The UN-System Working Together for the Environment | UN Environment Management Group

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UN System-Wide Framework of Strategies on the Environment

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Environmental challenges do not fit neatly within the mandate of any one United Nations organization. Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, water, urbanization, human rights and many other issues are closely connected and require expertise and action from across the UN system.

The United Nations System-Wide Framework of Strategies on the Environment (SWFS) was created to help the UN work together more coherently on these issues. It provides an overarching framework for strengthening collaboration, identifying opportunities for joint action and making better use of the different mandates and expertise that exist across the UN system.

In simple terms, the SWFS helps answer the question:

How can the different parts of the UN work together more effectively to support Member States on environmental challenges?

SWFS

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Where did the SWFS come from?

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The origins of the SWFS go back to the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, where Member States called for stronger coordination of environmental activities across the United Nations system.

At the first session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in 2014, Member States took this further through UNEA resolution 1/11 on coordination across the United Nations system in the field of the environment, including the Environment Management Group. The resolution requested the UNEP Executive Director, mainly through the EMG, to develop system-wide strategies on the environment and to engage the UN Secretary-General and the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination in order to promote broad ownership across the UN system.

This mandate led the EMG to develop the UN System-Wide Framework of Strategies on the Environment, which was endorsed by EMG Senior Officials in March 2016 and launched at UNEA-2 in May 2016.

UNEA resolution 1/11

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What does the SWFS do?

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The SWFS is not a single environmental policy for the entire UN system, nor does it replace the mandates or strategies of individual UN organizations.

Instead, it provides a common umbrella for UN system-wide cooperation on the environment. Its purpose is to:

strengthen coherence and collaboration across UN organizations;
identify areas where organizations can work together rather than separately;
connect different environmental agendas and areas of expertise;
encourage common approaches and joint initiatives where these add value;
support Member States in implementing the environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda and other internationally agreed environmental commitments.

Over time, the SWFS has evolved from mapping what different parts of the UN system are doing towards supporting more results-oriented common approaches, strategies and collaborative initiatives.

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How has the framework evolved?

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The 2024 SWFS update, prepared for UNEA-6, looked at how UN system-wide environmental cooperation had developed since the first synthesis report. It highlighted a shift towards more practical forms of collaboration, including coalitions and common approaches that provide shared objectives and frameworks for collective action at global, regional and country level.

The 2025 SWFS update, prepared for UNEA-7, showed further progress in turning system-wide coordination into joint action. It highlighted cooperation on biodiversity, pollution, human rights and the environment, internal sustainability, and emerging areas such as urbanization and gender and the environment. It also highlighted efforts to bring global environmental priorities closer to country-level UN programming, including through Common Country Analyses and UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks.

2017 Synthesis Report

2024 SWFS Update – UNEA-6

2025 SWFS Update – UNEA-7

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System-wide strategies and common approaches today

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Today, a growing number of system-wide strategies and common approaches help different parts of the UN work towards shared environmental objectives.

Within the EMG, these include:

UN Common Approach to Biodiversity
A system-wide framework for integrating biodiversity and nature-based solutions into UN policy, programme planning and delivery and supporting implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

UN Common Approach to Pollution
A shared framework for strengthening coordinated UN action towards a pollution-free planet, covering air, water, soil, marine and coastal pollution and the sound management of chemicals and waste.

UN Sustainability Strategy 2020–2030
A two-part strategy aimed at strengthening environmental and social sustainability across UN management, operations, programmes and partnerships.

Common Approach to the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment – under development
Work is under way through the EMG Issue Management Group on Human Rights and the Environment to develop a common approach supporting more coherent UN system implementation of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

UN Common Approach to Biodiversity

UN Common Approach to Pollution

UN Sustainability Strategy

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Looking ahead

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The need for coordinated UN action on the environment continues to grow. The most recent SWFS reporting highlights both progress and remaining challenges: while collaboration and common approaches have expanded, stronger incentives, operational capacity and sustainable support for joint implementation are still needed.

The SWFS therefore continues to provide a framework through which the UN system can identify shared priorities, strengthen connections between environmental agendas and translate system-wide cooperation into more coherent support for Member States.