UN Geneva Headquarter Goes Green

Environment-friendly entities all over the world are realizing the benefits of going green. United Nations’ Geneva headquarters recently joined the bandwagon with the prestigious Nature Reserve Certificate for its ‘go green’ efforts. This certificate is given to entities that manage 30% green area around their building in a natural way to protect the environment. The 46 hectare Ariana Park of the UN office in Geneva has a variety of flowers and trees that are more than a century old. No pesticides are used on these plants and sheep are used in place of lawnmowers!

As a part of “Greening the U.N.” initiative, United Nations’ Geneva headquarters is witnessing more eco-friendly improvements. Solar panels of 60 square meters have been set up to generate hot water for the buildings. Flushing units and pipes are replaced with water saving units and new energy-efficient lighting has also been installed. In an attempt to control CO2 emission and encourage employees who bike to work, 233 parking spaces have been created for bicycles.

The UN completed its effort of installing pipes around the ground for bringing water from Lake Geneva in June 2009. This has been done to keep the Palais and neighboring buildings cool. The Genève-Lac-Nations Project launched in July 2009 is said to decrease the consumption of electricity by 490 Megawatt-hours annually. It will also reduce water consumption by 8000 cubic meters every year. Environmental sustainability efforts made by a major entity can be a great inspiration for companies all over the world. The key to success lies in taking a small step towards achieving the goal.