Learning stewardship takes time. Over the years the Church has worked to improve its environmental impact. We take seriously our moral obligation to take care of the earth and be good neighbors and collaborators in society. We have previously and are currently engaged in numerous efforts to be wise stewards of the earth. But as I mentioned, this takes time. We are very humbled by this challenge and realize that we are not perfect—but we are trying. I would like to share some of these initiatives with you.
Agricultural Land Management
The Church celebrates its use of sustainable farming and ranching practices, such as the use of cover crops, crop rotation, no-till farming, grazing management, and other greenhouse gas capture methods, such as feed additives. Our guidance for soil management is to utilize existing material as much as possible and to maximize carbon sequestration. We have long encouraged our members and communities to grow gardens to improve the productivity of the land. Church Humanitarian Services teaches families living in urban and rural areas how to apply sustainable techniques for food production, nutrition, diet and home food storage.
Water Conservation
The Church made an official statement in June this year highlighting the importance of water conservation, especially in areas where droughts persist. Best management practices are utilized for all new landscape designs and remodel projects of temples, meetinghouses, welfare facilities, and educational buildings. At Church headquarters alone, we have reduced our water consumption by over 30 million gallons annually between 2018 and 2022. We strive to incorporate water-wise principles of regionally appropriate plant material, reduction of lawn, and efficient irrigation systems, such as smart controllers, hydrometers, rain sensors, drip irrigation, and use of secondary or reclaimed water.
Energy Management
The Church has long-standing efforts to conserve energy and increase its energy efficiency. We have undertaken projects to improve heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, and install more energy-efficient lighting, including the increased use of LED lights. The Church’s Headquarters Facilities department reduced its annual energy consumption across the portfolio by 17.8 gigawatt hours from 2018 to 2022, the equivalent of heating over 13 million households. The Church also continues to explore energy opportunities and currently has on-site solar projects on meetinghouses in various states across the country and globally.
Waste Reduction
We aim to avoid material waste throughout our operations and to reduce, reuse, and recycle. In 2019, our Print and Distribution Center recycled 3,679 tons of paper, 173 tons of metal, 303 tons of cardboard, 175 tons of plastic, and 55 gallons of used oil from machinery. The Church continues to evaluate opportunities to reduce its use of single-use plastics and in some instances exceed global and local regulations.
Transportation
The Church is taking various strides to improve air quality and reduce transportation emissions. These include increasing the fuel efficiency standards of our global vehicle fleet. We also encourage Church employees to use public transportation options and other active transportation, such as biking and walking, where possible.
Sustainable Building Practices
The Church owns and operates a significant number of buildings worldwide. As a property owner, the Church has incorporated many sustainable design and construction principles and practices, including materials and site selection, prefabrication and modularization, and other practices that support the long-term operations and maintenance of the building. Given its global operations, the Church has increasingly prioritized the adaption of local building materials and methods to reduce emissions and transportation costs, support local economies, and minimize disruption to the local environment by avoiding cutting down trees, erosion, and laying excessive water lines. The Church also owns several LEED- and WELL-certified buildings.
