Programs:
- Publishing weekly bulletin paragraphs on Care of Creation (ongoing)
- Including Creation in Prayers of the Faithful at Sunday liturgy (ongoing)
- Holding monthly CCT meetings (ongoing)
- Assessed carbon footprint of parish
- Completed energy audit using local utility company
- Made infrastructure improvements in lighting, water use and boiler control
Fall 2016: Established a 5-year goal (2016-2021)
- Become a carbon neutral parish
- Help 100 parish families assess their carbon footprints
- Encourage 40 parish families to make significant carbon reductions
December 2016:
- Began Phase One of the Carbon Neutral Parish Plan.
July 2017:
- Installed 66 solar PV panels that produce about 10% of parish electricity with clean, pollution free, renewable energy. They use the savings to buy clean renewable wind power from our utility. Phase One will reduce their carbon footprint by more than 30%. Five months of operation indicate that the project is working as planned.
Current plans and projects for 2018:
- Plan Phase Two of the solar PV install
- Take advantage of Catholic Climate Covenant’s programs for greater parish outreach and education for both parish and school
- Evaluate lighting upgrades for the school
- Conduct in-depth evaluation of electrical use
- Develop and implement a media plan to spread the word about solar collectors on houses of worship and about Creation Care Teams