The Foreign Service Journal, April 2014

22 APRIL 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL systems and materials are used for construction have the greatest long-term sustainability impacts. Early energy modeling and water balancing are used to determine if technologies such as solar and wind power or rainwater harvesting are feasible. Results are compiled in a living document that is updated as the project progresses through concept design, schematic design and design develop- ment. With each phase, a higher level of detail and analysis is provided, concluding with a full life-cycle cost analysis of the project’s comprehensive sustainability strategy. OBO uses this calculation to determine which of the hundreds of possible approaches offer the greatest environmental and cost benefits to the project. Sustainability is one of OBO’s guiding principles and the foundation of the bureau’s Excellence in Diplomatic Facilities initiative. Sustainability is also integral to each of the other 10 principles: Function, Site, Design, Engineering, Safety & Security, Architecture, Construction, Operations &Maintenance, Historic Preservation and Art. With these principles as the road map, our project teams are studying the cost-effectiveness of stretch goals such as net-zero energy and water, as well as LEED Platinum. As the real property manager for the department’s entire over- seas property portfolio, OBO knows that legacy buildings require a different approach, but can still drive powerful improvements in energy efficiency. Because our building portfolio is extremely diverse in geographic region, climate zone, building type and size, broad policy is the best catalyst to guide improvements. We have buildings spread across six geographic regions and in all eight climate zones except Subarctic, with 70 percent of our building area in very hot/dry, hot/dry or warm/dry climates. Office and residential buildings make up 57 percent and 31 per- cent of the building area, respectively. Adding to the complexity is the fact that the department leases a significant number of the buildings in the portfolio, which can restrict our ability to make significant changes. These factors make it difficult to implement and enforce overarching policy, but the policy does guide improvements in the operational performance of the legacy portfolio. As the Intergov- ernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported, the greatest opportunity for greenhouse gas reductions lies in the building sec- tor. A small change over a very large set of buildings has a much more significant impact than a large change in a single building. That is why policy is key. New policy continues to define our shared environmental commitments. On Nov. 6, 2013, Pres. Obama signed EO 13653: Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change, and OBO is responding by conduct- ing an environmental risk assessment of our buildings around the world and doubling our efforts to operate from renewable energy sources. Operational Results In 2008 OBO’s Green Team published the Green Guide for Embassy and Consulate Operations and just recently released the second edition, the Guide to Green Embassies: Eco-Diplomacy in Operation . By implementing these guidelines, post staff can contribute to the department’s progress in achieving federal performance goals; building awareness, knowledge and skill capacity overseas; and strengthening our missions as platforms for eco-diplomacy. The Green Team realized early on that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Operational success requires a baseline, track- ing and reporting. Backed by reporting requirements outlined in internal department policy, OBO launched an online utility management system to gain more and better data from posts to prioritize efficiency projects and document operational perfor- mance. The newly added utility dashboard is proving to be an engaging, interactive and illustrative tool for posts to compare and benchmark performance against peers (i.e., buildings of similar use and climate zone). Performance is measured by metrics set by policy, primarily concerning energy and water use, as well as GHG emissions. Cost of operation is also an important metric. The department’s 2013 utility expenditures were dominated by electricity at 46 percent, with diesel a close second at 37 percent. Water and sewage consti- tuted just 11 percent of the 2013 bill, but the fully burdened cost of water is rarely charged and therefore often overlooked. Water and energy are critical to the security of mission operations. Energy and water audits of 25 percent of each agency’s build- ing assets are required every year by Section 423 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA 2007). Under its Energy Audit Program, OBO has conducted more than 20 audits of facili- ties showing the highest energy use and/or cost in the online database. Audit results fell into three categories: (1) changes that can be implemented quickly and at no or low cost by post; (2) medium- cost retrofits that require an OBO building permit and funding via OBO’s Repair and Improvement program, in which they must Performance is measured by metrics set by policy.