Environmental Responsibility on the WIPO Campus

January 30, 2020

WIPO publishes a brochure illustrating its commitment to climate action for a green future.

In 2009, WIPO launched its Carbon Neutrality Project with the aim to reduce the Organization’s carbon footprint. Since 2014, the WIPO campus has been carbon neutral, and every year more clean initiatives are implemented.

“As human activity caused the problem, so too can human activity find the solutions. Green innovation – the development and diffusion of technological means to tackle climate change – is key to halting the depletion of the earth’s resources,” wrote WIPO Director General Francis Gurry in his foreword to the first brochure on Environmental Responsibility on the WIPO Campus.

The brochure outlines examples of the sustainable innovations put in place to make the WIPO campus climate-friendly. For example, readers will learn that since 2015, six of the campus buildings are cooled by Lake Geneva water, allowing for energy and water savings.

The brochure is currently available in English and French , and is being translated into other WIPO official languages.

Other WIPO initiatives for climate action

In 2013, WIPO launched its environmental initiative, WIPO GREEN, to catalyze green innovation and accelerate green tech transfer and diffusion. WIPO GREEN – a global marketplace for sustainable technology – connects green tech seekers and providers through its online database and regional activities, supporting global efforts to address climate change.

In 2020, WIPO’s annual campaign, World Intellectual Property Day, will explore green innovation under the theme Innovate for a green future.