As part of the UNEP sustainability commitments, a number of actions were undertaken to reduce the carbon and overall environmental footprint of UNEA-6 and offset unavoidable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to it. Your cooperation and support in this important endeavour are highly appreciated.
Venue
The United Nations Office at Nairobi is working towards integrating sustainable development practices into operations and facilities management. In order to reduce its environmental impact and increase its operating efficiency, it developed a new construction and demolition waste management plan in support of the established office waste recycling programme, built a wastewater treatment plant and launched an electric vehicle fleet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As part of its strategy to restore the original forest environment on the complex, UNON planted trees that support indigenous biodiversity and reduce water consumption by being better adapted to the local climate. In January 2023, UNON received certification of the conformity of its environmental management system with standard ISO 14001:2015.
Transportation
Participants who organize their own air travel to and from Nairobi are encouraged to take the following actions:
- Opt for direct routes when possible that avoid additional emissions associated with multiple take-offs and landings;
- Chose economy class tickets to avoid the higher environmental footprint of business class trips;
- Choose airlines that have subscribed to the Fly Net Zero pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 by offsetting the emissions of carbon dioxide when someone flies.
UNEP will purchase certified carbon credits to offset travel emissions of funded participants as part of its annual environmental inventory process to offset unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions.
Help us calculate the environmental footprint of UNEA by sharing some information about your stay and your travel to Nairobi
Renting and reusing
To make sure most materials used are reused and reusable, UNEP prioritized the renting of equipment and the selection of sustainable options in the procurement process.
UNEA-6 made use of paper badges and participants were encouraged to bring their own lanyards, as well as return their lanyards after UNEA-6 for reuse in future meetings.
Waste avoidance and recycling
Please note that single-use plastic bags are banned in Kenya since 2017 and the use of single use plastics is not permitted in the UN Offices in Nairobi.
The United Nations Office at Nairobi has its own waste sorting station and waste collected from the complex is sorted and measured, and either recycled or disposed of appropriately. Coloured waste sorting bins are located around the complex to enable sorting at source between plastic, paper, biowaste and other waste.
Catering
All participants were strongly encouraged to bring refillable drinking containers (cups, mugs, bottles) to be used for refilling at the Café/Restaurant and hydration stations located throughout the venue as single use paper cups are charged at an extra cost.
Vegetarian or vegan food options were offered at restaurants and cafeterias on the UN compound, and efforts were made to reduce food and food container waste.
Digital documentation
Official meetings were paperless, and printed official documentation was therefore not available. All official documentation is made available on the UNEA-6 website on the Meeting documents page.
Reference documents
The efforts to minimize the environmental impacts of the Environment Assembly are based on the following frameworks and sustainability commitments:
- Strategy for sustainability management in the UN System 2020-2030
- Action plan for integrating sustainable development practices into Secretariat-wide operations and facilities management
- Environmental Policy for the United Nations Secretariat
- United Nations Secretariat Climate Action Plan 2020-2030
- United Nations Environment Programme: Greening the Blue
For any additional questions or follow up regarding the greening of UNEA-6, please send a message to the following email address: unep-sgb@un.org
