Good Stewards: CRS Offices Go Green

Christopher Varady lives in Beirut and handles fundraising for Catholic Relief Services' offices in Europe and the Middle East. He spoke recently about his work to make those offices more environmentally friendly, and about his dream of CRS becoming "the first carbon-free nongovernmental organization."

What got you interested in "greening" Catholic Relief Services' offices?

I was interested in global warming and environmental issues, and wondered what impact I as an individual could have. So I decided to focus on the world around me—CRS—and the areas that I do have influence over. If everyone can try to change the world around them, then we can have a bigger impact.

I proposed the idea to my regional director, and started writing articles in our region's internal newsletter. In the articles, I suggested ways that CRS offices can reduce their carbon footprint by using less fuel and reducing waste.

It required doing research on green office initiatives in the rest of the world and seeing how they do things.

What are other organizations doing?

What struck me most were the simple, cost-free ideas—making minor changes to use less fuel, like turning down the air conditioner or heater by a few degrees, or combining trips when drivers go out of the office.

What is CRS' carbon footprint in your region?

Well, based on an online carbon calculator, CRS' Europe and the Middle East region produces 570 tons of carbon each year, a weight equivalent to 384 Toyotas. That's 3.12 tons of carbon per employee per year.

What changes did you suggest your region's offices make?

First and foremost were the tips to reduce heating and cooling, such as fixing drafty windows, using shades and relying on natural light. I suggested having a power save option on printers and photocopiers. For office machines that we turn off, like a copier, I suggested we have photocopier hours like 10 to 4 instead of 9 to 5. I also gave driving and car maintenance tips—making sure the tires are well inflated, and that oil filters are new and in good order, so our cars get better gas mileage.

With water wastage, I suggested having the staff check for leaky faucets and toilets and having those fixed, usually at the landlord's expense.

Did you get any pushback on these suggestions?

Employees at CRS are usually always busy, so it takes each office's administration to put the tips into practice. But up until now, it's a voluntary initiative.

If you could pick only one thing for CRS offices to work on, what would it be?

Well, ideally it would be reducing air travel—that's our biggest contribution to our carbon footprint. But in addition to that, I'd focus on energy usage for heating and cooling. We don't have an elaborate budget to buy new air conditioners or energy-efficient light bulbs, but we could make sure offices are properly insulated.

It's my dream that CRS would one day be the world's first carbon-free nongovernmental organization.

What would you say to people who claim global warming is not real?

I'm not a scientist, so I can't refute data. But even if global warming is not true at all and it doesn't exist, I think a CRS guiding principle, based in Catholic teaching, is that we have to be good stewards of the world and of our resources.

Our small steps of conservation and stewardship mean more access to those resources for today's poor and tomorrow's world.

With everything else the CRS offices have to cope with, why do you think they should make time for this?

In the early 1980s, there were many leaders around the world who thought it was not a good use of time to worry about a new disease called AIDS. Climate change has the potential to bring even greater destruction to humankind.

CRS has a mission of serving the world's poor, and we know global warming disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable. If we're the ones responding to the natural disasters—the droughts and other catastrophes caused by global warming—we should also not be part of the problem by contributing to it.

Climate change is a justice issue. It creates negative effects on the world's environment for the convenience of the world's rich.

How would you respond to critics who say the developing world pollutes more—doesn't check car or factory emissions, for example?

I don't buy it. The United States uses more water and more electricity per person. Though some of our fuels and emissions might be slightly cleaner, our consumption is so high that it does not compensate for the little efforts we make at cleanliness. The manufacture of goods, the packaging…the trinkets and gadgets we buy have to be manufactured someplace, and that takes energy. I think the average first-world person consumes more than someone in the developing world.

Beyond your suggestions for your region's offices, have other CRS regions started "greening" themselves?

Our Latin American offices have been active. They devoted part of their regional meeting to green office ideas. Brazil has the first flex-fuel car at CRS; the cars are common there. The Brazil office collects paper products and soda cans so that catadores (urban recyclers) can recycle them; they make a living wage by doing so. CRS Brazil also supports a small urban recycling project in Manaus, in cooperation with Caritas Amazonas. They hope to expand it.

How do you see green initiatives fitting into the work CRS does?

Well, for example, solar power combines well with microfinance, CRS' small-loan program to help the poor start their own businesses. If people get a solar panel and don't have to pay an electric bill, it means their sewing business or car repair shop can be more successful. You can also train local people on solar cell maintenance.

Of course, you have to put the right technology in the right place. You don't want to put solar panels in a rainforest where it's always cloudy, or wind turbines where there is no wind.

There are many ways that CRS can invest in low-tech solutions which meet the energy needs of the world's poor in a way which does not harm the environment. Fighting global warming must involve win-win solutions.

You've put some "green office" materials on the CRS intranet for employees. What's the gist of these?

For one thing, there's scientific data to look at. For another, there are statements from the Catholic Church that give them a grounding in why we're doing this. Some people are interested in environmental work for its own sake, but it's also nice to connect it to the Catholic mission.

Do you do take any measures at your own home to reduce energy usage?

I try where possible to implement the tips on energy savings that I've come across in my research on this topic. This has meant investing in good insulation, replacing light bulbs with energy-saving ones, and keeping the heating and cooling on only when necessary.

That must be hard in August in Beirut.

I do turn on the AC when it's necessary, but I try to decrease my comfort level where I can.

If everyone can make just a small change, then the world will be better off.