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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and NEC Corporation (NEC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote the conservation of natural capital and responses to climate change through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies.
This MOU promotes cooperation toward the conservation and restoration of the natural environment and the realization of sustainable local communities by combining UNDP's knowledge and networks in development assistance around the world with NEC's advanced digital technologies, including AI.
In addition to addressing environmental challenges through the use of digital technologies, the parties will also advance assessments and studies aimed at enhancing the resilience of AI and digital infrastructure, as well as local communities, through the use of environmental data.
The two organizations will cooperate in the following areas:
1. Creation and dissemination of knowledge for assessing and improving the resilience of AI and other digital technologies, digital infrastructure, and local communities based on environmental data.
2. Examination of and cooperation on the use of digital solutions that support nature-positive and climate-resilient development.
3. Examination of approaches toward realizing sustainable and resilient international supply chains for Japanese companies, including NEC, through collaboration with local communities.
4. Joint dissemination of information to promote the use of digital technologies that contribute to biodiversity conservation and climate change measures.
5. Continuous dialogue and cooperation to create new opportunities for collaboration and advance joint initiatives.
As an initial area of cooperation under this MOU, the two organizations will jointly prepare and disseminate a white paper to assess, based on environmental data, the resilience of AI and digital infrastructure such as data centers, as well as supply chains and surrounding local communities, and to contribute to improving such resilience.
In addition, they will discuss possible forms of collaboration through workshops on data-driven agriculture using CropScope to support climate change adaptation for coffee farmers in Ethiopia. As these initiatives progress, the two organizations will continue to explore new areas of cooperation.
Through this MOU, UNDP and NEC will promote the conservation of natural capital, including biodiversity, and responses to climate change while appropriately and effectively utilizing AI and other digital technologies, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of nature and society.
"Artificial intelligence can help address climate and environmental challenges, but developing countries need support to use it sustainably. By combining the United Nations Development Programme’s expertise and country presence with NEC Corporation’s technology, this partnership will bring solutions closer to communities and scale local impact."
Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP's Bureau for Policy and Programme Support
"We are very pleased to have entered into this Memorandum of Understanding with UNDP.
AI has tremendous power to collect and process vast amounts of sophisticated information and support human decision-making and action. While NEC has incorporated this potential into management transformation and business operations, we have also accumulated knowledge relating to the evaluation of and decision-making on resilience through the use of environmental data, based on many years of environmental management and practical experience as a business enterprise. We are also taking on the challenge of analyzing complex factors based on the natural environment and social characteristics that differ from region to region, enabling people to make data-driven decisions that contribute to improving the resilience of businesses and local communities. By combining UNDP's knowledge and networks with NEC's practical expertise, technologies, and business foundation, we will create new value and contribute to realizing a sustainable, nature-positive, and climate-resilient society."
Shinichiro Ide, Corporate SVP, CBXO and Head of the Business Process Transformation Unit, NEC Corporation
About the Related Webinar
As part of the initiatives under this MOU, NEC and the International Institute for Socio-Economic Studies (IISE), an independent think tank of the NEC Group, will hold an online webinar with the cooperation of UNDP.
The webinar will invite Mozaic Earth and LandPrint, award-winning and finalist companies in the "Nature Intelligence for Business Grand Challenge," jointly organized by UNDP, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and Conservation X Labs. The webinar will introduce the latest initiatives that utilize environmental data, satellite data, and AI to translate nature-related risks and opportunities in agricultural and forestry supply chains into business and investment decisions. It will also discuss the potential for utilizing nature-related data in management decision-making for corporate sustainability, TNFD, procurement, and finance professionals, as well as financial institutions and researchers.
• Date and Time: Thursday, 10 September 2026, 9:00 10:30 (tentative)
• Format: Zoom Webinar (Online)
• Participation Fee: Free
• Organizer: International Institute for Socio-Economic Studies (IISE)
• Cooperation: UNDP
• Planned Speakers: UNDP, NEC, Mozaic Earth, LandPrint, IISE (Moderator)
About NEC
The NEC Group (nec.com) leverages technology to create social value and promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. NEC Corporation was established in 1899. Today, the NEC Group’s approximately 110,000 employees utilize world-leading AI, security, and communications technologies to solve the most pressing needs of customers and society.
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