Summary of paper

The objective is to reduce our church’s environmental impact.

The report outlines ways we might go about this.

It includes ideas on how, as a parish, we might reduce our contribution to global warming.

It is ordered as a series of Key Issues:

●       Energy consumption

●       Travel and transport

●       Waste management and recycling

●       Water usage

●       Biodiversity

and Themes which cut across the issues and help to describe how our actions could be implemented:

●       Awareness raising and spiritual practice

●       Procurement

●       Partnerships

The report suggests we should form a small working party.

Its function would be to study the report in detail and then decide on which actions are appropriate, possible and desirable.

There are many resources available to help the working party.

Many ideas will need input from groups outside J&P.

The youth of the parish should be involved at an early stage.

We should think of the result of this project as something which weaves seamlessly into the life of the parish – not an add-on but a way of life.

The actions can be categorised broadly as those that:

●       can be done quietly in the background, and then findings announced

●       involve parish participation

●       involve expenditure

●       are very long term targets dependent on the goodwill of the parish

Comments

Global warming may not be all man made – we do not have to accept the science, but as Catholics we can accept that to live simply is a worthwhile ideal.  In other words, unnecessary waste is never acceptable.

Justice is at the heart of our efforts – others suffer because some of us take too much, and this will be increasingly the case as climate change increases its havoc.

Some of the issues may arouse sensitivities – we are not here to make judgements or be overtly political.

Our first task has already met a problem – the fact that church and social centre have common metering for gas and electricity.