"GREEN EMBASSY" INITIATIVE SHOWS IMPRESSIVE RESULTS

The "Green Embassy" initiative was begun by the the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs with two main goals in mind:

1. to show that everyone can make a difference and help the environment by "greening their routine", and 
2. to raise awareness of global warming and climate change. The Embassy joined the initiative in January 2009, when the Danish Minister for Development Co-operation, Ms. Ulla Tørnæs, officially launched the campaign here. In total, about 20 Danish Embassies around the world have joined the initiative, incl. our Embassies in Washington and Moscow.

When the Embassy joined the initiative, it was aiming to reduce its electricity consumption by 2.00% annually, or 6.00% over the three years from 2009 to 2011. The results after the first year of the Green Embassy campaign far exceeds our most optimistic expectations. In actual figures 126,334 kWh were consumed from January to December 2009, compared to 151,744 kWh consumed in 2008 (representing a reduction of 16.75%). 

The very encouraging results have been achieved by some very simple but effective measures aimed at generating environmentally responsible behaviour in Embassy staff. For instance, posters reminding staff to turn off their computer equipment, the lights, the air-conditioning and so on before leaving the office at the end of the day have been placed strategically around the Embassy.

Other measures include replacing all the light bulbs, inside and out, by new, energy saving ones and frequent, friendly reminders to staff to be environmentally conscious in their behaviour. Most Embassy staff have been so caught up in the efforts to be energy conscious that they have taken their new good habits with them home where their family and friends have also been infected by the attitude - exactly the kind of response we were hoping to achieve.

Additional steps to further reduce the Embassy's consumption of electricity are now being considered and a local partner organization working with energy efficiency in Vietnam has been invited to make an energy audit of the Embassy. Based on the expert's thorough analysis and recommendations, the Embassy will decide how to maintain the momentum and ensure further reductions in its energy consumption.

More information about the Embassy's Green Embassy campaign can be found at the following page on the Embassy's homepage.