UNMIK aspires to be first Peacekeeping Mission to attain Environmental Management System ISO-14001

16 Feb 2021

UNMIK aspires to be first Peacekeeping Mission to attain Environmental Management System ISO-14001

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is on its way to becoming the first peacekeeping mission to achieve the international standard for Environmental Management System ISO-14001.

On 16 February, the Special Representative to the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK Zahir Tanin approved UNMIK’s Environmental Policy, a milestone in UNMIK’s path towards full implementation of the United Nations Department of Operations’ Global Environmental Strategy.

“Looking ahead, UNMIK’s strategy is to continue reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Plan (2019),” Sandi Arnold, UNMIK Chief of Mission Support, said.

Since 2017 Ms. Arnold has led a team of dedicated personnel at UNMIK’s Mission Support Division who have undertaken various activities to improve the Mission’s environmental performance, taking advantage of renewable energy resources. Purchase of hybrid vehicles, installation of solar PV systems, and replacement of non-efficient lights with LED lights are some examples of initiatives that have led to a significant reduction of UNMIK’s CO2 emissions.

UNMIK also regularly captures, analyzes, and reports on the data about its environmental performance via management dashboards, in line with the Mission’s three-year quality management strategy.

“UNMIK will continue improving its people, processes, practices, and performance in preparation for an independent and external audit of its end-to-end Mission operations and compliance with international and industry-standard Environmental Management System, ISO 14001,” Ms. Arnold said.

“We aim to ensure compliance with ISO-14001 and get the certification with flying colours. We will share lessons learned and best practices with the United Nations Headquarters and other sister missions,” she added.

Read UNMIK Environmental Policy here: