In today’s culture, being ‘green’ is so popular and trendy that there is now a ‘green’ alternative for every aspect of life. Given the enterprising nature of marketers and rampant consumerism in our country, the blatant ‘green-washing’ of the free market is of little surprise; however, the hefty price tag on ‘green’ products is often shocking. Despite this, it is the responsibility of the church to watch over God’s creation and demonstrate their commitment as leaders in environmental care. With the influx of green products and services, the question becomes “How can a church be environmentally friendly without breaking the bank?” The answer is to start with the fundamentals of earth-friendly living: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Reduce

1. Lighting

Turn off the lights! To ensure that lights are never left on, install motion sensors. The energy savings may cover the cost of the sensors. Be aware that continually cycling ballasted fluorescent lights off and on will shorten the lifespan of the ballasts. For this reason, motion sensors are impractical for ballasted fluorescent fixtures. Furthermore, replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. These longer lasting bulbs will save you money by producing the same amount of light for 25% of the watts.

2. Water Heater Temperature

Even a one or two degree change in temperature can save a substantial amount of energy and money over time, so set it down accordingly.

3. Thermostat

Pay attention to the temperature on the thermostat. Heating and cooling often account for at least half of a facility’s energy usage. While comfort is clearly important, often a difference in a degree will not severely decrease the comfort level yet it will provide substantial energy savings.

4. Car Pooling/Off-Site Meetings

Organize small groups by geographic location and hold them in congregants’ homes, rather than bringing everyone to church and firing up the building systems for a low occupant load.

5. Green cleaning!

Try to use simple products wherever possible—plain soap, water, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice and borax—instead of the common ones that are harmful to humans and the Environment.

 

Reuse

6. Landscaping

Planting trees helps the Environment by reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Well-positioned trees can shade your building in the summer to reduce your air conditioning load. If you have a large property, you may want to turn part of it into a meadow that does not need to be mowed regularly. Other steps to green landscaping include planting native plants and perennials, using compost instead of synthetic fertilizers, and avoiding chemical pesticide.

7. Program Event Schedules

The strategy and scheduling of how your congregation uses your church facility can have a big environmental impact. Consider consolidating Events for back to back or simultaneous use, so that there is less transportation required and less heating/cooling of the facility.

Recycle

8. Buy Recycled Products

Are your weekly bulletins printed on recycled paper? Do you print out excess handouts that are thrown away without being used? Look into recycled paper and reduce the amount of printed flyers you distribute.

9. Recycling Program

In many geographical areas you can get paid to recycle (please see blog post titled “Getting Green for Going Green“). Our Office takes part in this program by bringing our recyclable paper to a local church we designed which participates in the program.

 

Up-cycle

10. Give New Life

The Christian life is ultimately about redemption. As earth-friendly Christians, the ultimate redemptive practice is up-cycling – using waste materials to provide new products. Many churches already have programs where congregants bring in used items to be refurbished for other people to use. For example, there are a few churches that collect old cars, fix them up and give them away to those in need.

If our small list has enticed you into “greening” your church, may we suggest that you check the resources listed below to get started:

http://www.creationcare.org/

http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/tetani/upcycleart/htmls/projects.html