The U.S. Embassy Colombo in Sri Lanka has been certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold by the U.S. Green Business Council (GBC) for its overall building performance, including sustainability, efficient use of water and energy, and indoor environmental quality. This certification marks the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations’ (OBO) 64th LEED Certification and 24th Gold.

The embassy design serves as a model for building performance optimization and environmental stewardship, including a climate-responsive shell with deep shades that protect the interior from solar heat gain and solar panels that reduce 40 percent of annual energy use. The building was designed by ZGF Architects, with Caddell Construction Co. as the general contractor and Integrus Architecture as the architect of record.

To ensure that Department of State facilities and operations advance the conservation of natural resources and highlight U.S. environmental technology and policy, OBO requires that all new office buildings on overseas diplomatic property achieve a minimum of LEED® Silver Certification by complying with detailed standards in areas such as carbon, energy, and water-use, waste, transportation, materials, health, and indoor environmental quality. The U.S. Embassy Colombo project went above and beyond OBO’s minimum of 50 points, achieving 65 points.

OBO is the single real property manager for the planning, acquisition, design, construction, operations, maintenance, and disposal of U.S. governmental diplomatic and consular property overseas, providing the most effective facilities for United States diplomacy abroad. Learn more about the new U.S. Embassy Colombo at OBO’s webpage. For further information, please contact OBOExternalAffairs@state.gov or visit https://www.state.gov/obo.