Welcome Opening Remarks
By

TOSHIYUKI NIWA

Assistant Secretary-General
for Central Support Services

1 February 2000

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the United Nations. It is heartening to see such a diverse and global participation by policy makers, architects, designers, governmental and non-governmental organizations, educators and students in this workshop.

As stated earlier by Mr. Connor, the United Nations is committed to the principles of Sustainable Development. The Office of Central Support Services is directly responsible for organization-wide planning, design, construction and maintenance of the UN facilities; in addition, it handles leasing and property management as well as procurement of goods and services for the buildings and staff at Headquarters and other duty stations worldwide.

This responsibility includes an effective and efficient use of energy, elimination of waste and utilization of energy services and other products. It is our objective to use renewable energy and recycled or renewable products, when practical, and to procure energy at the lowest possible cost in a restructuring marketplace.

The Office of Central Support Services directly manages more than 3 million square feet of space in the New York area and a total of more than 13 million square feet world-wide, built over approximately 434 acres. Most of these facilities are landmark buildings that house offices, conference rooms and support functions, and operate extended hours.

When the United Nations buildings were designed and constructed, energy costs were low and the supply was plentiful. Hence, no great importance was attached at the time to energy efficient structures, equipment and systems. In recent years however, the United Nations has implemented a number of energy saving projects.

In addition, an integrated approach to energy-efficient design, renovations and operations is being formulated to promote effective planning, management and maintenance for all Headquarters and Overseas physical facilities. Two specific elements have been identified as central within that approach: a) coordinated long-range planning and investment of resources towards energy savings and, b) related projects that can be justified on the basis of sustainable development and payback analysis.

It is our objective to practice what we preach. Our annual energy budget exceeds $10 million for the Headquarters facilities and more than $25 million for the Overseas Properties. We plan to incorporate diverse energy-saving technologies into existing buildings that would require significant architectural and engineering modifications. Likewise, new safety and environmental standards require modifications to improve indoor air quality, handicap accessibility, space ergonomics, and better environmental controls for improving the productivity and comfort level of staff/tenants.

We have begun to follow a multi-faceted programme, particularly in the energy use areas:

• We are now benchmarking our energy use and plan to make it comparable to similar buildings which were efficiently designed;
• We replaced all air conditioning equipment that had lower efficiency or used ozone-layer-depleting gases with higher efficiency and more environmentally friendly equipment;
• To purchase power, we aggregate our electric loads with the United States General Services Administration operated buildings in the New York City area. US GSA periodically goes out with a joint "Request for Proposals" and we obtain a very competitive rate for electric services in the market.
• We are investigating the use of fuel cells, solar power and geothermal power at our facilities. Through various interim energy-savings lighting and equipment retrofits and through improved operations and maintenance, we are saving approximately 15% of our 1995 electric consumption levels. Similar savings are being accomplished in the steam usage for driving the chillers and for heating.

Through building renovations and implementation of diverse energy-saving projects, we plan to further save more than 30% in electric and steam consumption costs from the current levels. We are focusing on recycling and installing water-saving fixtures and appliances throughout the UN complex. The UN is promoting the use of recycled or renewable products and services consistent with the principles of Sustainable Development and Greening of the planet. We plan to work closely with the private industry and agencies of the public sector to advance the causes of maximizing energy efficiency and responsible energy-source options.

I hope that you will find useful the recommendations and technical advice from the various speakers for certain administrative, financial, design, operational or service aspects of your business.

I would like to close by welcoming you once again and to express my hope that your visit to the United Nations will be productive and rewarding. Please also allow me to introduce Ms. JoAnne DiSano, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Thank you for your time and attention.