Top Down Greening in Athens

US Embassy Athens has begun greening the roof of the Embassy with extensive vegetation. This will reduce wasteful runoff and lower heating and cooling costs for the building.

Next step to offset carbon and environmental impact is a greenhouse at the Ambassador's residence to grow carbon consuming plants for landscaping the embassy and other US Government residences.

Mission Germany Lights The Way

US Consulate Hamburg is converting security lighting fixtures with halogen bulbs and voltage regulators (at 82 watts each) to OBO-approved fixtures with compact fluorescent bulbs (at 42 watts each). The change yields an annualized savings of 3,600 kWh or a 1.3% reduction in electricity consumption compared to calendar year 2009. This step builds on a total 11.9% reduction in electricity consumption achieved at the Consulate Office Building (COB) during 2009.

This change is carbon neutral because the consulate converted to a green energy utility provider on January 1, 2009 – which, coincidentally was:

• a budget neutral change, going from 9.85 € Ct./kWh to € 9.84 Ct./kWh,
• a 146-ton reduction of carbon emissions for the switch to a green source provider, and
• a 10-ton reduction of carbon emissions for the lower electrical consumption during 2009.

Via Mission Germany’s collaborative Energy Savings Initiative, post Munich is already exploring whether it can apply this approach to a similar problem of high energy consumption security lighting.

Vienna Uses Danube To Cool Homes

US Embassy Vienna is not satisfied with new Mag-Lev chillers or adding Smart cars to the motorpool fleet. They've now leased apartements that are cooled by heat exchange with Danube River water!

Copenhagen Earth Day Video Celebrates Accomplishments

Reducing Energy Consumption through Lighting Doesn't Always Demand Complex Solutions

Valletta Reduces Energy Consumption through Lighting:

- Each workstation will have individually controlled energy efficient task lights allowing the occupants to make individual adjustments and allow overall lighting levels to be reduced
- Occupancy sensors will automatically turn off lights when the rooms are vacant

Daylight harvesting techniques include:
- Automatic daylight dimming illumination for fixtures adjacent to windows to utilize daylight
- Light shelves reflect natural daylight back into
open office spaces

New Technologies Help Valletta Reduce

Valletta reduces energy consumption in the chancery:

- Project was designed to consume 20% less energy than the ASHRAE 90.1 baseline case
- Reduced Energy demand through implementation of chillers, and Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) for Pumps, fans, and motors
- Building Automation Systems (BAS)
- Sunshades reduce solar heat gain
- Gearless Electric Traction Elevators

The Embassy Valletta IT staff automated the shutdown of all workstations in the Embassy during nights and weekends. This will save 225,000 kilowatts of electricity per year, calculated by taking a baseline reading of the electricity used over night and on a weekend, and then taking the same measurements after the shut down procedure was in place.

Embassy Amman Leads the Way

Post launched the Green Embassy initiative in September 2008 to reduce the Embassy's environmental, water, and energy footprint and to lower operational costs. The positive results have included estimated annual savings of $55,000 in electricity costs, $25,000 in water costs, and $40,000 in diesel fuel bills. The Embassy also recycled 30 tons of paper and cardboard, 4 tons of plastic, 2.5 tons of cans, and 3 tons of glass. Embassy Amman has set an ambitious target of working towards LEED certification as one of the first Green Buildings in Jordan and is working on a LEED audit with a vendor.

Turning Off The Lights in Brussels

In January 2009, the building Energy Saving Project was completed, having reached its energy and money saving targets. All floors are now divided into zones, which are lit between 6.15 am and 7 pm. During nights and weekends, lights are turned off. Each zone has a light switch, in the event that someone has to work at hours when the lights are turned off. Pressing the button will light the zone for 6 hours and when leaving, a reset button can be used to turn off the lights. As of 2008, IT has also implemented Wake on LAN or WOL for all OpenNet work stations, implying energy saving computer shutdowns between 8 pm and 7 am.

Missions in Germany Save Energy and Dollars

An agreement with Vattenfall has been initiated to include Berlin residential buildings on the commercial utility contract for non-residential buildings, which has a lower kWh-rate and allows for real time utility metering in residential units. A photovoltaic system has been installed on the roof of the residence on Goldfinkweg 14. Energy savings have been achieved through the Munich strategy of overnight computer shutdowns and extraneous water heaters have been turned off in four restrooms at COB in Düsseldorf.

Greening IT

In this fiscal year, the Department of State's Bureau of Information Resource Management will replace an additional 2,212 PCs with thin clients, bringing the total number deployed to 8,187. The Department is expected to save 630,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 422.7 tons annually as a result. Plans are under way to begin adding thin client workstations to the unclassified network in fiscal 2011.

By using a PC’s power management capabilities such as sleep, hibernate and shutdown modes, the Department could increase energy savings by more than 35 percent annually, according to conservative estimates. In fact, a number of overseas posts have already implemented power management and gained impressive results. IRM’s ultimate goal is to enable computers that have been shut down to automatically “wake up” so that scheduled maintenance can occur without disrupting work activities. In the future, while you’re sleeping at home, your PC at work will also be sleeping— and saving energy.

Stockholm Goes To District Heating

Embassy Stockholm and energy company Fortum signed a deal where all electricity used in the chancery building comes from renewable sources, and by joining the district heating grid more than the environment is spared. By switching to district heating saving 366,000 cubic meters of gas annually, which results in a 650,000 kg cut in carbon dioxide emissions.

Embassy Stockholm Driving Green and Powering Green

Embassy Stockholm employees take green taxis for their official travels. Taxi Stockholm (Stockholm’s biggest taxi company) will provide Embassy employees with green taxis on request. They have also purchased bicycles for use when going to meetings.

All Embassy staff has been encouraged to find ways to reduce the Embassy’s carbon footprint. In addition to traveling green, the Embassy signed a contract with Fortum to receive electricity from renewable sources only, expanded its recycling program, and replaced incandescent light bulbs with low energy long-life bulbs.

EMBASSY NICOSIA GREENING IS CHEAP!

The U.S. Embassy in Nicosia has taken not only several “green” steps, but also achieved major cost-cuts and benefitted the environment. They have reduced energy consumption throughout the Chancery by only using desk lamps and fluorescent bulbs for lighting and reduced residential heating fuel by 50%. They planted drought-resistant plants, pooled printers, and installed reflective window film. They distributed utility bills to the residents and established a “Green Award” for those who lower their costs the most. It’s not too late! Follow in Nicosia’s foot-steps and not only will you benefit, but so will your children.