Publications

The report presents the findings of the EMG Consultative Process on COVID-19 and the Environment and sets out a common UN perspective on an inclusive green recovery from the pandemic. It defines the key objectives and building blocks of green recovery, identifies priority areas for investment, and outlines the roles of governments, the private sector, international organizations and other actors in advancing a greener, more inclusive and rights-based recovery.

The report also examines the UN system’s particular role in supporting this transition, taking stock of initiatives launched during the pandemic and identifying opportunities to strengthen coherence, collaboration and leadership across the UN system. An accompanying inventory maps UN green recovery products against the report’s building blocks and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Common Approach to Biodiversity is the UN system’s shared framework for making biodiversity a consideration across the work of the whole UN system, with each organization contributing through its own mandate. The Common Approach was endorsed in 2021 by the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination and developed through the High-level Committee on Programmes.

The 2021 edition of the Greening the Blue Annual Report presents the environmental performance of the UN system in 2020, covering operations of headquarters and field offices worldwide.

This report highlights the relevance of biodiversity to the work of UN entities and its multiple benefits across the SDGs, human development, health and food security, human rights, and to global efforts to achieve poverty eradication, gender equality, climate resilience, chemicals management, sustainable economies and intergenerational equity. It stresses the need to urgently step up to the challenges of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, which is being exacerbated by climate change, by working together in partnership with Member States, civil society and the private sector, and taking actions that place people, nature and climate at the heart of our sustainable development efforts.

The 2020 edition of the Greening the Blue Annual Report presents the environmental performance of the UN system in 2019, covering operations of headquarters and field offices worldwide.

This document presents key elements of a proposed Model Approach to Environmental and Social Standards for UN programming The Model Approach represents a key step in moving towards a common approach among UN entities for addressing environmental and social standards in programming.

The 2019 edition of the Greening the Blue Annual Report presents the environmental performance of the UN system in 2018, covering operations of headquarters and field offices worldwide.

The 2018 edition of the Greening the Blue Annual Report presents the environmental performance of the UN system in 2017, covering operations of headquarters and field offices worldwide. 

This report signals the importance of collaboration and coordination among UN entities in sustainably solving the global e-waste problem. It showcases efforts by UN Environment Management Group (EMG) Members who have already undertaken various successful activities in the e-waste domain and also highlights the areas which still require improvement, or where efforts are lacking.

The report maps agency specific environmental actions, partnerships, and overall strategic trends of Member Agencies of the United Nations Environment Group, highlighting good practices, leveraging data visualisations, and identifying opportunities for further collaboration.