UNIS/INF/306
3 December 2008
Re-issued as received
UNIDO and UNDP Join Together to Support Environment-friendly Business Practices
VIENNA, 3 December (UN Information Service) - The Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Kandeh K. Yumkella, together with the United Nations System Resident Coordinator for China, Khalid Malik, launched today a joint UNIDO-UNDP programme 'Industrial Climate Change Compacts - A United Nations-Business Partnership for Sustainability' at UNIDO headquarters in Vienna. The partnership will ensure that the industrial sector specific capacity of UNIDO will be combined effectively with the broad mandate, experience and outreach of UNDP.
The programme aims to develop a platform where industry and manufacturing companies can be better assisted to actively participate in international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Industry is one of the most important sectors to galvanize and mitigate climate change. But it must be supported to adopt low carbon technologies and production methods.
Through this innovative joint programme industrial companies in developing country will be able to meet and exchange experiences and develop joint climate related opportunities. They will also benefit from sectoral support packages which will provide specific greenhouse gas emission mitigation options and methodologies. Ultimately, the programme will promote the creation of climate change mitigation 'compacts' or partnership agreements by different industrial companies.
Industry compacts are voluntary corporate initiatives seeking to create more responsible and sustainable business practices. They consist of various stakeholders, such as businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and the public sector. Increasingly, companies are participating in industry compacts and partnerships to address global social and environmental issues.
The UNIDO-UNDP joint programme initially focuses on the People's Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa. These countries have been selected because they are both the manufacturing hubs of their respective continents and represent developing countries with relatively high emissions of greenhouse gases.
To better enhance its outreach and impact, the programme will be aligned with the UN Global Compact and its 'Caring for the Climate' initiative, thus acquiring a multi-agency dimension and becoming a good example of the UN system 'Delivering as One' approach.
***
UNIDO is a specialized agency of the United Nations system that works towards improving the quality of life of the world's poor by helping countries achieve sustainable industrial development. UNIDO views industrial development as a means of creating employment and income to overcome poverty. It helps developing countries and economies in transition to produce goods they can trade on the global market. It also helps provide the tools - training, technology, and investment - to make them competitive. At the same time, it encourages production processes that will neither harm the environment nor place too heavy a burden on a country's limited energy resources. UNIDO has 172 Member States and has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. See also www.unido.org
* *** *
For more information, please contact:
Sajjad
Ajmal
Representative and Head of UNIDO Regional Office
Beijing, China
Telephone: (+86) 10 6532 3440
Email:
s.ajmal@unido.org
