The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) was set up in 1947 by ECOSOC. It is one of five regional commissions of the United Nations.
UNECE’s major aim is to promote pan-European economic integration. UNECE includes in Europe, North America and Asia. However, all interested United Nations member States may participate in the work of UNECE.
As a multilateral platform, UNECE facilitates greater economic integration and cooperation among its member countries and promotes sustainable development and economic prosperity through:
- policy dialogue,
- negotiation of international legal instruments,
- development of regulations and norms,
- exchange and application of best practices as well as economic and technical expertise,
- technical cooperation for countries with economies in transition.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
- How does UNECE’s work and activities specifically touch upon e-commerce and the digital economy?
UNECE and the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and eBusiness (UN/CEFACT), a subsidiary intergovernmental body of UNECE, have a longstanding history of promoting digital services and platforms for safer, more resilient and efficient trade value chains. So far, UN/CEFACT has developed around 950 e-business standards and guidelines, as well as some 50 global trade facilitation recommendations. These have provided standardized data models and frameworks to support efficient trade information exchange through tools, such as the Single Window Interoperability Framework and eCERT for electronic certification. Moving forward, they will become even more important to mitigate the abrupt changes in the supply chain due to shortage of raw materials and trade sanctions and at the same time support implementation of the SDGs.
Businesses, policymakers, and consumers alike are striving to make more informed decisions, driving progress toward a sustainable and circular economy. In order to achieve this, solutions are needed to record products’ lifecycles, including their origin, materials, environmental impact, and compliance with sustainability standards. This is key to ensure that information on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) footprints are genuine and thus to combat greenwashing.
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