Greening our embassies is a top priority

Sustainability plays a crucial role in all 350 of our buildings abroad, including during renovations, new-build projects or maintenance. Recently, we even managed to make the entire compound of our embassy in Nairobi climate neutral.

The Paris Climate Agreement came into force in November 2016. Its goal: to keep the global temperature increase well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. In order to achieve that goal, the European Union required its Member States in 2018 to develop a National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) for the period 2021-2030.

Amongst other things, Belgium's NECP stipulates that every government agency must make efforts to minimise its ‘carbon footprint’. For several years now, the FPS Foreign Affairs has therefore been working intensively to make its embassy buildings more sustainable.
 

No simple matter

But that isn't easy. Our FPS makes use of no fewer than 350 buildings abroad, in all parts of the world. And all of those buildings are managed – as far as renovation, new-build projects and maintenance are concerned – by a small group of architects working from the FPS's headquarters in Brussels. In many cases, the customs, rules and construction methods that apply in the host countries are completely different. This was a huge challenge, for example, when building a new embassy in Beijing. Moreover, many embassies are located in politically unstable countries.

In addition, the procedures required take a long time to complete. In the case of a thorough renovation or a new-build project, you can expect them to take three to four years. Given the current geopolitical situation, the security requirements have become increasingly onerous in recent years, for example. This needs to be taken into account when carrying out work of any type. Each project must also be reviewed by the Inspector of Finance and so on.

In terms of budget, we have an endowment from the federal government and manage a building fund. The money we receive whenever we sell buildings abroad is also added to that fund. Not all of that money is directed towards sustainability because ordinary maintenance work also needs to be carried out, of course. In short, our budget is limited, as is the number of person hours available in order to manage the individual dossiers.

Nevertheless, sustainability has invariably been at the forefront in recent years and we are trying to achieve as much as possible with limited resources. In doing so, we take a distinctly holistic view. Recently, we even appointed a sustainability manager, who will closely monitor all opportunities to build and renovate more sustainably, including the latest techniques.

Resounding achievements

In a limited time, our FPS has already managed to achieve some resounding achievements. The most notable project is our climate-neutral embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, which we recently completed. By carrying out some relatively simple interventions, we managed to integrate the entire compound – the grounds, including the chancellery, residence and so on – into the surrounding area as ecologically as possible.

Those not only included solar panels with batteries that enable the embassy to continue operating for several days, in absolute darkness and without any power from the grid, but also rain water harvesting and the recycling of 80% of used water. What is more, kitchen and garden waste are fermented in a biodigester to produce biogas that can be used for cooking.

It is true to say that our embassy in Nairobi is serving as a pilot project, certainly as far as fermentation is concerned. To what extent can sufficient biogas be created? It goes without saying that fermentation is only possible if sufficient organic waste is available, for example, thanks to a large garden.

Another outstanding example is a new -build project to create a near-energy-neutral embassy in Rabat, Morocco. In fact, that building was designed using a special software program called the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). This calculated how insulation, airtightness, solar shading and glazing can be used in the most effective possible way. The result is an advanced construction with robust insulation that is ideally situated in relation to the sun. All appliances have an A+++ label; solar panels produce electricity and so on.

Our new chancellery in Bucharest, Romania, has been sited in premises that meet the highest standards. The building concerned holds BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) certification and provides charging stations for electric cars, solar panels, LED lighting and a recycling policy is in operation. For the chancellery itself, we used ecological materials such as wood and the most energy-efficient appliances possible.

Early this year, the Belgian Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs inaugurated a brand new chancellery in Beijing, China. That too was constructed to be as ecologically sound and near-energy neutral as possible. Bricks were actually recycled from the previous chancellery.

In Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), we installed 160 solar panels with a total area of 415 m², and that was certainly a necessity. Indeed, given the hot climate – with temperatures that can reach 50°C – the air conditioning system there eats its way through a huge amount of electricity. As a result, annual consumption was around 315,000 kWh or roughly 25,000 kWh per month. Thanks to abundant sunshine and the solar panels, we can now produce at least half of that amount ourselves.

In Canberra, Australia, we replaced all the windows with well-insulating, double-glazed Belgian-made windows. This certainly was a gargantuan task! There were no fewer than 72 in total, some of them weighing more than 250 kg. Even a crane was needed in order to install them. We also installed solar panels, heat pumps and two rainwater cisterns to irrigate the garden during dry periods. This even earned our embassy the Sustainable small business of the year award as well as the second prize of the Sustainable Business of the Year 2023, awarded by the local government. Attention to energy efficiency is still a relatively new phenomenon in Australia.

A holistic vision

Even when carrying out ordinary maintenance work, we always keep sustainability in mind. For example, a broken water heater in Mexico prompted the rethinking of the hot water system. In the end, we chose a solar water heater combined with photovoltaic solar panels.

When it comes to the interior of a building, we don't lose sight of sustainability either. For example, we choose environmentally friendly paint as much as possible. If it is worth the effort, we restore furniture and works of art. If new furniture pieces are needed anyway, we buy them locally with an eye for a Belgian touch. As far as furniture purchased in Belgium is concerned, we find out whether they can't simply be transported in the container of a colleague making his or her way to a posting. As such, we can save on transportation costs.

Green mobility is also an extremely important focus. Where possible, service vehicles are replaced with electric or hybrid models. If the climate and the surroundings allow it – in crowded cities such as Jakarta, Indonesia, this is actually rather difficult – our embassies can also opt to use electric or non-electric bikes. Or make a point of using public transport. All of the above are carried out under the motto: Belgium goes green.

In the case of new-build projects, we try to provide parking primarily underground. This way we not only gain space, but it is immediately a lot safer and it also reduces the likelihood of damage from vandalism. If the car park does need to be above ground, we opt for as little paving as possible and the paving that is used must also be permeable to water.

Furthermore, we also proceed as ecologically as possible in the gardens. If possible, we choose local heat- and drought-resistant species of plants that need hardly any water. Our embassy in Bern, Switzerland – a member of the city's Greening Embassies Network – is even working to create a garden with a high degree of biodiversity. For example, our colleagues will replace rhododendrons and invasive, non-native laurel with native plants. An access tunnel should allow hedgehogs to move outside the fenced yard.

Worthwhile investments

Important note – we only own half of our buildings abroad. The rest we rent. Still, we set the sustainability bar high there too. When a lease expires, for example, we conduct a local market study. Are there any other properties available that offer better value for money? We also negotiate with owners to implement energy-saving measures to reduce water and electricity consumption.

In short, sustainability is the number one priority in all of our buildings abroad. And that not only provides an important benefit for the climate and for nature, but it also generates serious cost savings. Our efforts to make our building stock more sustainable are therefore not simply expenses, but truly worthwhile investments. Though we cannot yet guarantee that all of our buildings will be climate neutral by 2050, we are pushing forward relentlessly just the same.