Greening the Blue Annual Report 2025 - The environmental performance of the UN system

United Nations 7 months ago

The 2025 edition of the Greening the Blue Annual Report presents the environmental performance of the UN system in 2024, covering operations of headquarters and field offices worldwide. 60 UN system entities have submitted performance data for this Report, corresponding to the activities performed by 312,084 members of personnel. The UN system has achieved notable reductions in emissions and environmental impacts in the past years, and since 2019. Notably: total GHG emissions dropped by 7.2% from 1.54 million tonnes of CO2 eq. in 2023 to 1.43 in 2024. A 29.7% reduction in total emissions was achieved in the 2019-2024 period; GHG emissions per capita have dropped by 4.2% from 2023 to 2024; a 29.5% reduction was achieved in the 2019-2024 period; per capita waste dropped by 5.74% from 2023 to 2024, a 36.7% reduction was achieved in the 2019-2024 period; per capita water use decreased by 12.5% from 2023 to 2024, a 19.2% reduction was achieved in the 2019-2024 period. The UN system entities remain committed to strengthening collaboration to adapt their ways of working to further reduce emissions while maintaining the positive impacts and legacy of the UN system to the world.
→ View Full Article

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 3 hours ago



The past quarter has marked a decisive turn for sustainable construction as regulatory and financial frameworks push towards measurable outcomes. The EU Deforestation Regulation now extends accountability across supply chains, compelling developers to verify the provenance of timber and other renewable building materials aligned with environmental sustainability in construction. The latest Environmental Performance Index exposes how far most nations remain from achieving net zero carbon and fully certifiable net zero Whole Life Carbon buildings, sharpening global focus on embodied carbon and the carbon footprint of construction.

Green finance guidance from the Green Finance Institute and WWF reinforces this transition by embedding biodiversity metrics and Whole Life Carbon Assessment into project reporting. Sustainable building design is now inextricably linked to fiduciary responsibility, with investors demanding verified lifecycle assessment data and credible environmental product declarations (EPDs). The incorporation of Life Cycle Cost appraisal and life cycle thinking in construction establishes a unified model where resource efficiency and circular construction strategies define investor confidence.

Operational resilience remains pivotal. Research on the inefficiencies of legacy financial systems underscores that decarbonising the built environment depends not only on low carbon design and low embodied carbon materials but also on digital workflows that enhance building lifecycle performance. The industry’s embrace of eco-design for buildings, Circular Economy in construction, and sustainable building practices signals a shift from aspiration to implementation.

Across markets, the environmental impact of construction and governance failures continue to test trust in green infrastructure. As scrutiny intensifies, sustainable design and carbon neutral construction are emerging as baselines rather than aspirations. The next phase of sustainable urban development will be defined by Whole Life Carbon transparency, robust BREEAM and BREEAM V7 frameworks, and quantifiable progress toward circular economy models that anchor low carbon building performance in verifiable data.

Show More

camera_altFeatured Instagram Posts:

Get your opinion heard:

Whole Life Carbon is a platform for the entire construction industry—both in the UK and internationally. We track the latest publications, debates, and events related to whole life guidance and sustainability. If you have any enquiries or opinions to share, please do get in touch.

Let's chat!
Avatar

WLC Assistant

Ask me about sustainability

Hi! I'm your Whole Life Carbon assistant. I can help you learn about sustainability, carbon assessment, and navigate our resources. How can I help you today?