Study Guide

3.2. Institutional framework and initiatives

The Green Customs Initiative (GCI), launched by UNEP in 2004, builds the capacity of customs and border officers to enforce trade-related environmental conventions. It targets environmentally sensitive commodities such as ozone-depleting substances, toxic chemicals, hazardous waste, endangered species, and living modified organisms. For frontline officers, it provides training, tools, technical guidance, and awareness-raising.

The GCI is a partnership between MEA secretariats and enforcement bodies, including:

•        MEA secretariats (Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Montreal Protocol, and CITES)
•        INTERPOL
•        The World Customs Organization (WCO)
•        UNEP and other UN agencies

Logistics providers such as DHL sit inside this ecosystem, supporting it through MEA-related documentation and declarations, data sharing for risk profiling and traceability, and participation in pilots such as CBAM reporting, green corridors, and low-emission transport. Public–private cooperation is now treated as essential to scaling environmental enforcement.

The World Customs Organization has established a Green Customs Action Plan, which frames Green Customs across three dimensions:

These efforts support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WCO is also developing the Green Customs Assessment Tool (GCAT) to help administrations benchmark their environmental initiatives and measure progress.