The Foreign Service Journal, April 2014

8 APRIL 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Who Knew? BY SHAWN DORMAN LETTER FROM THE EDITOR U Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. nless you are living in North Ikea, you probably know about the media firestorm around the issue of political “pay-to-play” ambassadorial nominees that began in February following the testimony of the nominees to Hungary, Norway and Argentina. (And, by the way, if you haven’t heard of North Ikea, check out the March 11 “Between Two Ferns” interview with President Barack Obama. Love it or hate it, it’s been viewed more than 20 million times and boosted traffic to the healthcare.gov site by some 40 percent.) Also weighing in on the ambassado- rial nomination process and generating serious media attention was AFSA, with the release of its “Guidelines for Success- ful Performance as a Chief of Mission” on Feb. 25, an initiative launched last summer. You’ll find our report on the media coverage in Talking Points, and the guidelines and related information in AFSA News. This month we focus on dynamic ini- tiatives that are “greening” U.S. embassies and consulates around the globe. Who knew that the sustainability and green buildings movement at the State Depart- ment and overseas was so strong and growing so quickly? Who knew that there are “green teams” at 150 U.S. embassies and con- sulates? Who knew that U.S. Embassy Helsinki’s Innovation Center is one of the most energy-efficient embassy buildings in the world? We open with an overview of “eco- diplomacy”—the practice in international relations of facilitating and advancing a shared commitment to conserving natu- ral resources through sustainable opera- tions and responsible environmental stewardship—from Donna McIntire, the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations’ chief of energy and sustainable design. In “Eco-Diplomacy: Building the Foundation,” she explains how eco-diplo- macy is built on environmental policy, green buildings (the “platform”) and operational results. Bringing it all together, the Greening Diplomacy Initiative, launched in 2009 by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clin- ton, empowers U.S. missions to imple- ment greening operations at a local level. In “The Greening Diplomacy Initiative: Capturing Innovation” (p. 24), Caroline D’Angelo of the GDI executive secretariat describes how the department’s over- arching sustainability effort harnesses the energy (so to speak) and innovation flow- ing from 150 green teams worldwide. Green teams are not managed from Washington; they are more organic and unique at each post, working on sustain- ability projects as varied as there are envi- ronments and countries. Like embassy country teams, green teams are chaired by the ambassador and bring together people from different parts of the mission, some of whom might not otherwise overlap in their work. The teams identify and implement sustainability practices and projects. Next we hear about “The League of Green Embassies: American Leadership in Sustainability” (p. 30) from League coordinator John Molesky. This coalition of more than 100 U.S. embassies and consulates began at Embassy Stock- holm in 2007 as an online best practices sharing portal. Now based at Embassy Helsinki, the League offers practical sug- gestions for all missions to consider. Finally, in “Finns Take the LEED in Green Embassy Design” (p. 35), Emilia Honkasaari of the Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C., describes the work to create a pioneering green embassy. It began in 1994 with a building whose traditional Finnish architecture already defined it as a progressive landmark. Bob Silverman picks up the greening theme in this month’s President’s Views column. He shares his perspectives on the “reasons to love the League of Green Embassies” (p. 7) based on personal experience serving at Embassy Stock- holm when the League was established. Inspired by these examples, we at AFSA plan to pursue our own greening initiative. Toward that end, in April AFSA will name a greening coordinator from the staff to help bring forward ideas for the implementation of sustainability practices at our headquarters. We hope you enjoy this issue. And, as always, please send letters to the editor to let us know what you think, and consider submitting an article, a Speaking Out or Reflection of your own. n