“Five percent less for energy: more funds for pastoral service”: that’s the slogan of the “energy saving offensive” launched by the archdiocese of Freiburg and presented on 17 July. The aim of the campaign is to respond to the growing costs for energy that the archdiocese is having to meet: according to diocesan data, in fact, energy costs have grown by 16% over last year. The causes for this increase should primarily be sought in spiralling energy costs, and also in increased consumption, as is shown by the report on energy for 2005. So the offensive promoted by the archdiocese for the reduction of consumption aims to reduce costs by September 2008. To achieve this objective, an outside expert will conduct an “energy control” in various church buildings of the 500 parishes of the diocese, identifying those aspects that could be improved through the adoption of a series of virtuous practices and measures aimed at reducing consumption. “All those who request an energy control will help to ensure that the archdiocese and its parishes may have a future”, said the vicar general Fridolin Keck. The delegate for the environment of the archdiocese, Benedikt Schalk, described the other positive aspects of the campaign: “We also wish to make a contribution to the protection of the environment”. The archdiocese has identified the weak points of the parishes that need to be eliminated by adopting a series of virtuous practices with the aim of modifying energy conduct and containing consumption. The costs of energy control are jointly footed by the archdiocese and parish communities. The results of the campaign will be presented to the parish council which will decide what provisions to take. The community will appoint a delegate for the environment, responsible for the implementation of the recommendations. The sums saved thanks to the containment of consumption will be used for parish activities.
