Achim Steiner

Administrator, United Nations Development Programme
Achim Steiner

Achim Steiner serves as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. Prior to joining UNDP in June 2017, he was Director of the Oxford Martin School and served as United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016).

From March 2009 to May 2011, he was also Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). Before joining UNEP, Mr. Steiner served as Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) from 2001 to 2006, and prior to that as Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams. His professional career has included assignments with governmental, non-governmental and international organizations in different parts of the world including India, Pakistan, Germany, Zimbabwe, USA, Vietnam, South Africa, Switzerland and Kenya. He worked both at grassroots level as well as at the highest levels of international policy-making to address the interface between environmental sustainability, social equity and economic development.

Mr. Steiner’s educational background includes a BA from the University of Oxford as well as an MA from the University of London with specialization in development economics and policy. He also studied at the German Development Institute in Berlin as well as the Harvard Business School.

We waste about one-third of food produced every year. That’s why I welcome this proactive, collaborative approach by the Champions of SDG 12.3 to halving food waste by 2030. UNEP’s Think Eat Save initiative, in partnership with FAO, raises awareness and promotes practices and policies to reduce food loss and waste. But for this target to be met comprehensively, we require important baseline data on our production and consumption patterns today. I encourage all Champions to contribute to measuring food waste in their organizations and countries in order to help achieve an SDG target crucial to both food security and fighting hunger, as well as climate change.” — Achim Steiner