Cross-Sector Collaboration

Operates the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA), rebranded in 2024 as the New Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (New SCAHSA), an annual international program with 10 categories that recognizes governments, cities, businesses, and organizations for achievements in sustainable urban development and human settlements. The program has received over 400 applications globally, selected 36 finalists in 2025, and awarded 19 top honors, with prize money and enhanced recognition introduced in 2024 to expand global influence.

Organizes an annual global forum on human settlements that brings together representatives from governments, NGOs, academia, and the private sector to advance dialogue and collaboration on sustainable urban development and climate resilience. The forum has been held for over 20 consecutive years since 2005, with recent sessions hosted at the United Nations, COP28, and the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, attracting over 323,700 participants across continents.

Created and released the International Green Model City (IGMC) Standards 3.0 during Habitat III in 2016 as a planning and assessment tool calibrated to UN-Habitat, UNEP, and GEF benchmarks, featuring approximately 100 indicators to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda and New Urban Agenda. Publishes research outputs including The Global Forum on Human Settlements Collection, a 3.3-million-word bilingual academic compilation acquired by over 30 major university libraries worldwide.

Engages in public education about United Nations and member country initiatives to improve ecological environments and human settlements worldwide, including through science education theaters and publications.

Leads the International Green Model City (IGMC) Initiative, launched in 2011 at UN Headquarters, which includes a network of over 40 participating cities and businesses and a pilot project implemented in Liuyang, China in 2017. Provides technical advisory and planning services for eco-adventure tourism projects such as ziplines, canopies, and climate theaters through partnerships, and collaborates with organizations like NOAA, NASA, and UNEP on urban climate solutions.

Organizes training courses and facilitates knowledge exchange on green, low-carbon urban planning, including a program in Shenzhen that enabled sharing of over 100 domestic and international best practices in sustainable urban development.

Produces and publishes books, periodicals, and annual reports documenting award-winning innovations and best practices in sustainable cities and human settlements for global dissemination, including recognition through media publicity and preferential hosting opportunities for award recipients.

Conducts research and public commentary on how artificial intelligence enables cybercrime and develops strategies to defend against AI-powered scams.

Uses data from its Automated Incident Detection and Evaluation (AIDE) platform to analyze and report on the increasing frequency and nature of cyberattacks targeting French organizations.

Participates in a 12-country, 17-organization consortium launched in late 2025 to develop tools protecting public-facing professionals from online threats over a 36-month period.

Organizes expert workshops, such as the Internet Integrity Workshop III held in Edinburgh on 18 May 2026, to address emerging threats like residential proxies and infected infrastructure.

Operates a global platform that collects and visually shares data from honeypots and real devices to improve device security and strengthen global cybersecurity defenses.

Provides a free, online cybersecurity toolkit with actionable guidance to help small and medium businesses combat cyberattacks.

Represents the organization at industry events and in public forums on topics including agentic advertising, Trusted Server, LLM Content Monetization Protocols (CoMP), CTV programmatic advertising, and privacy standards to promote adoption and regulatory alignment.

Develops and maintains global, open, and interoperable technical standards for the digital advertising ecosystem, including OpenRTB, VAST, ads.txt, sellers.json, GPP, OM SDK, Trusted Server, PAIR, ADMaP, MRAID, and others, to ensure consistency, security, privacy, and efficiency across platforms and markets.

Hosts and supports collaborative working groups composed of member organizations to develop industry standards, technical specifications, and open-source software, enabling collective input and recognition in the evolution of digital advertising technologies.

Organizes annual and monthly educational sessions, summits, and technical symposia—including Privacy and Addressability, Signal Shift Europe, Connected TV, and International Summit events—along with member networking opportunities and complimentary speaking slots to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration across the digital advertising ecosystem.

Conducts structured public comment periods lasting 30–45 days on proposed specifications and guidance documents, allowing external stakeholders to submit feedback via email before finalizing and announcing standards.