Green Management in Iran Government Bodies

Although green management has been highlighted in the country’s five-year development plans since 2005 and its implementation in governmental entities has been passed as law, the concept has not received the attention it deserves.

With multiple buildings, vehicles, large workforce and extensive administrative infrastructure, state organizations are among the biggest consumers of energy and materials such as paper, which pose environmental and economic challenges.

Green management strategies have been adopted in many developed countries as solutions to cut down government expenditures and alleviate the environmental impacts of overconsumption.

In Iran, however, modern management methods have been neglected despite the country’s poor record on controlling consumption.

“While statistics show that Iran’s use of energy and water is greater than the global average, environmental techniques such as efficient solutions have been ignored,” Hamid Jalalvandi, the head of Environmental Evaluation Office at the Department of Environment, said, IRNA reported.

Speaking at a conference on Sunday, the official said the neglected issue has been again highlighted since 2013 when President Hassan Rouhani took office.  

“Green management guidelines were revised and communicated to government organizations through briefing sessions. Moreover, achievements in the implementation of strategies were included in the criteria for assessing an organization’s performance,” he said.

It has been decided that a report on state organizations’ adoption of environmental policies be prepared annually.

Besides government entities, industries and public facilities are assessed for eco-friendly management and the greenest units are commended during a ceremony.

According to Jalalvandi, the process of this year’s nomination will begin in the next 10 days.

A conference on green management in governmental organizations was held on Sunday in the central office of DOE and was attended by representatives of some 60 state entities.

The meeting was aimed at offering basic training about the indices of green management set in the Sixth Five-year Economic Development Plan (2017-22).  

Green management is an initiative aimed at continuously improving the foundation of environmental management and functioning in a capacity where no negative impact is made on the local or global environment, the community, or the economy.