8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
1/44
A Guideto
Greenhouse GAs
emission reduction
in un orGAnizAtions
Unit
ed
nations
environm
ent
Program
m
e
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
2/44
Copyright United Nations Environment Programme, 2009
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any orm or
educational or non-prot purposes without special permission rom the copyright
holder, provided acknowledgement o the source is made. UNEP would appreciate
receiving a copy o any publication that uses this publication as a source.
No use o this publication may be made or resale or or any other commercialpurpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing rom the United Nations
Environment Programme.
Discaier
The designations employed and the presentation o the material in this
publication do not imply the expression o any opinion whatsoever
on the part o the United Nations Environment Programme
concerning the legal status o any country, territory, city or
area or o its authorities, or concerning delimitation o its
rontiers or boundaries. Moreover, the views expressed
do not necessarily represent the decision or the
stated policy o the United Nations Environment
Programme, nor does citing o trade names or
commercial processes constitute endorsement.
UNEPpromotes environ-
mentally sound practicesglobally. This document is pub-
lished in electronic format only therebyeliminating the use of paper, ink, andtransport emissions. You are encouragedprint it only when absolutely necessary.
UNEP will print the document on de-mand on 100% recycled paper.
5.5-7.1Crise in globaltemperature
by 2100**
4-5.2Crise in global
temperatureby 2100**
2.9-3.8Crise in globaltemperature
by 2100**
2.1-2.8Crise in global
temperatureby 2100**
Climate Change ModelsLikely effects of fouremission reduction models
COVER ILLUSTRATION
* from 1990 levels
** temperature rise is relative t o pre-industrial levels and ranges from themost likely (50% chance of occurring) to the worst case scenario (10%
chance of occurring)Source: UK MET OFFICE
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
3/44
UNEP DTIE
Sustainabe Cnsuptin &
Prductin Branc
15 Rue de Milan
75441 Paris CEDEX 09, France
Tel: +33 1 4437 1450
Fax: +33 1 4437 1474E-mail: [email protected]
www.unep.r/scp/sun
A Guideto
Greenhouse GAs
emission reductionin un orGAnizAtions
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
4/44
Chapter I: A Quick List o Emission ReductionOpportunities 3
A. Emission Reduction From Travel 4
B. Emission Reduction From Buildings 5
C. Emission Reduction Through Processes 6
D. Emission Reduction Through Organizational
Culture 7
Chapter II: Basic Concepts and Approaches 9
A. Understanding the Basics 10
B. Identiying Emission Sources 10
C. A Strategy or Emission Reductions 11
Chapter III: Description o Emission Reduction
Options 15
A. Emission Reduction From Travel 16
1. Reduce Travel 16
2. Travel more eciently 17
3. Other Travel-related Issues to Consider 18
B. Emission Reduction From Buildings 191. Passive measures 20
2. Active measures 23
3. Building management measures 27
C. Emission Reduction Through Processes 28
1. Sustainable procurement 28
2. Administration 29
3. Budgeting 29
4. Meetings 30
D. Emission Reduction Through OrganizationalCulture 30
1. Policy support 31
2. Environmental Management Systems 31
3. Formal check points 31
4. Innovative incentives 32
Chapter IV: How to Get Started 35
About this Guide / Contents
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
This Guide serves to provide an overview oapproaches to reducing emissions o greenhouse
gases rom UN organizations, within the boundaries
set in the UN Climate Neutral Strategy. The Guide
oers a generic model or how to approach emission
reduction, along with key emission reduction options
in dierent areas. For more detailed inormation
about each option, the reader is encouraged to
consult the tools and resources that will be made
available on the Climate Neutral Website (http://
www.unemg.org/climateneutralun/).
The Guide consists o our chapters:
A list o generic emission reduction options in1.
dierent aspects o common UN operations.
An introduction to basic concepts and2.
approaches relevant to emission reduction.
An extended description o the emission3.
reduction options listed in Chapter I
How to get started.4.
The guide is intended as an introduction and does not
attempt to give in-depth implementation instruction
or individual emission reduction options, nor to listevery possible emission reduction opportunity. Its
value is in directing the reader towards areas where
such opportunities typically exist.
The Guide will be updated and expanded over time
in line with lessons learned rom various parts o
the UN system. Feedback and comments on how
the Guide can be improved are welcome.
Please contact: [email protected]
CONTENTS
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
5/44
1
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Climate change is today recognized as one o themost serious challenges to the global community,
potentially aecting almost all aspects o lie across
the planet. The United Nations is convening and
catalyzing international eorts to reduce the causes
and eects o global warming. But more than that,
the mandate o each and every UN organization is
now aected directly or indirectly by global warming.
Climate change is no longer seen as only an envi-
ronmental problem but the eects on health, ood
production, economic development, inrastructure,
and even peace and security are now commonly
recognized. More and more members states are
asking that each UN organization are considering
climate change in their programs o work. For the
UN, walking the talk and reducing our own climate
ootprint is thereore a matter o high priority. This
has also been repeatedly emphasized by Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon.
UNs Chie Executive Board (CEB) adopted in late
2007 the UN Climate Neutral Strategy, committing
all UN organizations to move towards climate
neutrality with three specic targets to be achievedby December 2009:
All UN organizations have to prepare annual1.
greenhouse gas inventories. The rst inventories
(or 2008) are to be ready by the end o 2009.
All UN organizations have to start reducing their2.
greenhouse gas emissions.
All UN organizations have to consider the impli-3.
cations o purchasing osets to compensate or
emissions they cannot avoid.
Even though the Strategy identies the end o2009 as a checkpoint or the implementation o
the strategy, it is clear that the work on reducing
UNs climate ootprint cannot be a one-time eort
but has to be sustained and integrated into the daily
operation practices o all UN organizations.
The rst and third objectives o the strategy to
prepare greenhouse gas inventories and to consider
implications o osetting are not within the scope
o this report but are covered by other reports and
guidelines developed by UNEPs Sustainable UN
acility (SUN) and the Environment Management
Group (EMG). This report aims at providing an intro-
duction to how the second objective greenhouse
gas emission reduction can be pursued in UN.
This guide is specically addressing reduction o
greenhouse gas emissions rom sources covered
in the UN Climate Neutral Strategy1. However,
experience suggests that while reviewing the
emission reduction options o an organization, ideas
or a wider greening o the organization are oten
generated at the same time. Such ideas may relateto issues such as waste generation, consumption
o oce supplies, or water savings. Interventions in
these areas sometimes also have an indirect eect
on the energy consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions rom the organization. For example, i less
hot water is consumed, then less energy is used to
heat the water. It is recommended that the orga-
nization thereore remains open to consider green
options that may not immediately seem relevant to
the climate neutral strategy.
1. The UN Climate Neutral Strategy covers emissions from all activities that are directly within the control of UNs management, for exampleemissions related to electricity use, heating/cooling of buildings, travel of staff and meeting participants that UN pays the tickets for, use of officialvehicles, and leakage of refrigerants from air conditioning. The Strategy does not include emissions related to procurement, commuting of staff,field projects, or waste treatment.
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
6/44
2
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
7/44
Chapter IA Quick List of Emission
Reduction Opportunities
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
8/44
4
Chapter I: A Quick Checklist of
Emission Reduction Opportunities
This Quick Checklist summarizes generic emission
reduction opportunities that are described in more
detail in Chapter III. This list can help the reader
to get a ast overview o aspects oten included in
greenhouse gas emission reduction plans, and may
serve as a check list or organizations to aid their
emission reduction eorts.
Based on the typical greenhouse gas emission prole
o UN organizations, which is also similar to many
other organizations, the most prominent sources o
emissions are travel and buildings. As is explained in
Chapter II, in order to address these it is oten necessary
to consider interventions in processes and organiza-
tional culture to achieve lasting emission reductions.
This Quick Checklist thereore presents material under
these our headings. For urther inormation about
each option please reer to Chapter III. For inormation
about the denitions and methodologies to identiy
and evaluate what options may be o relevance in the
individual case, please reer to Chapter II.
The ollowing opportunities should be considered as
means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:
A Quick List of Emission Reduction Opportunities
A. EmISSIoN REDUCTIoN FRom TRAvEl
Travel less1.
Take a policy decision to reduce travel by XX%
Bundle long-haul missions to increase the length o the missions but reduce the number o trips
Use local sta to reduce the need or long-haul travel
Reduce the number o participants or sta attending the same meeting
Use alternative means o communication such as virtual (Internet based) meetings
Travel in more efcient ways2.
When available, go by train instead o air on short-haul sectors
Encourage travel in economy class instead o business class
Give preerence to airlines with modern (low emission) aircrats
Require travel agents to provide inormation on low greenhouse gas emission travel alternatives
to the business as usual option
Require travel agents to highlight on tickets and quotations the associated carbon ootprint and
oset cost.
Require travel agents to give preerence to routings and airlines that minimize the number o
landings/takeos and use more modern aircrat.
Adopt a sustainable travel policy3.
Include time bound emission reduction targets and dened responsibilities or implementation.
Implement rigorous screening o travel need and travel modes4.
Establish ormal checkpoints in travel planning and approval systems.
Raise awareness on why and how to reduce the travel-related carbon ootprint5.
Conduct awareness raising and training sessions with concerned sta (travelers, approving
managers, travel assistants) and travel agents.
Monitor and compare travel patterns6.Track relevant departments travels to better manage and set targets or emission reduction.
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
9/44
5
B. EmISSIoN REDUCTIoN FRom BUIlDINgS
Passive measures1.Improve insulation o the building envelope
Reduce heat transer through windows
Change rom single glass windows to double or triple glass windows
Change rom clear glass to e-coated glass
Remove thermal bridges between the outside and inside
Improve the seals between the inner and outer window rames
Install exterior shading devices outside the windows
Enhance natural daylight in the oce
Remove non-structural interior walls, replacing them with transparent walls i appropriateRemodel the oce layout to ensure that the more requently used spaces are adjacent to
windows
Install light shelves; horizontal light-refecting overhangs that are placed above eye-level and
have a high-refectance upper surace
Use bright/light colors or interior decoration (walls, roo, foor and urniture)
Install skylights (roo windows) or light tubes transmitting daylight into the interior o the
building
Leave blinds and curtains open in the daytime i compatible with heating/cooling.
Optimize natural ventilation, cooling and heating
Establish ventilation corridors inside the building
Enhance natural ventilation with solar chimneys
Use night time natural cooling in hot climates and day time natural heat accumulation in cold
climates
Use under-roo ventilation and green roos to decrease heat accumulation in hot climates
Benet rom adjacent vegetation to direct or shield the building rom prevailing wind fows
and direct sunlight
Use heat generated by oce equipment to reduce the heating need in cold climates
Active measures2.
Switch to energy supply rom renewable energy sources or purchase Renewable Energy
Certicates
Produce on-site energy rom renewable energy sources
Support heating/cooling with earth-energy cooling/heating systems
Reduce heating/cooling needs through heat recovery rom the ventilation air
Improve the perormance o the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system by
conducting a limited assessment or ull retro-commissioning o the system. This may result in
one or several o the ollowing recommendations:
Complete replacement with a more ecient system
Upgrade or replace parts o the existing equipment
Improve control o the HVAC system (increase the monitoring points, ne tune control
parameters, upgrade standard operating procedures etc)
Seal leaks in ducts, clean ans and lters
Improve training o operatorsEstablish monitoring and eedback systems
...continued on next page
Chapter I
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
10/44
6
A Quick List of Emission Reduction Opportunities
Optimize the eciency o lighting. Measures include:
Provide the right level o lighting or the activities carried out
Only use high eciency lamps, such as fuorescent lampsChange rom magnetic to electronic ballast in lamps
Regularly clean lamps/bulbs
Ensure that lights can be turned on individually or each room or work place
Install movement sensors in less requently used spaces
Install timed central switches
Reduce energy use by oce equipment:
Purchase energy ecient equipment
Activate energy saving eatures on the equipment
Ensure that equipment is turned o when the work day is over
Completely unplug electric equipment when possible, e.g. at night and on weekendsReplace individual equipment with common high-eciency equipment:
Move rom individual printers to Local Area Network (LAN) connected high-eciency common
printers/copying machines/scanners
Replace physical servers with virtual servers
Building management measures3.
Commissioning all new systems and upgrades o existing systems
Retro-commission existing systems
Dene, monitor and report on the key parameters o the energy systems (e.g. energy use, air
speed, temperatures)
As part o the above, set the indoor temperature so that it meets comort levels without wasting
energy on over heating or over cooling.
Use automated building management systems.
Provide training or key sta on proper operation and management o the building energy
systems.
Encourage energy saving behaviour among the building users.
C. EmISSIoN REDUCTIoN ThRoUgh PRoCESSES
Provide training on sustainable procurement to enable procurement o climate riendly goods
and servicesPursue increased use o on-line administrative tools and paperless administration
Consistently refect cost savings associated with emission reduction measures, such as energy
savings and avoided oset costs
Adopt and implement a policy to conduct all meetings as green meetings, e.g.:
Reduce the overall number o international meetings and overall number o participants. Use
means o e-communication instead o physical meetings when possible.
Select venues to minimize the need or long-haul travel and local environmental impact.
Provide catering services that meet criteria or sae production and air trade.
Avoid the use o disposable plates, cups and bottles.
Favour hotels that meet environmental criteria.
Organize local transportation using less polluting modes o transport.
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
11/44
7
Chapter I
D. EmISSIoN REDUCTIoN ThRoUgh oRgANIzATIoNAl CUlTURE
Adopt an overall policy guiding and supporting the eort o the organization to reduce greenhousegas emissions.
Establish an Environmental Management System to support practical implementation o the policy.
Assign a senior manager/director as champion or the climate neutral eort
Institute ormal check points in key planning and management processes, including:
Compulsory training or all sta.
Require that project documents, memoranda o understanding and other orms o ormal
agreements, describe how the greenhouse gas emissions rom related activities will be
minimized.
Include goals to support greenhouse gas emission reduction in sta work plans, such as the
Perormance Appraisal System (PAS).
Encourage sta support or a green and climate riendly organization through innovative
incentives, such as:
Increase the awareness through inormation campaigns, matched by incentives or sta to
turn the message o the campaign into practical action, e.g. on recycling, local transport, use
o double sided printing, use o recyclable cups etc.
Provide an oce setup that encourages sustainable and carbon-lean oce practices, e.g.:
Use common printers, scanners and copying machines
Provide highly visible recycling stations
Organize work spaces so that they benet rom natural lighting
Use plants in the oce as a way o improving the indoor environmental quality, both
physically and mentally
Develop and share with all sta monthly or quarterly key perormance indicators (travel,
paper use, waste generation, etc) or each department/division within the organization.
Highlight and recognize emission reduction initiatives by individual sta or departments
Consider using the UN Flex policy to allow distance work, thereby reducing the need or
commuting and improving work-lie balance
Invite colleagues to provide suggestions on how to urther improve the organizational culture
to support sustainable and climate riendly behaviour
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
12/44
8
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
13/44
Chapter IIBasic Concepts and
Approaches
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
14/44
10
Chapter II: Basic Concepts
and Approaches
A. UNDERSTANDINg ThE BASICS
The term Greenhouse gases (GHG) is used as a
common name or several dierent gases which all
contribute to the Greenhouse eect, better known
as Climate Change.
UNs Climate Neutral Strategy is based on the
methodology or emission calculation known as the
Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which was developed
by the World Resources Institute and the WorldBusiness Council or Sustainable Development. This
is a methodology now widely used by companies
and organizations in both the public and private
sectors. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol uses the
denition o the Kyoto Protocol on what Greenhouse
Gases to consider. These are: Carbon dioxide (CO2),
methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ozone (O3),
hydrofuorocarbons (HFC), perfuorocarbons (PFC)
and sulphur hexafuoride (SF6). The greenhouse
gases most commonly emitted by UN organiza-
tions are carbon dioxide rom burning o ossil uels,
emissions associated with electricity production o
site, hydrofuorocarbons as leakage rom rerigera-
tion and air conditioning aggregates, and sometimes
methane rom on-site waste treatment.
Dierent gases have dierent levels o impact in terms
o their greenhouse eect. This is expressed as their
Global Warming Potential GWP. Carbon dioxide
(CO2) has a GWP o 1, while Methane (CH4) has a
GWP o 23, and Hydrofuorocarbons 23 (HFC23),
ormerly used as a rerigerant in air conditioning
aggregates, has a GWP o 12.000. This meansthat the emission o 1 kg o HFC23 has the same
impact on the climate as the emission o 12.000 kg
o carbon dioxide. Because o the dierent levels o
impact o dierent gases, emission o greenhouse
gases are expressed as Carbon dioxide equivalent
(CO2 eqv). The emission o one tonne o CO2 is
expressed as one tonne CO2 eqv. The emission
o one tonne o HFC23 is expressed as 12.000
tonnes CO2 eqv. It is thereore important to keep in
mind that even small volumes o emissions o some
greenhouse gases, such as HFC, can have a bigimpact on the carbon ootprint o the organization.
B. IDENTIFyINg EmISSIoN SoURCES
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which is used by
UN or calculating its greenhouse gas emissions,
pre-denes the emission sources to be considered.
In the context o the UN Climate Neutral strategy the
ollowing boundaries have been set or emissions to
be included:
On-site uel consumption
Purchased electricity
Purchased heating/cooling (e.g. steam)
Release/leakage o other chemicals causing
GHG emissions, e.g. rerigerants
Fuel used or vehicles (owned or rented)
Ocial travel o sta and other persons or whom
the organization pay the ticket.
Sources not covered by the UN Climate Neutral
Strategy include emissions rom waste treatment,
emissions rom sta commuting, emissions rom eld
projects, and emissions embedded in products and
services (i.e. associated with the production o theseproducts/services) procured by the organization.
The preparation o the GHG emission inventory,
also mandated or each UN organization by the
Basic Concepts and Approaches
Figure 1: Typical distribution of greenhouse gasemission sources in UN organizations. Based onindicative and preliminary emission inventory data froma limited number of UN organizations.
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
15/44
11
UN Climate Neutral Strategy, is not covered by
this Guide, but obviously the GHG inventory is an
important rst step to identiy options or emission
reduction. The GHG inventory will look dierently in
dierent organizations depending on the ocus o
activities, size o organization, location and age o
oces etc. In general terms however, it is likely that
the largest greenhouse gas emission source will be
air travel, ollowed by electricity generation and use,
ollowed by non-electric heating/cooling, ollowed
by other sources.
Identiying the sources o emissions is however
not sufcient to allow identifcation o emission
reduction measures. It is also necessary tounderstand why the emissions are created so
as to allow identifcation o means to reduce the
emissions. An example o why it is important to
understand what is causing emissions is provided
in Box 1.
The second step in preparing your greenhouse gas
emission reduction strategy is thereore to conduct an
assessment o the underlying causes or greenhouse
gas emissions. This can be done within specic areas,
e.g. travel, electricity use, or heating/cooling. In mostorganizations however, it makes sense to make a
wider review o the overall organizational approach to
emission reduction and sustainability perormance.
Are there or example any policies established
supporting emission reduction, or sustainability
initiatives?
How is this refected in practical action, sta
training, or budgeting?
Are there any green groups active in the
organization?Are investments made to upgrade acilities?
Are oces set up to optimize resource
conservation?
Are sta encouraged to include sustainability
considerations in their daily work?
Together with the GHG inventory, this wider review is,
in most cases, very helpul to indicate in what areas it
makes sense to start looking or emission reduction
opportunities.
SUN has developed an Initial Assessment Ques-
tionnaire to assist organizations to undertake this
organization-wide review. This can be downloaded
rom the ollowing web address:
http://www.unemg.org/climateneutralun/Becom-
ingClimateNeutral/EmissionsReduction/ToolsTem-plates/InitialScreening/tabid/553/Deault.aspx
C. A STRATEgy FoR EmISSIoN
REDUCTIoNS
The GHG Inventory and assessment o underlying
causes will provide a good ground or developing
the emission reduction plan.
An emission reduction plan may either ocus onemission reduction within a specic area (e.g. travel
or acility management) or the whole oce or or-
ganization. In most cases emission reductions are
achieved through a combination o one-time interven-
tions, e.g. upgrading a heating system, and on-going
processes, such as managing the heating system. It
thereore makes sense to establish emission reduction
plans that are set up as integrated parts o the daily
management o the organization. In most cases this
would translate to an environmental management
system (EMS), with an initial ocus on greenhousegas emissions. EMS are urther described under or-
ganizational culture below.
Chapter II
Box 1: Sources and causesWhy it is important to understand what is causing GHG emissions?
The climate neutral focal point in UN Office X had just finalized the GHG inventory for the organization. Her quest was nowto figure out how to reduce the emissions. One of the major causes for the emissions according to the GHG inventory wasthe use of electricity in the office. Electricity was used for a number of different purposes, including lighting, ventilation,powering of office equipment, cooling of servers, and heating of the building. The climate neutral focal point did not havea breakdown between the different categories of electricity use, but according to the facility manager the electric heatingsystem was a major energy consumer.
...Continued on P. 12
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
16/44
12
Box 1: Sources and causes - continuedWhy it is important to understand what is causing GHG emissions?
...
At this stage she had a choice between two courses of action:Focus on the electric heating system and work with the facility manager to have the system upgraded.1.Try to confirm that the electric heating system is really a major electricity consumer as compared to other electricity use,2.and if so, try to understand why the electric heating system is consuming large amounts of electricity.
In this case, the climate neutral focal point decided wisely - to go for option 2. She first confirmed that the electricity consumptionwas large compared to other similar systems and buildings. She then made a list of potential reasons for why the heating systemwas consuming excessive amounts of electricity, and indicated a potential remedy for each cause.
Cause for high electricity use Remedial action
Indoor temperature set too high Reduce indoor temperature and inform staff
Heating is on, also when the office is empty Reduce heating during off-hours
Poor insulation of walls Add wall insulation
High heat loss through windows Install high performance windows
Staff leave doors and windows open for ventilation, causinghigher demand for heating
Improve ventilation system and inform staff
Heating system outdated Replace/upgrade heating system
Heating system not properly maintained Provide training and operation manuals for concerned staff.
Heating system lacks proper control system Install/upgrade building management system
Heating system was never properly installed Conduct retro-commissioning of the heating system
The whole office is heated even though only parts arenormally in use
Establish zoned heating control so that only office space inuse is heated
Large heat loss in exhaust air from ventilation Install a heat exchanger between outgoing and incomingventilation air.
Electricity consumption is in fact normal but the electricity ispurchased from coal fired plants, causing high emissions
Consider purchasing green electricity from renewableenergy sources.
With this list in hand, the climate neutral focal point reviewed each potential cause and thereby identified the best options forreducing electricity consumption for heating and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Her review resulted in a list of threepriority actions:
Reduce indoor temperature1.Replace windows2.Provide training to the staff responsible for controlling the system.3.
The result would have been much different and more expensive if she had just thought that the apparent source (the heatingsystem) was also the cause for excessive electricity and associated emissions.
The analysis she undertook to identify which ones of these options should be pursued, also provided her with the facts andfigures she needed to prepare a convincing emission reduction plan for the approval of senior management.
Basic Concepts and Approaches
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
17/44
13
It is also possible to just ocus on specic actions
to reduce emissions within limited areas. For this
kind o emission reduction plans it is useul to
provide the ollowing inormation so as to get senior
management support or its implementation:
Current carbon ootprint rom the targeted area1.
(e.g. travel)
Explanation o technical requirements or the in-2.
tervention
Explanation o administrative requirements3.
Estimated emission reduction through the4.
proposed interventions.
Estimated cost or the interventions5.
Estimated savings rom the intervention (e.g.6.
through reduced energy use, reduced travel
costs, and reduced oset costs).
Responsibility or implementation7.
Implementation schedule8.
An example o an emission reduction plan or a
specic area is provided in Box 2.
Chapter II
Box 2: Example of an issue specific emission reduction plan
The climate neutral focal point in UN office Y in a field duty station is working on compiling a comprehensive emission reductionplan for the organization, framed as an environmental management system. Due to a public debate about the pollution from4-wheel drives, the director decides that the emissions from the twenty 4-wheel drives that the office is using for local transporthas to be addressed as a matter of urgency and requests that the climate neutral focal point put together a proposal within a fewweeks for how this can be done. The climate neutral focal point carefully reviews the situation, using the approach presented inBox 1: Identify why the cars are used, when they are used, how they are used and what alternatives there are to using the cars.He compiles a list of options as follows:
Option Cost/savings Technical requirements Admin requirements
Sell 4-wheel drive automobilesand buy hybrid cars
Second hand value of 4-wheeldrives is low and hybrid areexpensive at local market.Pay-back period from fuel savingsis still long.
Poor access to service ofhybrid cars.
Security in smaller cars?
Sell 4-wheel drive automobilesand lease hybrid cars
Saving from selling 4-wheeldrives + lower fuel consumptionof hybrids. Lease costs moderate= overall cost saving
Poor access to serviceof hybrid cars. Leasecompany does not guar-antee service = high risk.
Secure lease agreementand clarify if insurance isvalid when transport is notin owned car.
Sell 4-wheel drive automobilesand buy smaller cars with less
fuel consumption
Saving from selling 4-wheeldrives + lower fuel consumption
of smaller cars = overall costsaving
None Security in smaller cars?
Upgrade engines for betterfuel efficiency
Moderate costs for upgradingengines + lower fuel costs =moderate pay-back period
Find qualified garage toperform upgrade
None
Only use 4-wheel driveautomobiles for essentialtravel, and lease smaller carsfor other transport
Most 4-wheel drives can be soldand replaced by smaller numberof smaller cars with lower fuelcosts = immediate savings
None Issue instructions forwhen 4-wheel drives canbe used.
Improve maintenance ofcars and train drivers in fuel
efficient driving
Minor cost for training of driversand more frequent maintenance.
Savings from reduced fuel use.
Secure supply for improvedmaintenance
None
... continued on P. 14
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
18/44
14
Box 2: Example of an issue specific emission reduction plan - continued
...
Based on the considerations in this list the climate neutral focal point could then put together the following emission reductionproposal for his director:
Current carbon footprint from the targeted area (transport in 4-wheel drives)In total the 20 4-wheel drives are used on average110 days per year each. The total distance covered by all 4-wheel drives is112.000 km with an estimated total GHG emission of 50 tons CO2 eqv.
Explanation of technical requirements for the interventionAfter reviewing several options to reduce the emission we propose the following actions:
Only use 4-wheel drives when essential. Most travel is undertaken on good roads where 4-wheel drives are not required.1.
Our estimate is that we only need five 4-wheel drives, and can manage the remaining travel requirements with ten fuelefficient smaller cars. Due to the problems with maintenance in this location we do not recommend hybrid cars.Upgrade the engines for the five remaining 4-wheel cars.2.Provide training to all drivers on maintenance and fuel efficient driving3.
Explanation of administrative requirementsEstablish guidelines for when 4-wheel drives can be used (e.g. for security)1.Implement selling and purchasing of cars.2.
Estimated emission reduction through the proposed interventions.Assuming that we will maintain the same level of travel, but will mostly travel in better maintained, more fuel efficient 4-wheeldrives and smaller cars, we estimate that we can reduce fuel consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions by 50%.
Estimated cost for the interventions
Costs for purchasing ten smaller cars, for upgrading the remaining 4-wheel drives, and for providing training and improvedmaintenance for all cars is calculated at US$ 2.5 million.
Estimated savings from the interventionEarnings from selling 15 4-wheel cars is estimated at US$ 3 million.Fuel costs are estimated to be reduced by 50%.Overall this action will result in an immediate cost saving of US$ 500.000 and an annual fuel cost saving of approximatelyUS$ 20.000 at todays fuel prices.
Responsibility for implementationThe head of general services would be in charge for implementing these actions
Implementation schedule
Upon your decision we estimate that all actions can be implemented within 6 months.
With this well prepared emission reduction proposal, also saving money for the organization, the director had no problems inapproving its implementation.
Basic Concepts and Approaches
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
19/44
Chapter IIIDescription of Emission
Reduction Options
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
20/44
16
Description of Emission Reduction Options
Chapter III: Description of
Emission Reduction Options
Whether your greenhouse gas emission reduction
plans targets the whole oce/ organization, or has
a more limited ocus, your main challenge is to
identiy exactly what options there are or reducing
emissions. In this section we will provide an overview
o some o the common options. Details are provided
in sources reerred to in the text.
Broadly, emission reduction can be pursued in the
ollowing areas:
TravelA. : Reduced travel and more ecient travel
supported by a proper travel policy.
BuildingsB. , Active and passive measures as well
as improved building management measures.
ProcessesC. : Procurement, administration,
budgeting, and meetings
Organizational CultureD. : policies, environmental
management systems, ormal checkpoints and
innovative incentives.
A. EmISSIoN REDUCTIoN FRom TRAvEl
Emissions rom travel, in particular air travel, constitute
the major part o the greenhouse gas emissions in
most UN organizations, and are thereore a priority
area to address.
In this context we include ocial missions o sta,
entitlement travel (home leave etc), and travel o
meeting participants and consultants or whom
the organization is paying the are. The typical
travel prole in UN is one where the vast majorityo missions and other travel are undertaken by air.
The general policy in UN is that travel should be
undertaken in the most direct and economic mode.
In most organizations there is also a rule stating that
sta traveling or more than nine hours are entitled
to business class, although there are variations in
how this is applied.
Emission reduction rom travel can be achieved in
two ways:
Reduce travel1.
Travel more eciently2.
1. Reduce Travel
Travel is an essential requirement or much o the
work o the United Nations. This however does not
mean that every single trip is justied. Within UN
there are examples o dierent ways o reducing
travel:
Make a top-down decision to reduce travel bya.
XX%. This has been done by many organiza-
tions not or environmental reasons - but or
cost saving reasons. In some cases the imple-
mentation o the decision has been given to the
heads o divisions, who have had to meet the
travel reduction goal as part o the goals stated
in their personal appraisal system (PAS) plan.
This is on one hand an easy way o reducing
emissions, but may on the other hand result
in that essential travel is cut, which will harm
the perormance o the organization. A careul
analysis o current travel patterns to identiy who
goes where and why, so as to better understand
the potential to reduce travel within dierent
parts o the organization is recommendedbeore any top-down decisions are taken.
Optimize travel planning so as to reduce theb.
travel required or each mission. This can be
done by:
Bundling missions so as to cover several
meetings or objectives in one single ticket,
in particular or long-haul travel. This may
Figure 2. In most UN organizations, air travel generatesthe vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
21/44
17
Chapter III
require that the sta remains on mission or
a longer period o time to cover the time in
between meetings, incurring additional DSA,
but this is oten more than compensated by
not having to issue two or several tickets or
the same destination.
Using sta in local oces. In many cases
it is possible to use local or regional oces
to cover meetings and objectives, instead
o having sta traveling long distances rom
the headquarters.
Reduce the number o participants to
meetings. Some organizations have
adopted policies or limiting the number o
sta to any given meeting, while others senda large number o sta to the same meeting,
some o whom have only limited unctions
to perorm in the meeting, which could be
covered by other sta.
Instead o traveling, use alternative means
o communication. Many meetings can be
conducted via Inormation and Communica-
tion Technologies (ICT) such as telephone,
e-mail, video conerencing, virtual meeting
rooms, or personalized (PC to PC) video
links. Some o these technologies havedeveloped rapidly in the past ew years and
the costs and problems associated with e.g.
video conerencing have decreased sig-
nicantly. However, UN organizations and
oces do not always equip their sta with
a level o ICT sucient to provide a realistic
alternative to travel. SUN is in the process o
developing a recommendation or minimum
ICT access in UN organizations, with the
intention to release this in 2009. In addition,
the Secretary General issued in early 2009a bulletin providing general guidelines on
green ICT (www.iseek.un.org)
2. Travel more efciently
The carbon ootprint o any travel depends not only
on the distance traveled, but also on the orm o
transport used. Train usually has a much smaller
carbon ootprint than travel by car. Travel by car
usually has a smaller carbon ootprint than travel
by air. Air travel in economy class has a smaller
carbon ootprint than travel in business class, and
business class has a smaller carbon ootprint than
travel in rst class. The lower the class, the smaller
share o the aircrat and associated emissions
does the ticket represent. Normally a business seat
accounts or twice the emissions o an economy
seat and a rst class seat three times the emissions
o an economy seat. Travel by modern aircrat has
normally a smaller ootprint than older aircrat. And
each landing and take-o increases the carbon
ootprint o any aircrat.
There are thereore good reasons to consider options
or guiding travelers towards more ecient modes
o travel. O course, sta should not be punished or
undertaking travel which is essential or the organi-
zation. Instead, travel eciency policies should be
coupled with positive incentives.
The ollowing policies have been applied in various
parts o the UN system:
Short-haul travel, e.g. travel less than 500 km,
should always be undertaken by train i available.
This applies in particular in Europe and North
America. Travel by train is normally undertaken
in rst class, which can be seen as a positive
incentive or train travel.
When entitled to business class travel, sta
are oered the option to go by economy classinstead, but with a ull day or rest upon arrival
at the destination as a positive incentive. The
provision or time or rest is a standard clause
in UN travel policies but is oten interpreted and
applied in a very restrictive manner. The extra
day o DSA is always more than compensated
or by the savings in ticket costs.
In some organizations a generic ban on business
class travel has been implemented. In these
cases this has been applied to all sta including
the Executive Director. Restrictions that applyonly to sta below certain levels are a recipe or
resentment and circumvention.
Travel agencies are instructed to give preerence
to routings and airlines minimizing the number
o landings/takeos, and using more modern
aircrats.
The above examples o policies would normally
require that the organization ormally adopt a revised
travel policy where the guidelines or how to travel
are clearly dened, so as to avoid conficts with
managers or travel sta managing travel requests
as per UNs standard travel policy.
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
22/44
18
3. Other Travel-related Issues to Consider
Sustainable Travel Policy
Emission reduction plans or travel will benet rom
being presented as a coherent revised travel policy
or policy or sustainable travel. Such a policy would
normally include ve elements:
A policy statement on the ambition o the or-1.
ganization to reduce the environmental impact
rom travel, in particular associated greenhouse
gas emissions.
Decisions on reduced travel and/or more ecient2.
travel, including elements as outlined above.
Mechanisms or implementation o decisions.3.This may reer directly to the travel planning and
approval process, as exemplied below, or to
associated areas, e.g. upgrade o ICT to provide
improved alternatives to travel.
Designation o responsible persons, budget and4.
deadlines.
Mechanism or monitoring and reporting (see5.
below).
Mechanisms or implementation
A decision to travel less or to travel more ecientlywill in the end be managed through whatever travel
planning and approval system is in place. Travel
planning and approval is in no way a coherent
process within UN. However, there are a number
o measures which are oten not implemented, but
which would contribute to ewer and better planned
missions:
Require the travel agent to provide and highlight
inormation about the carbon ootprint and oset
costs or each ticket quoted.Require that the travel agent always include,
among quotations given, low carbon alterna-
tives as well as business-as-usual alternatives,
e.g. travel in economy class instead o business,
or travel by train instead o by air.
Ensure that travel plans in oces are circulated
to all sta at least one month ahead o the start
o missions so as to allow sta to identiy oppor-
tunities or coordination.
Require that the travel request explains why the
objective o the mission cannot be conducted
through ICT or by local sta.
Conduct awareness raising and training o
sta to ensure that everybody understand the
importance o travel rom a climate change
perspective, understand how the travel carbon
ootprint can be reduced, and also know what
alternatives there are, and what incentives there
are to use the alternatives.
Train managers, travel assistants and und
management sta to recognize the reasons why
incentives such as an extra R&R day or long-haul
travel in economy class, or bundling o meetings
resulting in missions having a longer duration, are
benecial or the organization.
Monitoring
Monitoring is an essential part o any sustainable
travel policy. The objective is both to be able to
track and report on how travel patterns evolve as aresult o the travel policy, and to identiy additional
opportunities to reduce emissions rom travel. A
travel monitoring system can be easily maintained
by registering or each ticket a ew simple data:
Name o traveler
Destination
Mode o travel
Purpose o travel
Climate ootprint o the travel
The associated greenhouse gas emissions will in
any case be registered in the annual greenhouse
gas inventory, but these data will also provide an
indication o who are the most requent travelers,
what are the most common purposes o travel, and
to what extent are alternative (low carbon) travel
modes used.
Frequent Flyer Miles
Most airlines are today oering their passengers
some orm o rewards or choosing to fy with theirairline. These are most oten provided in the orm o
Frequent Flyer Miles, which can be converted into
air travel class upgrades, ree hotel nights, ree air trips
etc. Considering the vast volume o travel undertaken
in UN many sta accumulate considerable amounts
o Frequent Flyer Miles. Concerns have been raised
about this or the ollowing reasons:
It can be considered an undue benet that sta
are personally rewarded or travel undertaken
on the expense o the UN. In some countries
the requent fyer miles awarded in connection
with ocial travel by government ocials are
awarded the government, not the ocials.
In many cases sta are likely to convert their
Description of Emission Reduction Options
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
23/44
19
requent fyer miles to ree air tickets, or personal
travel that they would or would not have
undertaken had they not had the miles. On the
other hand sta may just as well use the miles
to upgrade themselves to a higher class o travel
or to save money by using the miles to get ree
hotel nights or other orms o benets.
It could be argued that sta may tend to avour
certain airlines or certain routings when travelling
so as to allow them to accumulate requent
fyer miles on their airl ine o preerence, i.e. not
travel the most direct route as is required by
UN travel rules.
The rst concern is rst and oremost an economicissue about who should own the requent fyer
miles, and is not o direct relevance to the climate
ootprint o the organization.
The second concern, about how the miles are used,
are again without impact on UNs climate ootprint
since travel would either be undertaken by the sta
privately (i.e. outside the boundaries o the UN
climate neutral strategy), or be used to upgrade
the class o travel, something that is however not
refected in UNs ootprint (only the class o travelpurchased is refected). It can be argued that in any
case the requent fyer air miles are contributing to
a real increase in greenhouse gas emissions rom
travel, regardless o whether this is refected in UNs
greenhouse gas inventories or not. While this may
be true, depending in how the sta actually use their
requent fyer miles, it is also dicult to monitor or
manage. In neither case is the ocial climate ootprint
o the organization aected.
The third concern, about sta avoring certainroutings or airlines, would mean that UNs require-
ments that sta have to travel the shortest and most
economic routing are not eectively enorced. This
would be a problem that goes ar beyond the use
o requent fyer miles and would not be solved by
trying to regulate the use o requent fyer miles.
Even i the issue about requent fyer miles oten
suraces, and may indeed be an issue in relation
to how the organization is using its resources, it
is dicult to justiy interventions rom a climate
neutral perspective.
However, there are examples o oces in UN where
sta have been encouraged to use their Frequent
Flyer Miles or purposes beneting the organiza-
tion. Some airlines e.g. oers to convert Frequent
Flyer Miles into unds or humanitarian assistance
(education, health or poverty eradication) as well
as or projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. The idea to encourage sta to use
the Frequent Flyer Miles to purchase osets to
compensate their travel goes well with an overall
approach to sustainable travel in UN. In summary,
strictly spekaing rom a climate neutral perspective
requent fyer miles do not add to the climate ootprint
o the organization, but may be used voluntarily by
sta to oset their travel climate ootprint, which is
strongly recommended.
SUN is preparing a more comprehensive sustainable
travel guide to be released in 2009. This will include
specic examples o travel policies, example o
standard requirements or travel agents, case
studies and a step-by-step implementation model
or a sustainable travel system in UN organizations.
B. EmISSIoN REDUCTIoN FRom
BUIlDINgS
Since much o UNs activities take place in oces,
large shares o the greenhouse gas emissions rom
the organization also relate to activities in the oce.
As mentioned above the most common sources or
emissions include electricity use, heating/cooling
o buildings and leakage o HFC rom rerigeration
equipment. However, the underlying causes or
emissions are oten more complex and diverse,
typically including both physical eatures o
the buildings and equipment used, as well as
processes, management and organizationalculture. Under the heading Buildings we will review
some o the issues directly related to the buildings,
while management, processes and organizational
aspects are addressed in the ollowing sections.
Most UN organizations do not own the buildings
where their oces are hosted, but rent them, which
in some cases limit the type o changes the orga-
nization can do to the building. However, even in
rented oces there are usually many opportunities
to improve the building perormance, and reducegreenhouse gas emissions, within the restrictions
set by the building owner.
Chapter III
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
24/44
20
Emission reduction opportunities in buildings can
broadly be classied as:
Passive measures1. , typically ocused on
reducing the need or energy consumption (e.g.
reduce the need or articial lighting)
Active measures2. , typically ocused on improving
the eciency o whatever unctions energy is
used or (e.g. improve the eciency o articial
lighting)
Building management measures3. , including
integrated management systems, monitoring
and training.
1. Passive measuresPassive measures serve to reduce the need or energy
consumption in a building, e.g. by reducing the heat
loss to the outside in a cold climate, or by increasing
the level o natural light penetration into the building.
Passive measures do not require energy to unction
(hence the name passive measures). The ollowing
areas are worthwhile to consider:
Improve insulation o the building envelope
The building envelope consists o the walls, roo
and foor o the building. The main purpose o
the envelope is to protect the inside rom outside
conditions, including wind, rain, sunshine and
shiting air and ground temperatures. In order to
do this, the building envelope usually consists
o several layers o dierent building materials,
including structural elements, water proo layersand heat insulating layers. In particular the heat
insulating layers are important or regulating the heat
transer through the envelope, and can, i correctly
designed, reduce the heat transer signicantly.
Insulation is surprisingly oten inadequate in buildings,
in particular in roos, but also in walls and foors. In
hot climates insulation is more oten an exception
than a rule, in spite o insulation being as important
or containing cold inside an air conditioned building
as or containing heat in a heated building. A roughindication o whether the insulation is adequate
can be gained by simply eeling with your hand
the temperature o the surace o the wall, roo or
foor, on a day with hot or cold outside tempera-
tures. I the surace eels much warmer or colder
than the indoor air, then it is worthwhile to take a
closer look at the insulation. The SUN Guide or
Climate Friendly Buildings and Oces (due in July
2009) contains practical advice on how to assess
opportunities or improved insulation in buildings.
Insulation is generally a cheap material but can
be expensive to install in existing buildings since
it usually requires that parts o the existing walls,
roo or foor are removed. However, in connection
with major renovations, it is always worthwhile to
consider improving the insulation.
Reduce heat transer through windows
Windows are oten the weakest part o the
building envelope in terms o high heat transer.
Heat transer is taking place both through the
light transmitted through the glass, through direct
heat transer (conduction) through the glass and
window rame, and through air leakage through
gaps between the window and rame (convection).
Figure 3: Typical distribution of energy use in 10 storeyWestern European office building (Source UNEP SBCI2008)
Description of Emission Reduction Options
Figure 4: Improved insulation is often a cost effectivemeasure to reduce the energy use in buildings.
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
25/44
21
The window perormance can normally be improved
in several ways:
Change rom single glass windows to double or
triple glass windows, with insulating inert gases
in between the window panes. This is usually a
very eective measure.
Change rom clear glass to e-coated glass, to
reduce transmission o heat radiation.
Remove thermal bridges between the outside
and inside by changing the window rame
material rom metal, a good conductor o heat
and cold, to less heat conductive materials such
as PVC or wooden rames.
Improve the seals between the inner and outer
window rames to eliminate any gaps and air
leakage.
Install exterior shading devices outside the
window to reduce the direct sun exposure and
associated heating o the inside.
Note that colored or tinted glass, while reducing
direct visible light, is oten less eective in terms o
reducing heat transer through the glass. Instead,
specially treated glass (oten reerred to as e-coated
glass) can be used or this purpose.
Interior shading, curtains and louvers, can be used
to reduce direct sunlight but does not reduce heat
transer. Only double/triple glass windows combine
high light penetration with low heat transer.
Enhance natural daylight in the oce
Lighting may be a major cause o electricity
use in a building. The need or articial lighting
can be reduced by maximizing the daylight
penetration into the oce. This may include:
Remove non-structural interior walls, possibly
replacing them with transparent walls.
Remodel the oce layout to ensure that the
more requently used spaces are adjacent to
windows.
Install light shelves refecting the daylight into the
building. This horizontal light-refecting overhang
is placed above eye-level and has a high-refec-
tance upper surace. This surace is then used
to refect daylight onto the ceiling and deeper
into a space.
Use bright or light colors or interior decoration(walls, roo, foor and urniture)
Avoid direct exposure to daylight as it is usually
more comortable to work in indirect light, and
direct light may cause the building users to close
the blinds and turn on a lamp.
Install skylights (roo windows) or light tubes (also
known as light wells) transmitting daylight into
the interior o the building through tubes tted
with mirrors or bre optics.
Figure 5: Options to reduce heat transfer throughwindows (illustration courtesy of US DoE).
Figure 6a: Light shelves installed in an office.
Chapter III
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
26/44
22
ventilation, thereby reducing the need or
daytime articial cooling.
In cold climates, sun radiation can be
accumulated as heat in water tanks or heat
absorbing structures during the day when
exposed to the sun, and then be used as heat
sources through radiation towards the interior
during the night.
Roos are directly exposed to the sun and may
transmit large amounts o heat into the building.
In addition to insulating the roo (reer above)
under-roo ventilation and green roos can decrease
the heat load on the interior considerably.
Surrounding vegetation can be used to increase
heating or cooling o buildings as well as toenhance natural ventilation. Trees planted
adjacent to buildings provide shading in the
summer time and (in temperate climates) let
through sunlight in winter time when the leaves
have allen o the trees. Depending on where
they are placed, they may also shield the building
rom the cooling eect o wind in cold climates
and may direct predominant winds towards
certain areas to enhance natural ventilation o
the building.
The heat generated by oce equipment, re-rigerators and other machines is sometimes
sucient to keep the temperature indoors at
comortable levels. This can be taken advantage
o by placing major heat generating equipment
at central locations in the building. Since hot
air travels upwards, heat sources can oten be
urther enhanced i placed in the lower parts
o the building, especially i there are open
passageways between the foors.
2. Active measures
Natural cooling and heating
Depending on the location, design and orm o the
building there may be opportunities or optimizing
natural ventilation, thereby reducing the need or
articial ventilation.
Establish ventilation corridors inside the building,
providing an open pathway or air to move between
windows or ventilation openings at opposite sides
o the building. Many times it only takes to open a
door or to recongure some interior partitions to
establish such ventilation corridors.
Natural ventilation can be enhanced in hotter
climates by the use o solar chimneys, exposed
to direct sunlight, thereby creating a orcedmovement o air upwards. This upward airfow,
i connected to the interior air volume o the
building, can provide orced (solar powered)
natural ventilation throughout the building.
In hot climates with a dierence between day
and night temperatures, the building can be
cooled down during the night through natural
Description of Emission Reduction Options
Figure 6b: Principle design and example of the use oflight tubes.
Figure 7: Design principle for solar chimneys
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
27/44
23
Active measures reer to systems consuming energy
or their operation. This includes heating, cooling,
ventilation, lighting, but also oce equipment and
energy supply. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
in these areas typically includes three types o inter-
ventions:
Switch to more ecient systems,a.
Improve management and maintenance o theb.
systems,
Optimize the conguration o the systems.c.
The ollowing areas are worthwhile considering.
Green energy
Energy supply is providing the Number One
opportunity to drastically reduce the carbon ootprint
o energy consumption in the building. I energy can
be sourced rom renewable sources (hydro, wind,
solar) or nuclear power, the carbon ootprint will be
close to zero, regardless o how much energy is
used in the building. In locations where it is possible
to purchase green power (also reerred to as green
electricity, green certicates etc) this is oten the
easiest and most eective way o reducing the
carbon ootprint. The cost or green power is oten
slightly higher than or the normal energy supply (also
reerred to as brown electricity or brown power) butis oten resulting in a net saving i the organization is
purchasing osets to compensate or greenhouse
gas emissions. An emission reduction strategy
entirely based on green power will drastically reduce
the greenhouse emissions but will not capture the
cost savings rom reduced energy consumption
Figure 9: Green roofs can reduce heat gain and heat loss,reduce water runoff and provide a literally green image ofthe building: Fukuoka International Hall, Japan.
Figure 8: Under roof ventilation. Air between outer and
inner roofs is heated and raised towards vents at the topof the roof where it exists the roof, while fresh cooler airis sucked into the roof space through vents at the lowerparts of the roof.
Chapter III
Figure 10: PV cells and solar water heater design.
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
28/44
24
associated with most other strategies.
On-site renewable energy
An alternative to purchasing green power rom
the outside is to install on-site renewable energy
production on-site. This includes photovoltaic cells
(PV cells), solar heaters, wind turbines (building
integrated or ree standing) and biomass ueled
boilers/heaters. The conditions and costs or
installing on-site renewable power supply vary rom
location to location. In most cases it is very dicult
to ensure ull energy supply only through PV cells or
wind turbines, but in almost all cases these tech-
nologies can be used to produce supplementary
energy, thereby reducing the need or external powersupply. These technologies are also oten used as
visible and easily recognizable representations o
organizations ambitions to go green. PV cells and
wind turbines produce electricity, while solar heaters
produce hot water through direct uptake o solar
radiation. Solar heaters have a higher degree o
eciency and can in many cases provide the entire
need or hot water to a building. The hot water can
also be used or heating the building.
Ground/Water as heating/ cooling sourceA ground/water coupled heat pump uses the earth
or ground water or both as sources o heat in the
winter, and as the sink or heat removed rom
the home in the summer. For this reason, ground-
source heat pump systems have come to be known
as earth-energy systems. Heat is removed rom the
earth or water body through a liquid, such as ground
water or an antireeze solution, upgraded by the heat
pump, and transerred to indoor air. During summer
months, the process is reversed: heat is extracted
rom indoor air and transerred to the earth through
the ground water or antireeze solution.
Heat recovery in ventilation air
Heat exchangers are devices that transer heat rom
one medium to another. The radiator is a common
example o a heat exchanger. In the case o buildings
where the inside temperature is dierent rom the
outside, signicant energy losses occur when heated
or chilled indoor air is vented outside. This loss o
energy can be reduced by transerring the heat in
the outgoing air to the incoming air. There is a wide
range o heat exchangers available or this purpose,
including plate heat exchangers and heat wheels.
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning(HVAC) systems
The three unctions o heating, ventilating, and
air-conditioning are closely interrelated. All seek
to provide thermal comort, acceptable indoor air
quality, and reasonable installation, operation, and
maintenance costs. HVAC systems can provide
ventilation, reduce air inltration, and maintain
pressure relationships between spaces. In modern
buildings the design, installation, and control
systems o these unctions are integrated into one
or more HVAC systems.
There are dierent types o standard heating systems.
Central heating is oten used in cold climates to
heat private houses and public buildings. Such a
system contains a boiler, urnace, or heat pump
to heat water, steam, or air, all in a central location
such as a urnace room in a home or a mechanical
Description of Emission Reduction Options
Figure 12: Principle for heat exchanger
Figure 11: Ground coupled heat pump
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
29/44
25
room in a large building. The system also contains
either ductwork, or orced air systems, or piping to
distribute a heated fuid and radiators to transer this
heat to the air.
In boiler ed or radiant heating systems, all but the
simplest systems have a pump to circulate the
water and ensure an equal supply o heat to all the
radiators. The heated water can also be ed through
another (secondary) heat exchanger inside a storage
cylinder to provide hot running water.
Forced air systems send heated air through
ductwork. During warm weather the same ductwork
can be used or air conditioning. The orced air canalso be ltered or put through air cleaners.
Heating can also be provided rom electric, or
resistance heating using a lament that becomes
hot when electricity passes through it. This type o
heat can be ound in electric baseboard heaters,
portable electric heaters, and as backup or supple-
mental heating or heat pump system.
Ventilating is the process o changing or replacing
air in any space to control temperature or removemoisture, odors, smoke, heat, dust and airborne
bacteria. Ventilation includes both the exchange o
air to the outside as well as circulation o air within
the building. It is one o the most important actors or
maintaining acceptable indoor air quality in buildings.
Air conditioning and rerigeration are provided
through the removal o heat. The denition o cold is
the absence o heat and all air conditioning systems
work on this basic principle. Heat can be removed
through the process o radiation, convection, andconduction using mediums such as water, air, ice,
and chemicals reerred to as rerigerants. In order
to remove heat rom something, you simply need to
provide a medium that is colder -- this is how all air
conditioning and rerigeration systems work. There is
a large number o specic technologies which can be
applied to remove heat, each one o which may be
more or less suitable depending on local conditions.
HVAC systems are oten major energy consumers
in a building and due to their complexity and rapid
technology development in this area or the last
decades oten represent major opportunities or
energy savings. In addition to several o the passive
measures presented above, savings in HVAC
systems may be achieved by:
Complete replacement with a more ecient
system
Upgrading or replacing parts o the existing
equipment
Improved control o the HVAC system (increase
the monitoring points, ne tune control
parameters, upgrade standard operating
procedures etc)
Seal leaks in ducts and clean ans and lters
Improved training o operators
Establishing a monitoring and eed-back system
and compare to benchmarks as a means to
assess the eciency o the system and identiyneed or urther improvement.
Since HVAC systems are oten large complex
systems it is helpul to have external experts to carry
EnErgy EfficiEncy
in BuildingsGuidance forFacilities Managers
Figure 13: The Energy Efficiency in Buildings Guideprovides more detailed information on the top ten energysaving measures in buildings (SUN May 2009).
Chapter III
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
30/44
26
out an assessment (retro- commissioning) o op-
portunities or improvement. Even in relatively new
buildings, experience suggests that retro-commis-
sioning requently results in energy savings in the
range o 20-30%.
Lighting
Lighting is sometimes responsible or large shares
o electricity use in an oce and there are several
ways o reducing the energy used or lighting. The
rst option is o course to consider increased use o
natural daylight, as described above. Once the passive
measures to enhance daylight penetration into the
oce are implemented, you are ready to consider
reducing the energy use or articial lighting.
Measures to reduce energy consumption or lighting
include:
Provide the right level o lighting or the activities
carried out: Map the lighting need and remove
lamps providing lighting above what is needed.
Avoid decorative lighting.
Only use high eciency lamps such as compact
fuorescent lamps.
Electric current in lamps normally has to beadjusted to avoid overloading and burning the
lamp. This adjustment is done with a device
called ballast. Electric ballasts are considerably
more energy ecient than the older magnetic
ballasts. Changing rom magnetic to electric
ballast can be an easy and cheap way to reduce
electricity consumption in lamps.
Regularly clean lamps
Ensure that lights can be turned on individually
or each room or work place. You should not
have to turn on the lights or an entire foor i you
only use one room on that foor.
Install movement sensors in less requently used
spaces, e.g. in rest rooms, so as to automatically
turn o the lights when the room is empty.
Install timed central master switches so as to
ensure that lights are turned o at a certain time
(the sta needing the lights can then individually
turn the lights in their own room on again).
Find more inormation about ecient lighting at:
www.unep.r/scp/sun/publications
Oce Equipment
Most oces have a large number o computers,printers and copying machines that are typically
responsible or a large or even major share o
electricity consumption. The energy consumption o
oce equipment can be reduced by:
A) Improving the eciency o each machine:
Purchase energy ecient equipment (reer to
the SUN product act sheet on sustainable
procurement o IT equipment www.unep.
r/scp/sun/). Computers, screens, copying
machines and printers have all gone througha revolution in terms o energy eciency in
the past decades.
Activate energy saving eatures on the
equipment (automatic screen savers,
stand-by mode) and other indirect measures
such as deault double-sided printing on
printers.
Ensure that equipment is turned o (not only
put in stand-by mode) when the work day
is over.
B) Replacing individual machines with common
high-eciency equipment:
Move rom individual printers to high
eciency Local Area Network (LAN) common
printers/copiers/scanners. In addition
to reducing energy use and investment
costs, studies show that common printers/
copiers contribute to an improved indoor
environment and reduce printing volumes.
Replace servers with virtual servers, i.e.
reduce the number o actual servers required
to host a certain number o unctions/ ap-
plications, or outsource the entire server
unction to external data centers. This can
be an important measure as traditional
Description of Emission Reduction Options
Figure 14: SUNs manual for efficient lighting.
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
31/44
27
server rooms, mostly because o the need
or cooling, typically account or approxi-
mately 15% o electricity consumption in
an oce-based organization.
C) Completely unplug electric equipment when
possible:
Electric equipment consume electricity even
when in stand-by mode, and sometimes
even when turned o but still plugged in.
This type o idle electricity consumption
can have a signicant impact on the total
consumption and can be reduced i the
equipment is unplugged when not in use,
e.g. at night and on weekends. This canbe done easily by using power strips with
multiple plugs and a switch.
3. Building management measures
Passive and active emission reduction measures
in buildings mostly address physical eatures o
dierent components o buildings. A building is like
a machine, requiring maintenance and on-going
management to perorm as intended. Building
management measures are thereore as important
or the perormance o the building as are activeand passive measures. The main opportunities
or reducing greenhouse gases through building
management measures are described as ollows.
Commissioning o new systems or upgrading o
equipment
Commissioning reers to independent (rom the
supplier) verication that new systems and equipment
are correctly installed and perorm as to specica-
tion. The verication normally ollows established
test protocols and is perormed by an independentexpert. Commissioning is an established and
proven method or achieving cost cuts and sizeable
eciency improvements
Retro-commissioning o existing systems
Retro-commissioning reers to an independent
testing o existing HVAC systems to ensure that their
perormance remains optimized. Due to wear and
tear or individual upgrades that are not optimized
or the entire system, even well maintained systems
require retro-commissioning every now and then in
order to remain in top running order. I your building
is equipped with a system that has not been retro-
commissioned or the past 10 years, the chances are
good that a retro-commissioning will result in energy
and cost savings.
Monitoring and reporting
Monitoring and reporting on key parameters o
a buildings energy systems (e.g. energy use, air
speed, temperatures) should constitute a very basic
requirement or ensuring good system operation.
Unortunately, in many cases there is no monitoring
and thereore no way o getting an early indication o
system malunctions. A documented procedure or
monitoring and reporting o a ew key parameters,
and plotting these against benchmarks, is highly
recommended as a measure to ensure energy
eciency. A very basic, but also very important
aspect o monitoring and control is to ensure thatindoor conditions throughout the building meet
specications. Complaints rom the building users on
too hot or too cold rooms are oten a sign that the
building is over heated or over cooled. In both cases
this indicates inappropriate unctioning or control o
the system. As a rule o thumb, a one degree over
heating or over cooling typically causes an additional
5% o energy use and associated costs.
Automated building management systems
In larger and more modern buildings the monitoringand reporting can be managed through automated
building management systems. These are com-
puterized systems automatically measuring and
recording a number o key parameters both in
the energy systems and in individual oces, auto-
matically adjusting the system to provide optimum
temperature, air circulation, etc.
Training
Even the best systems are bound to break down
sooner or later i the sta managing the systems donot ully understand how to operate and maintain
them. It is important to ensure that key sta are
properly trained in how to operate the system. This
reers especially to active measures; energy supply,
heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting.
Behaviour o building users
The behaviour o the users o the building also has
a very large impact on the energy use in a building.
They may or may not chose or understand how to
make use o energy saving eatures in the building.
They may or may not care about the carbon
ootprint o the building. Improving the behaviour o
the people in the building is however more related
to organizational culture and is thereore presented
Chapter III
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
32/44
28
under that heading.
C. EmISSIoN REDUCTIoN ThRoUgh
PRoCESSES
The ability o an organization to move towards carbon
neutrality requires that basic processes are directed
towards supporting this eort. This is particularly true
i the carbon neutral eort is to be maintained over
a longer period o time and not simply done as a
one-o activity. Key processes are:
Sustainable Procurement1. , through which
almost all products and services in UN are
acquired.
Administration2. , which is essential or the work
o UN, but which can be set up to unction in
more or less ecient ways with more or less
impact on the energy and resource use o the
organization.
Budgeting3. , which may or may not support
unds being directed towards investments in
greenhouse gas emission reduction.
Meetings4. , although not always a ormal process,
are one o the most common activities in UN.Meetings are important both or the carbon
ootprint and or the public image o the orga-
nization.
1. Sustainable procurement
Procurement is the process we use in the UN to
acquire goods and services. Procurement is a highly
ormalized process ollowing strict rules primarily to
ensure transparency, airness and best value or
money or the organization. Procurement may be
managed by an individual oce but is more otenmanaged by a common procurement unction in the
main UN body at the duty station.
Being able to purchase more sustainable goods with
a lower carbon ootprint (e.g. recycled paper, energy
ecient equipment or uel ecient transport) is very
important or an organization that is trying to reduce
its carbon ootprint and/or improve its overall sus-
tainability. Unortunately the procurement process is
many times seen as an obstacle rather than a help
in purchasing environmentally riendly goods andservices. The underlying problem is that neither req-
uisitioners nor procurers are trained in how to apply
the procurement rules so as to support procurement
o goods and services with a low carbon ootprint.
However, SUN is now, in cooperation with several
UN organizations, developing practical guidance and
tools to build capacity among UN requisitioners and
procurers in this area. Specic cut & paste product
criteria tailored or dierent product groups and
dierent regions are being developed, as are training
packages. As mentioned above, an eort to revise
the overall UN procurement policies to better support
sustainable and climate riendly procurement is also in
progress (www.unep.r/scp/sun).
Emission reduction plans o organizations should
thereore also give attention to the need to provide
sta in procurement with adequate training andaccess to sustainable procurement tools as a
means to support the overall carbon neutral eort
o the organization.
2. Administration
Administrative processes in the UN can be seen
Description of Emission Reduction Options
Sustainable Procurement:
Buying for a better world
Sustainable Procurement ManualResource Book
May 2008
Figure 14: Sustainable Procurement manual for the UN(UNEP SUN 2008)
8/7/2019 GhG reduction emissions in UN orgs (2009)
33/44
29
rom two perspectives. They are essential parts o
the UNs operation, without which the UN could
not unction at all. On the other hand, they are also
oten seen as a major barrier to eciency o the
organization. For this reason a number o more or
less continuous eorts are underway in dierent UN
bodies to revise and improve dierent aspects o their
administrative processes. From a climate neutral
perspective, reorm o administrative processes is
important but also a very tall order. However, there
are three specic areas where climate neutral ocal
points may be able to bring about positive change:
Provide input to the reorm process o UNs ad-
ministrative systems. This reers to the substanceo dierent rules.
Provide input to the structure and unction o the
UNs new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
system, which is to replace IMIS and other
admin systems within 2-3 years. This is not
reerring to the substance but to the ormat o
the on-line inormation management o adminis-
trative inormation.
Eliminate paper use associated with administra-
tive processes in your oce/organization. This has
a direct impact on energy use, paper and toneruse and waste generation in some cases also a
sizeable reduction o greenhouse gas emissions.
Paperless administration can be supported by
dierent versions o electronic administrative tools
(e.g. on-line correspondence tracking, on-line
travel planning, on-line preparation o contracts,
or on-line HR requests), but is rst and oremost a
matter o attitudes o sta and management. With
basic sotware (Acrobat PDF writer and e-mail) it is
possible to eliminate almost all paper printing and
also improve tracking and speed in processingo administrative requests. However, this is only
possible i concerned sta and management are
willing to adopt paperless routines. Since there
are oten cost savings associated with paperless
administration, the proposal or going paperless
can be underpinned with a simple cost-benet