Going Green

In 2009, Limmud-Oz undertook to 'go green'.

How did we make Limmud-Oz 'greener'?

A passionate team of people brainstormed how Limmud-Oz could be as environmentally friendly as possible. To achieve this, we reviewed every component of the event – from transportation to food to paper usage.

Examples of steps we took to ‘green’ Limmud-Oz include:

• giving leftover food to OzHarvest;
• providing paper and glass recycling bins in addition to ordinary rubbish bins;
• minimizing paper usage through online registration and double-sided printing;
• liaising with UNSW regarding energy saving measures;
• providing Chumashim instead of photocopying sources;
• engaging local councils who donated tree vouchers to be redeemed by participants at a local nursery;
• offering educational sessions on environmental issues to raise awareness.

In addition, we encouraged everyone – presenters and participants – to get involved in this initiative and to educate themselves  before, during and after Limmud-Oz to help make this event as environmentally sustainable as possible.

Although Limmud-Oz 2009 may be over, we seek to keep Limmud-Oz a 'green' event into the future.

How can we make Limmud-Oz ‘carbon neutral’?

Activities such as driving a car, flying on an airplane, and even doing laundry emit carbon dioxide. The first step in making a difference environmentally is to reduce these emissions. The next step is to go ‘carbon neutral’. This involves  calculating how much carbon dioxide you emit and then offsetting it by supporting environmentally friendly practices that reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, e.g. by planting trees. You can learn more by visiting www.jnf.org.au/goneutral.

Cleaner Climate generously donated an emissions assessment to determine the ‘carbon footprint’ (carbon emissions in tons) of Limmud-Oz 2009. The assessment included emissions attributed to the venue hire and power usage; food; and travel to/from the event (assuming that 30% of Sydney attendees car pooled). Following international guidelines from the WRI, IPCC, the ISO14000 series and Cleaner Climate’s in-house database a total of 206.35 tCO2 was calculated as the emissions for this event.

Based on this, Limmud-Oz aspires to achieve the following goals:

• 30% of Sydney participants car pooling;
• Offset 206 tons of carbon, which translates into about one tree planted for every three participants.

How can you make a difference?

Ways you can help to ‘green’ Limmud-Oz:

• Register online to reduce paper use;
• Bring your own water bottle or re-use the ones provided;
• Recycle where possible – in the clearly signed bins we provide;
• Download the PDF version of the program onto your Smartphone instead of printing it out;
• Bring your own scrap paper to use for note-taking;
• Use the stairs instead of lifts if possible.

Ways you can help to make Limmud-Oz ‘carbon neutral’:

• Transportation is one of the biggest sources of carbon and an area in which you can make a big difference. Consider doing one of the following:
  • car-pool to and from the event
  • take public transport
  • cycle
  • if you live far away from  the venue, stay somewhere nearby
• Help offset the carbon emissions from Limmud-Oz by: 
  • Planting trees in Israel via the JNF or in Australia via Living Trees. More information on how tree planting helps to offset carbon emissions can be found at http://www.jnf.org.au/goneutral/faq.html#faq5)
  • Choosing a day – e.g. the Shabbat before Limmud Oz or another day – to refrain from carbon-emitting actions like using electricity or travelling by car, to balance out the emissions emitted from Limmud-Oz.

More to say?

Please contact us with any other ideas, suggestions or proposals on how we can make Limmud Oz ‘greener’.