Avoid the use of plastic and paper

“Live simply, minimize consumption and actively promote ecological awareness and action
through integral waste segregation and by minimizing the use of plastic and paper, by
eliminating single-use plastics, polystyrene and the like, from our homes and institutions.”
CBCP Pastoral Letter on Ecology, 2019

“A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture
which affects the entire planet, but it must be said that only limited progress has been made in
this regard.”
Laudato Si’ 22

Reduce water consumption

“Protect our watersheds while at the same time using fresh water wisely, promoting and
establishing massive rainwater collection, and putting a stop to infrastructures that can be
detrimental to the preservation of ecological balance and biodiversity.”
CBCP Pastoral Letter on Ecology, 2019
“Greater scarcity of water will lead to an increase in the cost of food and the various products
which depend on its use. Some studies warn that an acute water shortage may occur within a few
decades unless urgent action is taken. The environmental repercussions could affect billions of
people; it is also conceivable that the control of water by large multinational businesses may
become a major source of conflict in this century.”
Laudato Si’ 31

Waste Segregation
“Live simply, minimize consumption and actively promote ecological awareness and action
through integral waste segregation and by minimizing the use of plastic and paper, by
eliminating single-use plastics, polystyrene and the like, from our homes and institutions.”
CBCP Pastoral Letter on Ecology, 2019
“These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture which affects the excluded just as it
quickly reduces things to rubbish. To cite one example, most of the paper we produce is thrown
away and not recycled. It is hard for us to accept that the way natural ecosystems work is
exemplary: plants synthesize nutrients which feed herbivores; these in turn become food for
carnivores, which produce significant quantities of organic waste which give rise to new
generations of plants.”
Laudato Si’ 22
Cook only what can reasonably be consumed
“When we waste food, we’re not just wasting food. We’re also wasting all the resources that
went into growing it.”
“Besides, we know that approximately a third of all food produced is discarded, and ‘whenever
food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor’.
Laudato Si’ 50
Show care for other living beings

All of us are interconnected. Caring for our common home is caring for all of creation.
“Together with our obligation to use the earth’s goods responsibly, we are called to recognize
that other living beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes: ‘by their mere existence they
bless him and give him glory’, and indeed, ‘the Lord rejoices in all his works’.”
Laudato Si’ 69

Use public transport or car-pooling

You may walk, travel in group in a car, use bicycle—there are many ways to travel with less
greenhouse gas emission.
“The quality of life in cities has much to do with systems of transport, which are often a source
of much suffering for those who use them. Many cars, used by one or more people, circulate in
cities, causing traffic congestion, raising the level of pollution, and consuming enormous
quantities of non-renewable energy. This makes it necessary to build more roads and parking
areas which spoil the urban landscape. Many specialists agree on the need to give priority to
public transportation. Yet some measures needed will not prove easily acceptable to society
unless substantial improvements are made in the systems themselves, which in many cities force
people to put up with undignified conditions due to crowding, inconvenience, infrequent service
and lack of safety.”
Laudato Si’ 159

Grow trees
“The loss of forests and woodlands entails the loss of species which may constitute extremely
important resources in the future, not only for food but also for curing disease and other uses.
Different species contain genes which could be key resources in years ahead for meeting human
needs and regulating environmental problems.”
Laudato Si’ 32

Turn off unnecessary lights

This is not only limited to lights, but also other appliances, gadgets and the like. Energy
conservation, energy efficiency and just and fair transition to renewable energy.
“At the same time, on the national and local levels, much still needs to be done, such as
promoting ways of conserving energy. These would include favouring forms of industrial
production with maximum energy efficiency and diminished use of raw materials, removing
from the market products which are less energy efficient or more polluting, improving transport
systems, and encouraging the construction and repair of buildings aimed at reducing their energy
consumption and levels of pollution.”
Laudato Si’ 180
Reuse

Reduce and reuse. Preventing waste doesn’t have to be complicated. It starts with simple changes
in daily habits—like making grocery shopping lists so you buy just what you need to avoid
wasting food. Or stashing reusable shopping bags next to your door or in your car.
“We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving
resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of non-
renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and
recycling them. A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the
throwaway culture which affects the entire planet, but it must be said that only limited progress
has been made in this regard.”
Laudato Si’ 22