New carpooling initiative to lead to greener, leaner UN in Indonesia

The UN in Indonesia today joined a carpooling initiative through UN Mobility to decrease its carbon footprint and its contribution to congestion on Jakarta’s roads. The move is part of the UN Secretary General’s reform effort to align the UN with today’s realities. 

Indonesia is among the first countries in Asia where the UN has launched a carpooling scheme in a non-emergency situation under its UN Mobility programme. It is expected to increase operational efficiencies and avoid certain costs.

The carpooling initiative promotes environmental sustainability through increased ridesharing, which participants can book through a mobile application. It offers on-demand transportation for UN staff, encourages car sharing, and thereby boosts operational efficiency.

“The UN reform calls for increased efficiencies in our operations to save money for our Member States and leave more funding for substantive development work,” said Valerie Julliand, the UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia. “Furthermore, the UN wants to set the right example in being more conscious in our transport choices: where and when we can, we will share our resources.”  

The first ride under this initiative took place on 23 May, when the car and driver of the UN Information Center (UNIC) took a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) official from UN offices in Central Jakarta to another UN agency, located in Setiabudi and back. Seven UN agencies are participating in the project initially: the International Labour Organization, the UN Development Programme, the UN Information Centre, the United Nations Population Fund, UNOPS, UN WOMEN as well as the Resident Coordinator’s Office. 

Experience from other locations where the UN has already implemented such a scheme suggests that it can generate cost savings of around US $5,500 annually for each participating agency.  The efficiency gains achieved by this initiative from 700 global locations in 2022 was $3.75 M.