Guests at this year’s Queens Birthday Party at the British Residence in Lisbon on Thursday 18 June enjoyed themselves at a carbon neutral party (the 31 CO2e tonnes of carbon was offset) for which all invitations were sent by email, saving stationery and reducing carbon emissions from postal transportation. At the Residence up to 90% of the water is now heated by cutting edge carbon free solar panels.

The British Ambassador to Portugal, Alex Ellis, toasted to the warm relationship and close cooperation between Portugal and the UK and described this as the “Greenest Queen’s Garden Party so far”. The measures now introduced were just the beginning of our green aspirations, he added. The reception was kindly sponsored by Barclays, British Petroleum, Visit Britain, Logica, Colt, Sage, Glaxo Smith Kline, Jaguar-Landrover, and was livened by the music played by the Portuguese Navy Band, all of which largely contributed to a highly successful party.

Award winning designed panels from UK company SolarTwin were recently installed as part of the Embassy's continued drive to reduce its impact on the environment. It is an innovative design that will pre-heat water before it arrives in the boiler, massively reducing the amount of gas used - by up to 90% in summer. Even in winter it will provide a saving. The device incorporates a small photovoltaic panel that provides it with power so it is no drain on electricity and completely carbon free to utilise. Estates manager Paulo Menezes said that he was "looking forward to seeing reduced gas bills that will save us money and reduce our impact on the environment. Another excellent feature is that the system can easily be dismantled and transported to another location if necessary".

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a global initiative to reduce its impact on the environment. Foreign Secretary David Miliband believes it is essential to demonstrate in the way the organisation works its commitment to helping achieve an international deal against climate change and the transformation of the economy to a high growth low carbon one. In Lisbon, greening the Embassy is proving a great opportunity to showcase UK innovation through the application of UK clean technology.

The installation of solar panels is the latest step the Embassy has taken to reduce its own carbon footprint. Over the last twelve months the Embassy has:
reduced electricity usage by 6.5%;

reduced water consumption by 45%;

increased awareness of the importance of sustainable working through poster campaign and training for the residence staff;

incorporated sustainable features throughout the Embassy, for example: environment friendly flooring; low energy bulbs; recycling; an organic vegetable garden.

Procurement officer Piotr Jakubiec commented that "once you build environmental thinking into your management decisions, it is possible to find large numbers of ways to cut carbon emissions, and save money".

Political & Press Section
British Embassy, Lisbon