COP29 Azerbaijan Operating Company gets ISO 20121 certification for sustainable event management

COP29 Azerbaijan Operating Company has been awarded the ISO 20121 sustainable event management certificate.

The company's award ceremony was held at the COP29 Azerbaijan pavilion, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

The ceremony was attended by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) officials, the management of COP29 Azerbaijan Operating Company and representatives of strategic contractors.

COP29 Chairman of the Board and COO Narmin Jarchalova and representative of the Azerbaijani office of TÜV Austria Zaur Farzaliyev in their speeches emphasised the importance of this certificate and the significance of teamwork in achieving such success.

Let’s note that Azerbaijan became the first country in the history of COP conferences to receive ISO 20121 certificate for sustainable management and organisation of events until the end of the event. This certificate was also issued to COP29 Azerbaijan Operating Company for the first time in Azerbaijan.

Notably, COP29 officially started in Azerbaijan on November 11 and will run through November 22. The decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan, a country with extensive experience in organizing international events, was made during the plenary session of COP28 in Dubai on December 11, 2023. 

As part of the conference, Baku currently hosts 70,000 and 80,000 international guests, including leaders from governments, businesses, and civil society, all working together to find tangible solutions to the record-high global temperatures and extreme weather events that are affecting people worldwide.

A central focus of COP29 is finance, as trillions of dollars are needed for countries to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from the growing impacts of climate change.

The conference also serves as a critical moment for nations to present their updated national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement, which are due by early 2025. If implemented correctly, these plans will help limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, while also serving as investment strategies that support the Sustainable Development Goals.

By Khagan Isayev