The Foreign Service Journal, April 2014

26 APRIL 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL ronmental footprint. Whether in the field or in D.C., the GDI’s success has hinged on the crossover from operations to public diplomacy, using the State Department’s environmental best practices to engage communities and governments. Accordingly, the Greening Diplomacy Initiative both belongs to, and is driven by, State employees. Steering in 150+ Directions Focusing the energy of a far-flung workforce requires integrat- ing innovations from the field with departmental requirements to ensure safe and workable solutions. We need effective communication among posts and with the department to share existing best practices and merge solutions. Too often, time and resources are wasted by continually reinventing the wheel or re-solving the same problem. The Council Working Group has developed platforms to help central- ize information by taking an inven- tory of greening activities, recogniz- ing leaders, and facilitating global and regional conversation through quarterly teleconferences. The department’s annual Greening Activities Survey estab- lishes metrics for specific actions that offices and posts can take to reduce their environmental footprint. The results are shared as a means to encourage more action and elicit healthy competi- tion among posts and offices. Survey questions focus on a range of categories such as residential utilities, transportation, information technology and procurement. They are based on the fact that small, easy steps can offer large payoffs, as well as strategic actions that help the department at large. Intended to also serve as an educational tool, the survey raises awareness of practical actions that can be taken and of resources available to help offices and posts. The department also cel- ebrates and encourages innova- tion through the GDI Awards. These annual awards are given to posts or bureaus with the best greening success stories. Using the Sounding Board, the depart- ment’s online platform for employees, the program reaches out each spring to collect and share stories about environmental protection efforts. These range from boosting energy efficiency at Embassy Beijing and increasing Embassy Dhaka’s electric vehicle fleet to Consulate Krakow’s participation in a local park clean-up program and Embassy Kathmandu’s composting and community food garden initiative. Employees can read all of the submissions and vote for their favorite story for the GDI “People’s Choice” Award. The Greening Coun- cil selects an overall winner, whose work is highlighted and praised by department leadership at the high- est level. The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations also gives an honorable mention for post excel- lence in utility data reporting. The stories show that posts world- wide serve as incubators of innova- tion. By sifting through the success stories and survey responses, the Council seeks not only to recognize good work but also to identify common challenges and creative solutions across regions. Discovering how some posts tackle an issue helps Washington identify where its resources might best be used to exploit economies of scale or coordinate a single solution that helps the entire enterprise. Reducing Energy Use A common challenge mentioned in survey responses from many posts is controlling the costs of residential utilities. How does a post encourage individuals to responsibly keep their This solar hot water recirculation system installed on the ambassador’s residence in Pretoria replaced 10 electric water heaters. At any particular greening meeting, there may be policy and regional analysts, engineers, vehicle fleet managers, writers, marketers, architects, information technologists andmedical officers. League of Green Embassies