The most effective way for your church to encourage its members to become more aware of the need to be responsible stewards of the earth’s resources is to set an example for them to follow. In the long run, going green can often free up funds for expanding missions, interacting with your community to generate disciples and other purposes.

Although some upfront investments may be required to reap long-term benefits from many of these activities, we strongly advise you to inform your congregation about the creation care efforts you are making.

Here are some essential ways to make churches more environmentally friendly.

Form a Creation Care Team

A creation care team, also known as a green team, could be an ideal way to incorporate creation care and the battle against climate change into the parish’s everyday responsibilities.

With the pastor’s permission, such teams act, not just advise and propose. Although the look of such teams varies for each nation, one thing is consistent: they all take action to achieve their aims.

Conversations with creation care teams revealed two other factors that have contributed to their success: first, they meet often, and second, they are supported by pastors and parish priests.

Keep Many of Your Meetings Virtual

Even though it would be ideal if we could all assemble in person for worship, the epidemic has shown us that many gatherings are effective when held online. Consider what it would be like if 33,000 United Methodist churches continued to meet online in the United States. This would remove the need for anybody to start and drive a car, as well as the requirement to turn on heating, cooling, lighting, and electric equipment in churches, start coffee pots, and purchase cookies.

Consider Hiring Green Cleaning Services

Green cleaning firms often employ environmentally friendly, concentrated cleaning products. You may check that the firm is not overusing natural resources or harming the environment by ensuring that these chemicals need less packaging and transportation to reach their intended destination.

If you are looking to hire church cleaning services to help you maintain or beautify your church, you should consider working with an environmentally responsible company. Green cleaning companies strive to minimize the negative environmental consequences of their services. Furthermore, they help to maintain a safer and healthier atmosphere, as well as keep the place clean and odor-free throughout.

Switch to LED Lighting

A typical LED bulb that delivers the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb uses 80% less electricity than the traditional bulb. Furthermore, these bulbs produce less heat, which helps to balance cooling costs throughout the warmer months. It is also possible to replace fluorescent fixture tube lights with LED equivalents, which would result in an even higher increase in energy efficiency.

Improve Energy Use Efficiency

For example, lowering the thermostats in the church, parish hall, or other buildings by one degree may result in a five percent savings in heating costs throughout a heating season. You can achieve similar results by increasing the air conditioner’s temperature by a few degrees.

If you want to make your parish “carbon neutral,” you should buy carbon offsets. Renewable energy sources such as solar arrays and wind farms provide electricity without generating carbon dioxide or creating pollution.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Utilizing recycled goods, packaging-free or recyclable products, and recycling recyclable materials like electronics can all help reduce waste.

Parishes consume a lot of paper. We recommend printing on both sides of each sheet and using paper with at least 30% post-consumer recycled content. Producing paper from recycled materials rather than virgin timber reduces water pollution by one-third, air pollution by three-quarters, and energy consumption by almost half.

Put recycling bins in readily accessible areas.

There are many products on the market that claim to be eco-friendly. Take precautions to prevent “greenwashing.” Upon analysis, many ecologically friendly products fall short of their claims.

Develop a Circular Mindset

Take an active part in the circular economy. You can limit the amount of garbage you create while also helping to preserve natural resources. In the context of inorganic waste, circularity refers to the process of replicating the biological cycle. Organic materials do not constitute waste. After fulfilling its initial purpose, it evolves into a useful component of the natural environment.

Non-biodegradable substances are inorganic chemicals. Microorganisms cannot decompose plastics or metals if they are even capable of doing so. Material that is not biodegradable remains in the environment for an extended period. When they are present, they endanger a variety of animals.