The UN System’s Environmental Footprint: Greening the Blue Report 2023
December 2023: The latest Greening the Blue Report is out, detailing the UN system’s environmental footprint and efforts to reduce it shows the progress both at the UN system-wide level and entity level, using 2022 data. The 2023 report highlights the environmental impacts of over 308,000 personnel in 57 entities across Headquarters, field offices and operations on the ground.
Read the report here
Read the highlights
The FAO Corporate Environmental Responsibility Report 2023 is out!
December 2023 - The latest Corporate Environmental Responsibility Annual Report has now been published. There are many new initiatives in both FAO headquarters and decentralized offices. While there has been a significant emissions rebound as operations and facilities returned to more normal operations, FAO will continue to work to ensure emissions remain low and are aligned with the targets of the FAO Corporate Environmental Responsibility Strategy 2020-2030
Read the full report here.
Food Waste Reduction Initiative at FAO headquarters
The Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) team is proud to announce the expansion of its food waste reduction initiative. While the first pilot project had an emphasis on addressing food waste during the food preparation stage, the expanded project will encompass all food waste generated at headquarters at the consumer level. This expansion was set to debut on Monday, 16 October, aligning with the celebration of World Food Day.
Colleagues are invited to sort their meal leftovers into four categories and place them in the designated bins. Each food waste station will be equipped with scales that will automatically record the weight each time someone disposes of waste.
Read the steps to follow HERE.
Interview with FAO´s CER focal point and Head of CSLI
The Corporate Environmental Responsibility Team is housed within the Infrastructure and Facilities Management Service (CSLI), and makes a significant contribution to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) internal sustainability. This year CSLI once again demonstrated its achievements and received the ONE FAO Team award. Tina Mittendorf, Head of CSLI and FAO CER Focal Point, gave an interview with Greening the Blue about current projects and future plans.
Read the full interview here
The new Greening the Blue Report 2022 is here!
December 2022- The new 2022 edition of the Greening the Blue Report is here! As in previous years, the report provides UN system-wide and entity-level data on environmental impact, as well as environmental governance, procurement, and human resources. This year´s report outlines the UN system´s accelerated efforts on environmental governance and environmental training in 2021 and encouraging environmental trends, as a result of the UN system walking the talk, in conjunction with the unique conditions of the pandemic in the reporting year.
Read the report here
The FAO Corporate Environmental Responsibility Report 2022 is out now!
December 2022 - The latest Corporate Environmental Responsibility Annual Report is here! This year´s shows many encouraging trends. Emissions are down right across the board due to the pandemic. All across the Organization, sustainability initiatives have been implemented that demonstrate the grassroots movement to sow the seeds of sustainability in FAO. This year´s report also has a new format and expanded length, which is needed to accommodate the increasing scope and breadth of FAO´s sustainability ambitions and achievements. Read and see for yourself!
Read the full report here.
FAO and UNDP pave the way towards sustainable facilities in decentralized offices
April 2022 - The partnership between UNDP and FAO to install green energy solutions in FAO decentralised offices has yielded some amazing results over the years, furthering organizational environmental responsibility, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and sustainable facility management. In 2021, the two agencies cemented this collaboration even further with the signing of a Service Level Agreement, which will facilitate interagency collaboration in the future installation of solar photovoltaic systems in FAO facilities.
Read more here!
FAO´s RAP Regional office sets the bar for sustainability
June 2022 - Since the inauguration of the FAO Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) Strategy 2020-2030, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu has called on FAO offices around the world to “walk the talk" on sustainability. Many FAO offices have already answered the call. Amongst these offices, FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) has been amongst the staunchest supporters of corporate environmental sustainability in the Organization and has excelled in implementing new and innovative sustainability measures in the regional office in Bangkok, including a new air-conditioning system, and a recently completed solar PV system estimated to save 80tCO2 annually.
December, 2021: The new FAO Corporate Environmental Responsibility Report 2021 has just been released. It presents the environmental footprint of FAO for the year 2020, and showcases some of the sustainability measures in place across FAO, as well as future projects on the horizon.
Read the report here!
FAO’s new organic rooftop garden, the first in a UN building
November, 2021: FAO has built a new technological rooftop garden at Headquarters, the first of its kind installed in a UN building. The green area is designed to reduce local pollutants and serve a prototype of terrace farming in urban areas. FAO will continue to ensure the harmonization of internal sustainability initiatives with its Corporate Environmental Responsibility Strategy 2020-2030.
Read more here
November, 2021: The new Greening the Blue report has been released. Greening the Blue (GtB) is a UNEP-led initiative that assists UN entities in measuring their environmental performance, reducing their environmental impacts, and offsetting unavoidable greennhouse gas emissions. The results are published in the annual GtB report. This year FAO has a best practice story showcased in the report.
Download the report here
The Corporate Environmental Responsibility Strategy 2020-2030 has been launched!
June, 2021: The new Corporate Environmental Repsonsibility Strategy 2020-2030 was launched on the 24th of May 2021 at a virtual event attended by more than 350 participants from across the globe. Speakers included FAO Director General Qu Dongyu, representatives of member states, as well as colleagues from several FAO divisions.
Read more here
FAO continues its solar initiatves
May, 2021: FAO has implemented a number of solar PV systems in Decentralised Offices across the world, as well as in FAO Headquarters. This trend has continued over the course of 2020, when a number of home solar systems were made available to select staff, and a new hybrid solar system was installed in FAO Mauritania. More solar sytems are already planned and are in various stages of development.
Read more here
New energy efficient windows at FAO Headquarters
April 2021: At FAO Headquarters, a project is underway to replace the windows with new, energy efficient windows, that are expected to result in significant emissions and cost savings.
Read more here
Greening the Blue Report 2020
FAO releases its Corporate Environmental Responsibility Report 2020
The FAO Corporate Environmental Responsibility Report for the year 2020 is now available, outling the environmental footprint of FAO operations and facilities, and showcasing measures to reduce this impact, as well as greeninig initiatives throughout FAO offices worldwide.
Read the report here
FAO solar system in Accra, Ghana
April, 2020: A new solar system has been steadily producing energy at FAO's Regional Office for Africa (RAF) in Accra, Ghana. The installation can cover up to 40% of the office's energy needs, saving up to 40,000kg CO2e per year.
Read more here
FAO can once again claim climate neutrality
January, 2020: Every year, FAO compensates its unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions from facilities and operations through the purchase of Certified Emission Reduction credits from the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism, which were invested into Adaptation Fund projetcs.
The certificate is available here.
FAO Djibouti is celebrating the 1st year of operation of its solar PV system
January, 2020: One year on from the installation of a solar PV system in FAO Djibouti, a first of its kind in the region, the system is offsetting around 9 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
Read more here
UN Nepal goes solar
December, 2018: A solar energy system has been installed at the UN House in Kathmandu, Nepal. This was FAO's first solar system venture, carried out in conjunction with the WHO, UNICEF, and the UNDP in a shared premesis. The system is estimated to save 52 tons CO2e annually.
Read more here!
Rome based agencies unite to beat plastic pollution
July, 2018: Aligning with the theme of World Environment Day 2018, The UN's Rome based agencies (IFAD, FAO, WFP) put out a call to staff worldwide in a campaign to #BeatPlasticPollution, as well as taking steps to eliminate plastic use in their offices.
Read more here and in our Corporate Environmental Responsibility report 2018
Sustainability and Sustainable Procurement in FAO
May, 2017: FAO is commited to championing best practice initiatvies regarding sustainability and sustainable procurement. Examples include the integration of environmental criteria into procurement processes where viable, as well as including stipulations for environmental criteria in office operations, such as the stipulations for sustainability in the catering arrangements for FAO Headquarters.
Read more here!