How Does the LDS Church feel about Sustainability?

The sound bites in the video are from Bill Williams, director of architecture and engineering for City Creek Reserve, Inc. These are posted on the LDS Newsroom site, and below is the transcribed text of his words:

"When you think about sustainability it’s beyond just green roofs, if you will. But those, in and of itself are probably the most visible because as you rise up in an office building instead of looking down on black tar you see something that’s growing. And what that does for us, is it captures rainwater, it absorbs it so it doesn’t run into the streams at a rapid rate and erode, it cools the building itself because green roofs have a natural cooling ability; shade, things like that."

"As a Church we have always been interested in sustainable efforts. We’ve never sought for public attention in that regard, but sustainable efforts from a Church-wide is something that is just prudent because it means we pay less over a long term for our structures and for our buildings, especially in terms of maintenance and operating costs. So it’s just a prudent thing to do."

"It illustrates that we truly uphold these values; that we try to be good stewards of whatever we do. And that we try to give back to the community. We don’t take from the community, but we give in terms of our time, our efforts, service. But we also look at the environment and say we’re going to be here for a long time. We’d like to ensure that there is a future and it’s a future that we all like and so we participate in the sustainability effort that is going around the country."


(City Creek Center)


(City Creek Center)

Source credits in the video are as follows:

Conference Center:
Flickr user bsmart - Green Rooftop of the LDS Conference Center
Flickr user - New LDS mormon Conference Center
Utah.com article - Atop a New Monument, an Ancient Forest
Greenroofs.com database - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Conference Center
Flickr user jonnojohnson - IMG_4638 and IMG_4630

City Creek:
Callison
LDS Newsroom
Wikipedia - City Creek Condominium Tower


(Conference Center by deanrich_99)
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Sierra Club praises LDS Church

As the Deseret News reported today, the LDS Church has received recognition for the City Creek Center in the first national report by the Sierra Club on communities of faith entitled “Faith in Action: Communities of Faith Bring Hope for the Planet.”

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is helping revitalize downtown Salt Lake City, and it’s doing so in a green manner. City Creek Reserve, Inc. (CCRI), a real estate development arm of the church, is directing the construction of a transit-oriented, 20-acre mixed use project which will include residential, retail and office space. The results from this smart growth strategy will greatly reduce Salt Lake City's dependence on the automobile.”



Apparently more than half of the demolition debris is being recycled and only native plant species will be used for landscaping. But here is the money quote that has given me a huge permagrin today:

“The decision to pursue LEED certification was a natural outflow of the values of the LDS faith. CCRI Director of Architecture and Engineering Bill Williams says long term sustainability is central to the project. ‘As you look at the tenets of our religion, there is a notion that we must be good stewards in all that we do,’ explains Williams. ‘It is our hope that this project will be prosperous, while standing true to our values of wise stewardship and giving back to the community.’ Williams and the CCRI designers hope this project will be a catalyst for further neighborhood redevelopment, noting that it allows residents and visitors to celebrate the unique natural beauty and rich history of Salt Lake City.”


Bill Williams

It is enormously refreshing to hear the director of the Church Architecture and Engineering department speak in terms of stewardship, values, community, and sustainability. This is a great day for Mormon environmentalists everywhere.

Every state is represented, so check out the full report and see what religious groups in your state are doing to help protect and preserve the environment.
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