Yasodhara Ashram has a clear commitment to environmentally responsible practices, from planning and design to all areas of its operations. The outcome of this commitment is that Yasodhara Ashram has become a Carbon Neutral community as of the fall of 2012.

Yasodhara Ashram has been involved in green practices since the 1970s, initially implementing the 3Rs program (Reduce Reuse Recycle) and practicing organic gardening and composting. We launched a vast program of upgrades and retrofits of our buildings in the 1990s, and in the 2000s included the installation of geothermal and solar heating systems.

In 2008, the Ashram more specifically committed to a new, ambitious five-year program in response to a growing global environmental crisis. The Ashram’s goal was to be carbon neutral by 2013, our 50th anniversary, a goal we achieved.

To do this, Ashram developed a comprehensive program of sustainability that embraces menu planning, food ordering, green housekeeping, solar and geothermal heating systems, and carbon offsets for guest travel. Timeless Books, our publishing house, prints on 100% PCW paper at a carbon neutral facility in BC, and our Ashram Bookstore stocks items from carefully chosen companies that exhibit sustainable practices.

The Ashram’s track record is at the leading edge of the worldwide movement to prevent and reduce environmental impacts. In response to our efforts, the Ashram was awarded the FortisBC PowerSense Conservation Excellence Award in 2008, for our commitment to reduce energy consumption by adapting innovative and efficient technologies and solutions. In 2009 we were awarded the coveted Environmentally Responsible Tourism Award from Tourism BC that acknowledges outstanding leadership in environmental sustainability.

Guests and staff have greeted the sustainability program with enthusiasm, inspiring the Ashram to go beyond measures to increase efficiency and reduce operating costs or qualify for government rebates. The Ashram will pioneer far-reaching changes that go beyond on-site operations and business practices. Although higher capital expenditures are often called for, the long-term benefits make these investments in our future worthwhile, and necessary.

Learn more about how our community is carbon neutral:

News release (Yasodhara Ashram: The path to a lighter footprint)
Carbon neutral backgrounder
Carbon neutral Q & A