The Foreign Service Journal, April 2014

28 APRIL 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL energy costs. The solution—which involved switching nearly 50 percent of headquarters’ power to alternative energy and building a new wind farm in Penn- sylvania and a solar farm in New Jersey— produced an additional unexpected benefit, MeterNet. MeterNet is an automated smart meter initiative that enables the department to accurately track its facilities’ energy consumption in the D.C. area. Having accurate energy accounting is crucial to exploiting and building alternative energy sources, which not only reduce the depart- ment’s environmental footprint but save money. Moreover, with this real-time data, department engineers have been able to quickly identify and address chronic issues in facilities and equipment, avoiding millions of dollars in added costs. The Greening Council is now working to expand MeterNet overseas. Posts are also seeing great ideas spawn new ones, to the benefit of local communities and economies, and using the greening of their operations to spur diplomatic outreach. Embassy Bujum- bura, for example, had two problems it wanted to address. One was figuring out a way to reuse its waste in an area without recycling infrastructure. Another was widespread deforestation in Burundi, which stems, in part, from demand for charcoal for cooking. The embassy’s innovative Green Team decided to solve both problems at once by donating their shredded paper to local bio-charcoal producers, who use agricultural and paper waste to create briquettes. This helps reduce the use of traditional charcoal, which is made from a dwindling supply of trees. Other posts are partnering with local businesses to initiate environmental activities. In the absence of countrywide recy- cling infrastructure, Embassy Amman partners with small busi- nesses to manage recycling at post, from car batteries to glass. These projects mix diplomacy with sustainability and support the development of communities and economies. This joining of operations and diplomacy extends up from the local to the regional and global level. GDI activity includes coordination of two additional platforms for communica- tion and sharing best practices: the D.C. Greening Embassies Forum and the League of Green Embassies (see p. 30). Both Staff and friends of Embassy Tel Aviv, along with municipal representatives, celebrate Earth Day 2012 by planting a garden in the vicinity of the beach at Jaffa Slope Park. Deputy Assistant Secretary Julia Nesheiwat, at right, of the Bureau of Energy Resources at the State Department’s celebration of America Recycles Day. Such GDI events provide connection points for NGOs, companies and universities, as well as department employees. U.S. Department of State U.S. Department of State