On World Environment Day 2023, we take the chance to highlight that the IOM London office has embarked on its journey towards improving environmental sustainability at its office, in line with the United Nations’ efforts to tackle the climate change crisis and to support the environment- related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Drawing inspiration from the UNEP Greening the Blue initiative and, King’s College London Sustainability Champions programme, the “Greening of the IOM London Office” campaign aims to mainstream environmental sustainability in its office operations and staff behaviour through integrating global best practices across various sectors including academia.

The pilot activities for the campaign include: 

•    Having “Green champions” within the IOM London team to spearhead promoting sustainability practices in the workplace. This ensures that there is a team held accountable for initiating new activities and communication with all IOM London staff on office sustainability. In addition, developing a work plan with assigned roles and responsibilities. 

•    Setting up and frequently having Green team meetings to foster a culture of sustainability through increased collaboration and engagement on sustainability initiatives within the workplace. These meetings are designed to provide a forum for the green champions to develop ideas, discuss progress, and plan future sustainability initiatives. Starting off on a monthly basis for the pilot stage (6 months) then these will be held each quarter. The first green team meeting was held on March 28th, with the meeting agenda focusing on brainstorming on future plans and completion of the workplan for the campaign.

•    Installing signage around the office to raise awareness and encourage staff to engage in environmentally friendly practices around the office. These visual cues were strategically placed around the office to provide clear and concise messages that are easy to understand and act upon. Signage included messages for use of printers, lights, kettles, waste bins, and elevators. 

•    Putting in place a sustainable supply chain code of conduct to contribute towards carrying out procurement processes in an environmentally responsible manner. This involves evaluating suppliers and service providers for their efforts towards environmental sustainability specifically environmental management systems, environmental impact and social responsibility. 

Looking ahead, the “Greening of the IOM London Office” will set achievable targets for the IOM London office to work towards and be a leading example in IOM in walking the talk and integrating environmental sustainability in the workplace. 

With special thanks to the master’s student placements from King’s College London Department of Geography- Vanessa Tyaba and Wenlong Zhang for supporting commencement of this campaign. For more information about the campaign contact Nando Lewis nlewis@iom.int or Jennifer Haydock jhaydock@iom.int