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

United Nations 6 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.
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layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 6 hours ago



Digital transformation is redefining sustainable construction. Artificial intelligence and advanced BIM integration now underpin efforts to quantify and manage embodied carbon, enabling whole life carbon assessment across design, operation, and demolition stages. Data-driven models are turning sustainable building design into an evidence‑based discipline rooted in lifecycle assessment, life cycle cost evaluation, and transparent reporting of environmental product declarations (EPDs). This shift positions information as critical infrastructure for decarbonising the built environment rather than a compliance afterthought.

Material sovereignty is becoming integral to environmental sustainability in construction. Scotland’s dependence on imported materials exposes vulnerabilities in low carbon building supply chains. Research into circular economy in construction, low embodied carbon materials, and resource efficiency in construction is strengthening resilience and advancing circular construction strategies that reduce the carbon footprint of construction. Renewable building materials, recycled aggregates, and eco‑design for buildings are proving viable within exacting performance standards, signalling momentum toward carbon neutral construction.

Policy reform is accelerating sustainable building practices. Stricter oversight of waste recovery, remediation, and building lifecycle performance aligns with evolving standards such as BREEAM and BREEAM v7, embedding sustainability into regulation. Social landlords and public developers must now demonstrate measurable improvements in carbon footprint reduction and whole life carbon performance.

The sector is confronting an inflection point where low carbon design, sustainable material specification, and life cycle thinking in construction converge with digital accountability. Net zero carbon buildings and net zero whole life carbon strategies are redefining best practice, anchoring sustainable design and eco‑friendly construction in both economics and ethics. The transition from token gestures to systemic action is reshaping green construction and establishing sustainability as the foundation of a competitive, resilient industry.

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