The United Nations Environment Management Group (EMG) is an interagency coordination body that brings together UN entities to identify and address international environmental and human settlement issues that require joint action across the UN system. The Group pools its expertise, knowledge and resources to develop coherent global management responses to those issues in the form of UN Common Approaches, and system-wide strategies and analyses.
In July 1999, the General Assembly adopted resolution 53/242 which supported the Secretary-General’s proposal to establish an environmental management group, outlined in his report on the Environment and Human Settlements (A/53/463). As a result, the EMG was established in 2001.
The EMG promotes collaboration within the UN system to enhance coherent support to Member States in addressing the triple planetary crisis of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss. The group facilitates knowledge sharing, develops system-wide strategies, conducts mappings and gap analyses, and creates implementation tools that strengthen the integration of environmental sustainability into the UN's policies, programs, and management practices.
The EMG operates through a two-tiered structure:
Senior Officials: The Head of each EMG member organization acts as a Senior Official within the EMG. Chaired by the Executive Director of UNEP, the Senior Officials collectively form the EMG's decision-making body, which convenes at least once a year to discuss issues on the environmental agenda and to set the EMG’s annual programme of work.
The EMG brings together knowledge and expertise on the environment in the UN system, synthesising information and tools for the easy reference by UN entities and other stakeholders. It highlights the strengths of each entity and helps prevent duplication of efforts, bridging sectors in addressing environmental challenges.
The EMG plays an important role in creating multistakeholder coalitions and system-wide strategies on the environment that lead to more focused action, ultimately improving the UN system’s support for Member States.
Additionally, the EMG has played a significant role in shaping the corporate environmental sustainability agenda for the UN system, helping EMG members to advocate for stronger environmental action within their entities.
Since the EMG's establishment in 2001, the Group has undergone several reforms to address the evolving coordination challenges and respond to the emerging and intensifying global environmental issues. In 2015, the EMG conducted and produced the report “Maximising the Effectiveness of the EMG in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. Following this, the EMG implemented the report’s recommendations and updated the EMG Terms of Reference. Between 2018 and 2022, the EMG project underwent an evaluation of its relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability. The findings and recommendations from this evaluation were published in 2023 and reviewed by EMG members in 2024 for implementation in the coming years.
The Group is supported by a Secretariat provided by UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The Secretariat is located in Nairobi, Kenya.
The EMG is an inter-agency coordination mechanism, but its work is also communicated to Member States through established UN governance channels.
UNEP reports to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) on the work of the EMG as part of the follow-up to UNEA resolution 1/11 on coordination across the United Nations system in the field of the environment, including the Environment Management Group. The resolution specifically addresses UN system-wide environmental coordination and the role of the EMG.
Regular updates on the EMG’s work are also provided to UNEP’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR), providing Member States with opportunities to receive information and exchange views on EMG activities and UN system-wide environmental coordination.
In addition, EMG member entities are encouraged to communicate relevant EMG outcomes and results to their own governing bodies, as appropriate.