About resource efficiency

The unsustainable use of resources has triggered critical scarcities and caused climate change and widespread environmental degradation – all of which have negative impacts on the well-being of the planet and its people.

At the same time, more than 10 per cent of the world population continues to live in extreme poverty, unable to meet even their most basic needs. Responding to this dual challenge will require innovative policies, redirected investment, environmentally sound technologies, international cooperation, and capacity development to support countries to transition to inclusive green economies.

What we're doing

Sustainable Public Procurement

Public procurement wields enormous purchasing power, accounting for an average of 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in OECD countries, and up to 30 percent of GDP in many developing countries

Partnership for Action on Green Economy

We work with other UN agencies to assist countries in developing, adopting and implementing green economy policies and strategies.

One Planet Network

The One Planet network generates collective impact through multi-stakeholder programmes and partnerships, which develop, replicate and scale up SCP policies and initiatives at all levels.

Sustainable consumption and production policies

Sustainable Consumption and Production (known as SCP) is about doing more and better with less.

The Life Cycle Initiative

Life Cycle Initiative is a public-private, multi-stakeholder partnership enabling the global use of credible life cycle knowledge by private and public stakeholders.

The International Resource Panel

The International Resource Panel was launched by UN Environment in 2007 to build and share the knowledge needed to improve our use of resources worldwide.