Chocolate hedgehogs joined the party at the US Mission to celebrate the newly planted indigenous prairie
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The US Mission in Geneva 29 April is celebrating its second-place honour for a new award given by the US State Department, the first annual Greening Diplomacy Initiative (GDI) award, “which recognizes leadership and innovation in sustainability projects at State Department buildings around the world”, according to the Geneva office.
The award was announced a week after a ceremony in Geneva to mark the planting of an indigenous meadow, with a seed mix developed by canton Geneva’s conservation office, to replace the tidy lawn that has long decorated the borders of the Mission buildings.
Mongolia won top prize
The US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia took first place in the State Department contest that had 130 entries from diplomatic operations around the world. It was the first US diplomatic mission to comprehensively calculate its carbon footprint, tallying all carbon emissions of its embassy’s activities.
US Ambassador Betty E King inaugurates indigenous Geneva meadow at US Mission in Geneva
“The State Department has emphasized the importance of carbon emissions measurements because of the important benchmark they set and is encouraging other embassies to follow Ulaanbaatar’s lead,” the Geneva office says.
US Mission completes carbon footprint study
The US Mission in Geneva this week completed a carbon footprint study, working with Swiss Climate AG, an ISO certified auditor for carbon emissions. The results show that the Mission’s footprint per employee is half that of comparable organizations in Geneva, according to the US office.
Collombey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The large Tamoil refinery in Collombey, canton Valais, announced Wednesday 10 June that it is closing. Police from the cantons of Valais and Vaud had raided the offices of the refinery 9 June, citing repeated violations of environmental laws.
Libyan-owned Tamoil is one of Switzerland’s major providers of crude oil, importing 2.5 million tons, or 20% of Switzerland’s needs, according to federal government figures in 2008. Oil imports from Libya were halted for several weeks following the July 2008 arrest of Hannibal Qaddafi, the Libyan leader’s son, in Geneva. Relations between the two countries have been tense since then, with two Swiss engineers held in Tripoli, Libya for nearly a year, despite diplomatic efforts that include a visit by Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in May 2009.
Title: “Asian Diplomacy” book presentation
Location: Geneva, Graduate Institute, rte de Lausanne
Link out: Click here
Description: Kishan Rana, former Ambassador of India and author of the book, presenting. Organized by Diplomatic Book Circle and the Centre for Asian Studies
Start Time: 18:00
Date: 02 Feb 2009
