PROGRAMS & EVENTS 2009
U.S. Embassy Goes Green
U.S. Embassy Budapest has taken many exciting steps in the spirit of Secretary Clinton’s Greening Diplomacy Initiative. Older cars are being replaced by fuel efficient hybrids, like the recently ordered attractive new Ford Fusion which gets 17.4 kilometers per liter. Please see below some of the creative steps the embassy has taken to become more environmentally friendly.
1. Bike Rack – In an effort to promote the use of bicycles for commuting purposes, facilities maintenance has constructed two bike racks located at the Chancery and GSO Annex.
2. Florescent Bulbs – We have been converting non-florescent bulbs to florescent ones at the chancery in order to save on electricity. Nearly all bulbs are now florescent.
3. Recyclable Coffee Cups – The coffee vending machines at the Embassy and Annex now use recyclable cups, or you can use your own coffee cup and not use a paper cup.
4. Overall Recycling Effort – We are recycling paper, plastic, metal, glass, and batteries at the Embassy, all Annexes, and our residential compounds.
5. Expert Advice – Our cafeteria contractor and procurement section met with a contractor who is providing advice on how to run more environmentally friendly operations.
6. Energy Savings – We have realized large energy savings by switching from heating oil to natural gas.
7. Green Procurements – The procurement section has been actively looking for the most environmentally friendly options for our purchases.
8. Remote Shut Down of Computers – We have instituted a remote shut down of computers at 8 PM every night, with restart the following morning. The computers shutdown automatically at night and on weekends on instructions sent from a remoter server. This energy saving innovation reduced the Embassy’s overall energy consumption by about 7% -- saving as much as $36,000 per year in addition to being more environmentally sound.
9. Replacing Bottled Water with Water Coolers – Facilities installed new water coolers on each floor to replace our bottled water coolers. This eliminates the pollution caused by transporting water and addresses the disposal issue of old containers. Water from the fountains is cooled and filtered, and hot water is available at sinks and kitchenettes, so the effect on employees was minimal.
10. Recharged Printer Cartridges – We are using recharged printer cartridges to reduce the number of old cartridges requiring disposal. Recharged cartridges are now issued to all employees unless they specifically request a new cartridge.
11. Recycled Paper – The Financial Management, Medical, GSO, Facilities Maintenance, and Management Sections have all started to use recycled paper whenever possible. The paper is A4 size, and although not appealing for external official letters, it is very functional for internal documents and printouts. We are actively promoting the use of this paper in other sections, and the percentage in use has grown considerably.
12. Duplex Printing – All embassy computers now have a duplex printing option enabled, so that you can print on both sides of each sheet of paper. Most employees have started using this function.
13. Reduction in the Number of Servers – IRM has been actively reducing the number of unnecessary servers at the Bank Center. This will result in greatly reduced energy consumption.
14. Trail Trash Pickup Event – On April 25 in Nagykovacsi some embassy employees participated in a trash pickup event on a trail in the woods.
15. Bike to Work Month – Many embassy employees participated in the Bike to Work Month Program by registering and then biking to work at least 8 times during the month of April.
16. First Floor Conference Room Windows – Facilities Maintenance is going to replace the windows in the first floor conference room of the embassy with more energy efficient windows.
17. Green Fleet -- The embassy will be procuring a hybrid Ford Fusion to replace an older car in our fleet. The Fusion gets 41 miles to the gallon in the city.
18. Replacing refrigerators in common spaces - We will be selectively replacing some of the older less energy efficient refrigerators in common spaces at the embassy.
19. Bank Center Recycling - We are working with the Bank Center to see if we can implement a recycling program for our agencies there. USAID is already recycling paper on a separate contract. We will be able to recommend this same mechanism, or something provided by the Bank Center soon for other agencies there.
20. The Next Big Thing - FCS is working to identify companies for the “Next Big Thing,” which is an initiative to work with U.S. companies who are producing environmentally friendly products, or using environmentally friendly processes or technologies. We will be looking to promote their efforts in and around Hungary, and to learn from their technologies and ideas for our own operations at the embassy.
21. Improving Window and Door Seals – Facilities inspected the windows and doors at the embassy, improving seals where possible to better retain heat.
22. Energy Bill Notification – The Financial Management section provided each embassy employee household with statistics on energy consumption to help encourage individual and family conservation efforts.
23. Print Subscriptions – Embassy Management contacted Section Heads to review their print subscriptions. In many cases, an on-line alternative is available which is often cheaper and always more resource efficient. In some cases an online subscription replaced a print subscription.