United Nations Environment Programme  (UNEP)

ICC has a long history of constructive cooperation with UNEP, dating back to the groundbreaking World Industry Conference on Environmental Management, held at the Palais des Congres, Versailles in 1984.  This led to practical business tools, such as the ICC-UNEP training kit for environmental managers, published in association with the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), which has been translated into over a dozen languages.

In 1991, ICC launched the Business Charter for Sustainable Development, a set of principles for environmental management which have helped thousands of companies worldwide establish an excellent foundation on which to build their own integrated environmental management systems.

At ICC's 33rd World Congress in Budapest in 2000, ICC and UNEP presented 12 companies with the first business awards for environmental achievement, which recognized leading companies that demonstrated integrated resource management and technological innovation in their environmental management programmes.

ICC and UNEP continue to cooperate closely on various initiatives including the very successful “African Business for Sustainable Development" session held on 24 February 2005 in Nairobi during the Global Ministerial Environment Forum and the 23^rd UNEP Governing Council meetings. This was the first time UNEP held a business function of this kind in conjunction with the Governing Council and given its resounding success ICC hope's to repeat the exercise on a regular basis.

Below please find a summary of ICC activities at the UNEP 10th Governing Council meeting/Global Ministerial Environment Forum from 20-22 February and Global Civil Society Forum on 19 February in Monaco.

Most recently at the 10^th Special session of the UNEP Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum/Global Civil Society Forum, 19-22 February 2008 in Monaco, ICC facilitated a robust business and industry delegation.  Several activities were undertaken including hosting with ICC Monaco a welcome dinner for the Business delegation, several interventions during the Global Civil Society Forum - on UNEP's Medium-Term Strategy and relationship with civil society. Various members of the business delegation attended breakout Ministerial Roundtable meetings with Ministers as business and industry to present views on the topic of Mobilising Finance for Climate Change.  As detailed during the November meeting of the ICC Environment and Energy Commission in Monaco, ICC presented a Communiqué to the UNEP meeting.

Furthermore ICC will co-host the 2008 UNEP Business & Industry Dialogue Meetings on 23-24 October 2008 at ICC headquarters in Paris, France. The two-day meeting will focus on the topics Climate Change and the Marrakech Process on Sustainable Consumption and Production, including new business models and technology innovations in dealing with Resource Efficiency.
>>> Click here to read more about the 2008 Business & Industry Global Dialogue  

10th Special session of the UNEP Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum / Global Civil Society Forum 
19-22 February 2008 in Monaco

• English: ICC Communiqué to UNEP meeting 
• French: Communiqué ICC pour la réunion PNUE 
• ICC Intervention during Global Civil Society Forum 
• ICC / Business UNEP Engagement 
• See also: ICC's Commission on Environment and Energy meeting,
  15 November 2007 in Monaco

9th Special Session of the Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum
7-9 February 2006, Dubai  

• Official submission from Business and Industry at the Ministerial
• Statement from Business and Industry at the Ministerial
• Item 5 (a) of the Provisional Agenda UNEP Governing Council IX / Global Ministerial Environment Forum

Comments on the "Delivering as one" Report of the UN Secretary General’s high-level panel on UN system-wide coherence, 11 January 2007