Greening the FCO

The FCO is committed to taking a lead on environmental issues, and one of the four policy goals within the FCO's strategy is promoting a low carbon, high growth global economy.

British Embassy Green Team

To reduce our environmental impact, the British Embassy Beijing first established a voluntary Green Group, with representatives across all Embassy sections. The group is working in close collaboration with the Regional Greening Manager for northeast Asia and the British Council to, collectively, make a difference.

Two important objectives are to promote environmentally friendly initiatives, and to raise awareness of green working practices amongst staff. We believe that communication is key to sustainability. To this end, we created a fortnightly newsletter called “BE: Green Express,” to be distributed internally to all staff. This has been made available for download on our Intranet, and a printed copy has been pinned to the “Green Corner,” on our noticeboard.

BE: Green Express

Download a copy of our newsletter here:

• BE: Green Express #1[PDF 752KB, new window]
• BE: Green Express #2[PDF 1332KB, new window]
• BE: Green Express #3[PDF 1950KB, new window]
• BE: Green Express #4[PDF 1430KB, new window]
• BE: Green Express #5[PDF 1440KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #6[PDF 360KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #7[PDF 172KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #8[PDF 204KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #9[PDF 160KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #10[PDF 332KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #11[PDF 892KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #12[PDF 461KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #13[PDF 540KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #14[PDF 536KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #15[PDF 228KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #16[PDF 280KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #17[PDF 248KB, new window]
• Be: Green Express #18[PDF 416KB, new window]

Current Achievements

• Installation of light sensors in the Main Building, which automatically turn off when no motion is detected (saving energy)
• Replaced the Embassy car fleet with more eco-friendly solutions
• Designed posters and signage to remind and inform staff on greening
• Introduced recycling and composting into working practice
• Room temperature for air conditioning adjusted during summer months
• Shorter default settings on sports court floodlights
• Visits officers conducted a “green survey” amongst hotels used by the Embassy
• Organised a series of lunch-time talks on wider green issues (e.g. conservation, NGO projects etc)
• Introduced weekly electronic reminders to switch off printers, photocopiers and other electronic equipment in the office
• Developed stronger relations via collaboration with the British Council
• Replaced plane travel with overnight train journeys
• Raised money for charity