To help promote investments in energy efficiency and low carbon building technologies, the United States State Department – through its League of Green Embassies affiliate – is working to reduce the environmental impact of U.S. embassy buildings around the world.
Speaking to BusinessGreen, US ambassador to Finland Bruce Oreck, who also leads the League of Green Embassies, said that a number of embassies from other countries had also joined the group, while others had expressed interest in adopting the best practices established by the League.
In addition to reducing the energy bills and carbon footprint of diplomatic buildings, the group is aiming to promote green buildings and low carbon technologies to businesses and other areas of government.
"The diplomatic world is a space where we are engaged in conversations at a high level, so there is an opportunity to bypass the bureaucracy and start to deliver real action," Oreck explained. "We are providing a great platform to show off new technology and new models, and demonstrate that we are committed to these issues."
According to Oreck, embassies from six different nations have already joined the group with a number of others also expressing an interest in the initiative. Those signing up receive help setting environmental targets and advice on how to implement green building technologies, including systems developed in their own country which they can then use as a showcase.
Speaking of green buildings, there's been considerable growth with respect to green buildings in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding region.
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