Being Green, Rigpa France’s Ecology Project
Isa and Benoit for the Rigpa France team
Rigpa France has just released its first ‘Ecological Charter’ - establishing an eco-responsible and socially responsible approach for Rigpa France’s centres and activities. Here’s more about this dynamic project…
The project that led to the ecological charter evolved from the 2020 Summer strategy sessions. Since that time, ten students from different French centres and groups have met every two weeks to focus on one of Rigpa France’s new national priorities: ‘Rigpa's active role in the world, taking into account the current challenges (health, social, ecological, economic and climate crises)’. The group quickly realised: “We must start by setting an example ourselves!”
So, the "Being Green" project was born!
The aim of the project is to establish an eco- and socially responsible approach for Rigpa France. The group first started by establishing a simple audit with a methodology to identify which measures should be implemented for a positive environmental and social impact. These measures were then compiled into an ecological Charter which was developed in consultation with the centres and local groups and with the national team and the Board of Rigpa France.
The key features of the Charter are:
We choose ethical and eco-responsible partners to work with
We try to have a reasonable use of office supplies and limit our numerical impact: print only when necessary, reduce email quantities or recipients when possible, regularly clean digital storage spaces.
We foster the use of ecological transportation (train, public transportation and car sharing).
We favour local, seasonal and organic food for our centres. We reduce dairy products and meat consumption
We apply energy-saving measures: switch off unused lights, improve thermal insulation and reduce heating consumption.
We replace the use of plastic with other more ecological materials. We use cleaning products which have less impact on the environment, and favour reusable cleaning tools.
We repair or recycle when possible. We apply waste sorting and reduce the use of packaging.
All French centers and group have committed to implementing this charter with the help of volunteer "Eco-sattvas". The next step is to hold workshops, public talks relating to dharma and ecology.
Read the full Charter (in French).
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