The proposal to establish a UN Carbon Neutral House in Vietnam has two key purposes: to help the UN in Vietnam to ‘Deliver as One’ and ‘Deliver as green’. The process of “Delivering as one” (Dao) is part of the UN reform at country level where Vietnam is a pilot country. You can read more about the One UN process and Delivering as One here.
The Norwegian government has pledged 1.8 million USD toward the building of the Green One UN House in Vietnam. The agreement was signed in Hanoi on April 15 2009 by the Norwegian State Secretary for International Development, Håkon Gulbrandsen, and Setsuko Yamazaki, Country Director of the UN Development Programme in Vietnam. According to the UN Organizations in Vietnam, this early work and grant agreement between UNEP and the Government of Norway was extremely valuable in establishing the feasibility of the site, identifying the ‘green’ performance objectives and attracting stakeholder support.
An innovative building
As a tripartite undertaking between the UN, the Government of Vietnam and donors, the office building will be a firm statement of the UN commitment to sustainable development and will also be a tangible sign of the UN reform. The Green One UN House aims to use key resources (such as energy and water) more efficiently, and provide a better, healthier, safer and more team-friendly work environment for employees – creating a working environment that enhances productivity. The new UN house will be a model building and through that demonstrate the viability of innovative sustainable buildings in rapidly urbanizing Vietnam, and maximize the transfer of ‘green’ technology and knowledge to Vietnam.
To date the Government has contributed a high-value land site and the house is fully funded with commitments and pledges by donors from Norway, UK, Ireland, Finland, Spain, New Zealand, Australia and The Sustainable United Nations Programme. There are more than 60 UN Houses already in operation worldwide, but in Hanoi UN agencies are currently housed in ten separate locations scattered throughout the city. Co-location is an essential part in overcoming 'silo mentality' that comes with physical separation of the 16 UN agencies in Vietnam, and will further strengthen cooperation among the different UN agencies, operating as One UN.
The design - a benchmark
With Norwegian funding, a preliminary design of a carbon-neutral UN House was completed by the distinguished professor Soontorn Boonyatikarn, an award-winning expert from Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) and his team last year. The design ensures that the future Green One UN House will meet the highest possible environment standards, and the future Green One UN House is expected to set a benchmark in the Asean region for office building design aiming to reduce CO2 emissions.