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/What We Do/Service and Advocacy/Mission Focus Issues/Climate Justice/Sustainability

Service and Advocacy > Mission Focus Issues > Climate Justice > Sustainability
Climate Justice
Just Energy For All
13 Steps to Sustainability
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Climate Justice Articles
 

Be Just. Be Green: 13 Steps to Sustainability

TOOLS:

  • 13 Steps to Sustainability:  A Practical Event Planning Guide
    Complete with planning team checklists, evaluation questions, registration questions, sample language for requests for propoals and where to go for help.
  • 13 Steps to Sustainability: A Principled Approach to Sustainability
    These 13 principles form the core of the social justice concerns that United Methodist Women has committed to. There are measureable, practical steps to the 13 principles’ implementation that have been developed with experts' guidance and experienced national office staff. For inspiration and encouragement you will find specific questions on the survey as well as bible studies, videos and an introduction to sustainability. 
  • 13 Steps to Sustainability Measurement Survey:
    After your event, report back on what worked and what didn't for one or all of the steps and guidelines.

USING THE 13 UNITED METHODIST WOMEN PRINCIPLES:

Principle 1: Accessibility
Ask if your meeting venue complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and ask the facility manager to show you how during your site inspection. When surveying meeting space possibilities, make sure rooms are accessible to people with disabilities.

Principle 2: Affordability
Offer carpooling options for participants in order to provide no or low-cost transportation options for your event.

Principle 3: Carbon Footprint
Choose a meeting venue that minimizes travel and encourage carpooling and/or public transportation through your registration process.

Principle 4: Healthy Food and Beverages
Serve fair trade (and organic if possible) tea and coffee at your meeting.

Principle 5: Just Economic Opportunities
Ask vendors, hotels and others you contract with to sign a statement attesting that they do not engage in or benefit from the use of child or slave labor or human trafficking.

Principle 6: Local Solidarity
Use the local solidarity checklist to assess if there are opportunities to be in mission at your event.

Principle 7: Multigenerational Inclusion
Offer child care to participants, making sure that at least two unrelated adults are present at all times with the children.

Principle 8: Paper Use
Ensure any printed items are double-sided and duplicated on paper made with post-consumer recycled content.

Principle 9: Racial Justice
Include a statement in your contracts, speaker agreements, attendee code of conduct, and, if relevant, exhibitor terms and conditions that expresses your intention to host an event that combats all forms of racism and oppression.

Principle 10: Toxin Reduction
Be creative and wise about nametags. Invite participants to bring their own nametag (reusing one they already have). If you are supplying nametags, if possible reuse ones you already have. Be careful of the use of ribbons and other petroleum-based enhancements. If you need to buy more, choose a type that does not use PVC and eliminates unnecessary components like holders and pouches. Encourage attendees to turn in their name badge for reuse.

Principle 11: Waste Reduction
Choose a meeting venue that provides recycling for plastic, paper, glass and metal.

Principle 12: Water Use
Avoid or eliminate the use of individual bottled water. Encourage attendees to bring their own bottle for refilling and provide pitchers of water or bubblers and promote use of water fountains.

Principle 13: Well-being of Participants
Provide a quiet space for meditation and prayer at the event. This may be a physical space and/or formal times on the agenda that are set aside for this kind of activity.


“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.” -Deuteronomy 30:19 (NRSV)

Get Updates


Sustainability Webinar

PDF Document opens in a new window. Transcript for this webinar

Did You Know?

If just 10% of United Methodist Women members (80,000 women) used a reusable water bottle for 365 days rather than buying water in a bottle, we would save at least enough energy to power an average household for 552 years!


* Introduction:
Creating Sustainable Events

*Evaluating Your Impact

*United Methodist Women Policies

*Choose Life:  A Bible Study on Sustainability

*Help from Other Sources

*Read the Article from the People's Climate March

PDF Planning Guidelines & Tips

Download the PDF that covers all the 13 steps and more.
Or click on the individual steps at left; each step has a link to download a PDF version.


Sustainable Events sign
 

PDF Document opens in a new window. Download the 13 signs; share and post in your community


Ready to take the survey?

Once you have worked with your event planning team to implement one or more of the sustainability principles by looking at the questions that will be asked of you for that principle (which you can find in principled approach steps,) you are ready to fill out this survey custom designed for UMW events! This data will be used to measure our progress as a national organization in these invaluable practices for caring for the earth and her people. Take good care of one another and the earth and thank you so much for your commitment to practicing faith, hope and love in action for this and future generations.
Click Here Once you have your facts and figures ready, take the online survey.
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