Expand Your Impact

CARBON DRAWDOWN / REFORESTATION

Care for Creation Beyond Your Campus

Reducing emissions and other contributions to environmental harm is an important part of living out the Christian imperative to care for creation—but don’t stop there. Your organization can also help actively heal the earth.

Carbon drawdown is the active removal of greenhouse gases already saturating our atmosphere. This is a fantastic way for dioceses, parishes, schools, religious orders, and other Catholic organizations to support climate restoration for future generations. Catholic Energies can help you explore verified opportunities that align with your values.

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Choose Projects With Measurable Impact

You don’t have to wait until net zero to start participating in active restoration.

When you receive a free energy assessment from Catholic Energies, our team will help you create a roadmap to reach your sustainability goals. In addition to on-site improvements, this plan may include ways your organization can support verified restoration projects that remove legacy carbon buildup from the atmosphere and promote renewal of our common home. That way you can begin making a measurable difference even before every facility project is complete.

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  • “Making productive use of the land under and around ground-mounted solar farms is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create new acres of habitat for the butterflies, birds, and nature that gives us a sense of peace. With plans for a beautiful new flowering solar park, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington are helping to grow this important national trend of pollinator-friendly solar.”

    ROB DAVIS
    Director of the Center for Pollinators in Energy

  • Carbon drawdown refers to the active removal of greenhouse gases already saturating our atmosphere, acknowledging a critical reality: transitioning away from fossil fuels and reducing new emissions only solves half of the problem. The other half is physically removing legacy carbon buildup from the atmosphere, which is absolutely necessary to avoid one of the greatest environmental challenges facing future generations.

    Committing to drawdown through verified reforestation, ecological restoration, and other carbon removal initiatives fulfills the call of Laudato Si, transforming environmental stewardship from passive conservation into the active healing of our common home.

  • Catholic Energies facilitates high-integrity carbon drawdown by connecting institutions with proven, faith-driven restoration models. By partnering with transparent platforms like the Open Forest Protocol, we leverage technology to ensure that investments directly sequester carbon, delivering measurable atmospheric benefits.

    We guide Catholic dioceses, schools, organizations, and religious orders in selecting verified sequestration projects that uphold Catholic social teaching. We also empower local communities through ecological education, capacity building, and sustainable livelihoods that support human dignity.

  • Contrary to the misconception that carbon removal must wait until on-site efficiency and renewable energy goals are fully met, any organization at any time can embark upon carbon drawdown activities.

    You do not need to delay action until your campus is perfectly optimized; integrating verified drawdown investments now allows you to immediately counteract legacy emissions alongside your ongoing sustainability efforts. By adopting these strategies early, your institution can directly tackle rising atmospheric carbon, support global faith-based restoration networks, and demonstrate a proactive, comprehensive commitment to creation care, regardless of where you are in your green transition.

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