“Striving to be beacons of hope, we commit to…respond to the crisis of Earth and global warming…”
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, 2019 Acts of Chapter
Every six years, delegates from each location in our congregation gather for a congregational chapter. During this meeting, they agree on priorities and directions for the life of the congregation for the following six years. In 2019, one of those priorities was to “respond to the crisis of Earth and global warming.”
Laudato Si’ Action Plan
Our journey of ecological conversion formally began in 1997. We have a long-standing commitment of deep communion and right relationships with the Earth. Over the last three decades, we have made many changes that moved us closer to ecological sustainability. These past choices give us the courage to boldly and creatively commit to new actions that will lead us to greater ecological conversion and to living more environmentally sustainable lives.
In 2021, our congregation publicly committed to join with Pope Francis and the universal Catholic Church on a seven-year journey to ecological conversion through the Laudato Si’ Action Platform. As a part of this commitment, we developed our Laudato Si’ Action Plan.
In our Laudato Si’ Action Plan, we committed to both personal and organization-wide change. Together, we have learned about the impact our previous practices had on our planet, and we have made meaningful changes both as individuals and as a congregation. We have held ourselves accountable for the way we live our lives, setting specific, measurable targets for education, major buildings, waterways, land and air, spirituality, advocacy and social action.
Eco-Challenges
As part of our commitment to Earth via our Laudato Si’ Action Plan, we invited our sisters and everyone who shares in our charism to take a monthly Eco-Challenge with us. These Eco-Challenges showcase a wide variety of simple changes that can be made to our everyday lives that will positively impact the Earth.
Each Eco-Challenge presents a brief overview of the topic and its impact on the Earth. Alternative products or actions are highlighted before the reader is challenged to take action, advocate for change and/or begin their journey of ecological conversion.
Our Eco-Challenges covered a wide range of actionable items including:
- Using sustainably packaged soaps in the bathroom and laundry room
- Refusing plastic straws
- Forgoing fast fashion
- Using mesh bags to buy produce
- Cutting down one’s carbon footprint
- Air-drying laundry
- Eating locally produced food and composting
- Unsubscribing from paper subscriptions and junk mail
Global Plastics Treaty
Our congregation committed to responding to the crisis of Earth and global warming, but we recognized that we could make the biggest impact by supporting the systemic global change being championed by the United Nations.
Since 2022, our sisters have attended the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meetings at the United Nations on behalf of the Congregations of the Sisters of St Joseph Non-Governmental Organization (CSJ UN NGO) to advocate for a legally binding international treaty to address plastic pollution.
We have prioritized amplifying the voices of groups with expertise in plastic pollution and who align with our values, including the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, the International Alliance of Waste Pickers, the Endocrine Society and the Small Island Developing States.
Our NGO status gives us the privilege of submitting testimony. At INC-2, we submitted a testimony on our history of consensus decision-making, informing the delegates that our experience has shown us that discernment and listening to all voices will lead to choices made for the common good, even if a 100% consensus is not always possible. At INC-5, we submitted a statement on our hopes and expectations for the negotiating session, highlighting the need to effectively address root causes of plastic pollution.
We continue to strengthen our relationships with each other and our partners, interact with the teams from our three countries, spread awareness and opportunity for advocacy and continue to hope for a positive outcome.
Ecological Conversion
Plastic Free July
Since plastic began to be mass-produced in the 1950s, 8.3 billion metric tons of it have been created. Only 9% has been recycled, while 12% has been incinerated (often causing air pollution) and 79% has made its way to the ocean or to a landfill.
Plastic Free July is a global movement that offers us the opportunity to commit to personal change and advocate for systemic change to free our world from plastics. As a congregation, we spend Plastic Free July as a month of education, engagement, action and prayer.
Each Plastic Free July, we encourage our sisters and charism partners to reduce their plastic use, petition governments for a global plastic treaty and spread awareness. To ease the switch from plastic products, our sisters and partners in mission developed a list of recommended sustainable products.
Season of Creation
Catholics around the world recognize the Season of Creation from September 1, the World Day of Prayer for Creation, through October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
During the Season of Creation, we emphasize the need for ecological conversion. While continuing to make meaningful lifestyle changes as both individuals and as a congregation, we encourage our sisters and charism partners to engage with our Season of Creation prayer journals and guided reflections.
Trees for Tacna
As individuals and as an organization, we’ve challenging ourselves to reduce our carbon output by doing things like reducing our electricity consumption and switching our car fleets to electric. Alongside long-term solutions to reduce our carbon footprint, we developed the Trees for Tacna program to offset the carbon emissions of the congregational office.
We partnered with Fe y Alegría (Faith and Joy) School, where our sisters ministered for over 40 years in Tacna, Perú, to create a tree-planting program. Modeled after a scientific study in nearby Ina, Perú, we chose to plant huarango trees which thrive in the local climate and have a significant impact on reducing desertification. Huarango trees provide shade and even food once they’re fully grown. They require very little water, but like all trees, they pull carbon out of the atmosphere.
Sister Agripina Morales had a group of her students lay out a plan for what they could do with the mud-packed area around the school, in addition to the trees, to make it a place where the kids could play. They planted their version of grass, put up a transparent tarp that would provide shade and painted murals about Laudato Si’ on the walls. The Trees for Tacna program planted trees, created green space in the community and fostered environmental education.
Ecological Use of Buildings and Land
Over the last two decades, we have made significant changes to promote ecological sustainability in our use of major buildings and property.
At the Carondelet Motherhouse in St. Louis, the building was updated to be more energy-efficient. We replaced windows and other building items that could lead to a large waste of heat, energy and other resources. Making these swaps led to a 6% savings in electricity alone. We also reduced our food waste by repurposing food and setting up better, more efficient meal plans. On the grounds, native plants replaced many ornamental plants and bushes. These attract pollinators, including bees and monarch butterflies. Several years ago, we participated in the planting of a nearby community garden that also focuses on pollinators.
In our St. Paul Province, we also made our buildings more energy-efficient. Since 2016, all of our electric energy has been provided through renewable energy sources, which we pay a premium for. We also created a community garden space to promote using local and fresh ingredients, supporting pollinators and cultivating connections within our community. The community gardeners work together to tend the space collectively and harvest about 1,000 pounds of produce each harvest season. This produce is then shared among the community gardeners and donated to students at St. Catherine University.
The Provincial House in Albany invested in a local solar farm in 2019. The farm came online in October 2020, and we received substantial solar credits for use of this form of electricity. At the Provincial House, we promoted milkweed growth for monarch butterflies. We only mowed our meadow two times a year to provide a hospitable environment for creatures including butterflies, moths and birds. We used organic pest control methods throughout the buildings and grounds.
Carondelet Center in Los Angeles made the switch to more efficient lighting. We also changed waste management companies to a company that recycles our green waste and accepts more recyclables. In 2019, our Los Angeles Province created an Earth-Friendly Sustainability Plan for Carondelet Center. We moved away from single-wrapped food products, served less beef, provided Terracycle boxes for candy and snack wrappers.
An Ongoing Effort
As individuals and as a congregation, we have sought a deeper communion with creation, recognized the urgency in responding to the crisis of Earth, simplified our lifestyles and partnered with others to heal our planet. The practices listed here are not meant to catalogue every effort we have made but to provide a sampling of actions that have been successful for us.
There is much deeper and farther to go in our journey to ecological conversion. Boldness, creativity, and collaboration will be the hallmarks of our future actions.