1. Purpose
Create a framework for the Jeffersonville Township Public Library to consistently reduce its carbon footprint, decrease resource and energy usage, and work with community partners to educate the public on best practices of environmental stewardship and sustainable living.
2. Policy
The Jeffersonville Township Public Library believes that in order to fulfill our purpose in serving the community, we must be engaged in the ongoing effort to limit the environmental impact of our operations, and strive to be a leader in modeling ecologically sustainable practices. As we work to build a place for community engagement, we are committed to providing resources for our patrons to learn about sustainability through our collections and programming.
3. Guidelines – Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability
As we seek to reduce our impact on the environment, we are committed to continually evaluating our processes, as well as measuring and communicating our results.
- Reduce the energy we consume through methods such as energy efficient bulbs, motion sensor lighting, increased insulation, energy-efficient windows and HVAC systems, and having a third party perform an energy consumption evaluation.
- Decrease the natural resources we consume by pursuing renewable energy sources to power our building, making a conscious effort to plant vegetation on our properties that are native to this area so that they require minimum irrigation and pursuing methods to capture rainwater when irrigation is necessary.
- Lessen the pollutants we contribute by choosing the most environmentally friendly products that are able to perform a comparable job at a competitive price.
- Increase the amount of recycling in our waste stream paying particular attention to the methods used when disposing of discarded library materials.
- Make purchasing decisions that place a high value on sustainably produced products.
- Promote the use of sustainable transportation encouraging virtual meeting and carpooling whenever possible.
- Utilize community partnerships to promote best practices for sustainable living and environmental stewardship to the public.
Adopted April 20, 2021