Kolkata: Udayani Social Action Forum, the social wing of Calcutta Jesuits, has prepared an environmental policy for its staff and beneficiaries.
The policy makers of the nation supported by business houses have brought the earth to a crisis point in the name of development and growth, bemoans Fr I Jyothi, director of the forum introducing the new policy.
He said his forum members realized the need to intervene to save the earth in order to save themselves.
“We are part of the structural exploitation of Mother Earth unknowingly and unwillingly. We take responsibility to correct ourselves and take concrete steps to amend our ways of behavior toward the Environment which sustains our being,” the Jesuit priest told Matters India.
He says the climate change has adversely affected the marginalized forcing them to ‘cli-migration’ (migration due to climate change) for survival. The worst affected are the Dalit and tribal communities, who identify themselves with “Jal, Jamin and Jangle” (water, land and forest).
“We have realized that in the name of development the earth is assaulted and disfigured by our selfishness. There is an attempt to invade every aspects of the globe making it warmer every year,” Fr Jothi added.
The forum has decided to keep away from plastic materials under its policy of “refuse, reduce and re-use.”
The center will not use banners and flex boards in future and adopt carry bags made of cloth, jute or threads.
They will strive to reduce wastage of food, avoid serving food on disposable plates and cups. They will not use plastic bottles for water.
For office works, conferences and workshops, they will use emails for those who can access and take printouts only for those who cannot access internet.
They will upload materials in PDF format on net and announce it for those accessible to internet. They will make CDs for those who cannot access internet but have computers.
They will encourage use of scribbling pads made of one-sided papers, reusable pens, pencils, erasers and sharpeners. Another decision is to use paper tapes instead of cellotapes to stick chart papers.
The forum members will use cloth flags, natural materials such as leaves and flowers for decoration, design banners and decorative materials in modules so that it can be reused.
They will avoid plastic identity cards, instead use paper cards with cotton/jute thread or cloth stripes. They will avoid giving bouquets and use handloom shawls or curios made by communities using ecologically sustainable materials
The forum members will encourage use of buses and share cabs, procure materials locally to avoid fuel consumption.
They will prefer rooms with good ventilation instead of air-conditioning, ensure the public address system does not disturb public life.
Another proposal is to make use of day light, promote solar energy and plant more saplings every year.
“In our attempt to rewind our own lives, we decide not to wait for order and change from above but promise to change ourselves and our surroundings with concrete steps. We decide to contribute to the wellbeing of the biodiversity and thus build our own ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam,” the Jesuit priest said.