge of being achieved by 33% of entities. The percentage of UN organizations that have or are putting into place policies, standards, and processes to recognize and address environmental and social problems increased to 56%.