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Environmental Sustainability
Caring for people and the planet is one of our core values. Across the Organization and throughout our programmes we hold ourselves to the highest standards, because it’s the right thing to do and because it will deliver the best results for migrants, Member States and our staff.
We turn this commitment into action by leveraging efforts to reduce our own environmental impact and deliver green solutions to the people we serve, especially those facing greater vulnerability.
To make this happen, IOM has established an ambitious environmental governance and environmental management system, drawing from United Nations system-wide commitments. The environmental management framework is designed to anticipate and address environmental risks wherever we operate and develop pioneering strategies to meet sustainability challenges heads-on.
Through the continuous improvement of our environmental performance and the integration of innovative technology, financing and business models, IOM is driving environmental sustainability in humanitarian and migration management, always aiming for broad impact and scale.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
IOM implements the UN Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations System 2020-2030, monitoring the environmental impact of our activities to better understand and manage our environmental footprint and enhance accountability through transparent reporting in the UN Greening the Blue and IOM’s Strategic Result Framework.
We are committed to mainstreaming environmental sustainability into our projects and programmes, and facilities management and operations.
- Environmental Safeguards
We protect natural resources, including biodiversity and ecosystems, in all our activities to the extent possible. This means we check for any possible environmental risk and put measures in place to avoid, reduce, mitigate and offset them.
- Environmental Inventory
We take stock of the impacts our facilities and operations have on the environment and continuously try to improve how we track and manage these impacts. Our global environmental footprint is reported annually in the UN Greening the Blue.
- Greening Operations
We are constantly enhancing the environmental performance of our supply chain management, considering goods and services that have minimal environmental impact, optimizing fleet and freight, and working with partners who are committed to our environmental standards.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Our efforts focus on three key areas to enhance environmental sustainability:
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Transitioning to Clean EnergyWe work to move to renewable energy in our offices and operations and bring clean energy to the communities we serve through innovative technology and finance solutions.
Transitioning to Clean Energy
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Advancing CircularityWe design and implement waste-to-value initiatives that both reduce environmental harm and support people's livelihoods.
Advancing Circularity
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Promoting Sustainable Use of WaterWe implement our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) interventions with environmental sustainability in mind and responsibly use water in our facilities.
Promoting Sustainable Use of Water
OUR APPROACH
We take a collaborative, data-driven approach to enhance environmental sustainability. We partner with migrants, displaced communities, local governments, private sector leaders, and academic institutions to develop scalable, locally tailored solutions that minimize environmental impact and support livelihoods.
- Data Driven
We use a science-based approach to make sure our work has the lowest possible environmental impact. This means we carefully research, choose the best methods, and use the most suitable materials based on solid evidence.
- Collaborative
We set ambitious goals and seek the funding and support needed to turn these plans into action, making partnerships essential to our success.
We partner with academia, companies, finance providers, philanthropic foundations and public institutions to implement sustainable solutions tailored to reduce the environmental impacts of our work and increase the positive results of our activities through innovative technology and financing models.