New UNOG-SIG Charter a Vision of a More Sustainable Future

GENEVA (30 October 2023) – In a significant move towards energy conservation, the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) will sign the “Ambition Negawatt Vision” Charter with water, gas, and electricity company Services Industriels de Genève (SIG) to pledge its commitment to saving energy.

UNOG Director-General Tatiana Valovaya and SIG Director General Christian Brunier will sign the Charter at a ceremony to be held on 1 November 2023 at 3.30 p.m. (Geneva time) at the UNOG press briefing room.

The event is open to accredited media; media without UNOG accreditation can apply to obtain credentials here.

The signing of the Negawatt Charter will express UNOG’s ambition to increase its clean energy production capacity, achieve significant energy savings, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient energy future, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

UNOG has been involved in SIG's “Negawatt” program since 2011. The program has already enabled UNOG to save a significant amount of energy. The UNOG renews its commitment but to the highest level offered, aiming for increased efficiency.

The signing on 1 November will enable UNOG to receive additional subsidies and grants to implement energy-saving actions, awareness-raising, and training activities, as well as assistance and monitoring energy consumption.

The UN Office in Geneva was one of the first organizations to connect to the Geneva-Lac-Nations thermal network of Services industriels de Genève, which uses water from Lake Geneva to cool connected buildings. In the future, it plans to also connect to the hydrothermal system “Genilac”, which will allow it not only to cool but also to heat its buildings with renewable energy.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact:

(In Geneva) Facilities Management Section (FMS), sbst.fms@un.org