The Foreign Service Journal, April 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2014 23 compete against other worldwide priorities that involve life-safety or security, and thus rarely score high enough to be funded; and (3) high-cost retrofits that are substantial enough to form the basis for an Energy Savings Performance Contract. Under ESPCs, which require no upfront capital costs, lever- age third-party financing and guarantee energy cost savings, the contractor is paid by actual savings on the utility bill over a long- term contract. The department has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Depart- ment of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program to access FEMP’s technical assistance to ramp up use of this type of contract. In 2011, as part of a major energy announcement with the Clinton Global Initiative, the Better Buildings Initiative and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Pres. Obama called for $2 bil- lion worth of energy upgrades in federal buildings over two years using ESPCs. OBO has more than 20 renewable solar power projects under- way at our facilities overseas, totaling 6.4 megawatts of power when complete. The largest of these, a one-MW array, is part of an ESPC being executed by Lockheed Martin at Embassy Managua. The solar array, plus new LED site and interior lighting, a night- time generator and upgraded transformers, will result in a 54-per- cent reduction in grid-purchased power by post and a savings of $36 million over the life of this project. While these three foundational elements—environmental policy, green buildings and operational results—underpin eco- diplomacy, they also address an even broader agenda to advance energy and water security, reduce pollution and promote sustain- able economic development. Our embassies and consul- ates are our front door to 180 countries. Unique, powerful platforms to showcase advanced and innovative American design, technology and building codes, they are physical representations and tangible demonstrations of American values and the best in American architecture, engineering, construction execution, art, culture and sustainability. OBO has long pursued sustainability and environmental stew- ardship, now defined as eco-diplomacy and directly aligned with OBO’s Guiding Principles for Excellence in Diplomatic Facilities. The bureau has been applying the tenets and the principles of sus- tainability to its platform of eco-diplomacy for the last decade, as it works to reduce its resource consumption, conserve energy and water, and provide enhanced indoor environments for staff and visitors at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. n The Green Team realized early on that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Danielle Sines, OBO LEED CERTIFIED AND REGISTERED U.S. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES (AS OF MARCH 2014)