The United Nations has committed to “walk the talk” on sustainability by applying the environmental and social principles it promotes externally to the way it manages its own operations, programmes and projects.
For many years, the EMG has provided a platform for UN entities to develop common approaches to internal sustainability. This work has evolved from early efforts on sustainable procurement and climate neutrality to a broader system-wide approach covering environmental performance, organizational management, programming and environmental and social standards.
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The EMG’s work on internal sustainability dates back to the early 2000s, when UN entities began working together on issues such as sustainable procurement and climate neutrality. This gradually developed into a broader effort to make sustainability a more systematic part of how the UN manages its operations and delivers its work.
In 2007, the UN adopted a system-wide approach to climate neutrality, followed by work on sustainability management, common greenhouse gas accounting and environmental performance reporting. This operational work continues today through the Greening the Blue initiative, which supports UN entities in measuring and reducing the environmental impacts of their facilities and operations and reports on progress across the UN system. The EMG also established an Environmental Management Peer Review process to help UN entities assess and strengthen the environmental sustainability of their facilities and internal operations.
In parallel, the EMG began addressing the environmental and social sustainability of UN policies, programmes and projects. This work led to the Framework for Advancing Environmental and Social Sustainability in the United Nations System and, later, the Model Approach to Environmental and Social Standards for UN Programming.
These strands of work came together in the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations System 2020–2030, which provides the current system-wide framework for advancing sustainability across UN management and, more broadly, across the way the UN works.
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UN Sustainability Strategy 2020–2030
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The Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations System 2020–2030 provides the overall framework for strengthening environmental and social sustainability across the UN system. It was developed in two complementary phases.
Phase I: Environmental Sustainability in the Area of Management, endorsed by the UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) in 2019, focuses on reducing the environmental impacts of UN operations. It promotes the systematic consideration of environmental risks and benefits in management decisions, common goals across the UN system and a coordinated but flexible approach that allows organizations to adapt implementation to their mandates and circumstances.
Phase II: Towards Leadership in Environmental and Social Sustainability, endorsed in 2021, broadens this ambition. It seeks to mainstream environmental and social sustainability principles throughout the work of the UN system, including management, programmes and partnerships, and to improve coherence and accountability across organizations.
Together, the two phases provide a common direction for making sustainability an integral part of how UN organizations operate and deliver their mandates. EMG Senior Officials have subsequently called on organizations to embed the Strategy in their organizational strategies and programmes of work.
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Environmental and Social Standards for UN Programming
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Internal sustainability is also about how the UN designs and implements its programmes and projects.
In 2019, the EMG developed the Model Approach to Environmental and Social Standards for UN Programming. The Model Approach provides a common set of environmental and social benchmarks and processes that UN entities can use when developing or updating their own safeguards and standards.
Rather than creating one mandatory system for every organization, it provides a shared reference point. UN entities can voluntarily align their standards with the Model Approach while taking account of their individual mandates, programme and risk-management systems and other institutional policies. The aim is to promote greater consistency, efficiency and accountability across UN programming while ensuring that the principles promoted by the UN are reflected in the way its own work is delivered.
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Continuing system-wide collaboration
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At their 30th meeting in 2024, EMG Senior Officials requested EMG members to explore options for identifying a host entity, or entities, to coordinate implementation of Phase II of the UN Sustainability Strategy at system-wide level, and to report back at their 31st meeting.
While a system-wide host for Phase II has not been identified, collaboration among UN organizations continues. A number of UN entities have established UNESSnet — the Network of United Nations Focal Points for the Environmental and Social Sustainability of Programmes. UNESSnet provides a forum for practitioners across the UN system to exchange knowledge and experience on strengthening the environmental and social sustainability of UN-led and UN-supported programmes and projects.
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Walking the talk
