Environmental Responsibility

Until we change, the world cannot change. We must have a healthier intellectual attitude towards nature.

Swami Chinmayananda

Green Initiatives

Chinmaya Mission has been guided by the values of love and protection for nature since its first days. Swami Tapovan, guru of Swami Chinmayananda, and grandfather of the organisation is renowned for his worship of nature as the Divine manifest and his laments about man’s thoughtless squandering and lack of gratitude for her bounty and beauty so freely available.

Swami Chinmayananda insisted that recognition and respect for nature’s beauty and abundance and protection of her through conservation, beautification and cleanliness are pillars of a civilised society. He recommended that these be a solemn commitment of all Chinmaya Mission members.

From a biogas plant at Sandeepany Himachal to rain harvesting at Chinmaya Vibhooti and plastic free campuses at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, the Mission aims to instill awareness and care about mother earth and a sustainable future.

Bio-Diversification

At Chinmaya Viswa Vidyapeeth (CVV), commitment to cultivating a greener future includes regular tree planting, prioritizing native flora and fauna on campuses, and growing organic produce to support kitchen self-sufficiency.

At Chinmaya international Foundation, the grounds contain rare sacred trees and medicinal plants as well as traditional food crops such as bananas, and coconuts. CIF is committed to native forest protection, conducts seed gathering and cultivation.

At Chinmaya Vibhooti, tree planting includes a Devrai, a traditional sacred patch of virgin forest preserved in the name of God. It has been planted as a Panchavati, a group of five sacred trees - Banyan tree, Peepal tree, Amala tree, Bilva tree and Ashoka tree, planted in a particular orientation. Nearby Chinmaya Mauli Ashram Pune has undertaken a project to develop a self-sustaining forest of more than 1000 trees.

Energy Conservation

Chinmaya Mission Ashrams engage in a range of energy conservation strategies:

• Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth (CVV) university is powered by highly efficient solar panels, generating an average of 500 KW daily. This move towards renewable energy aims to make CVV nearly net-zero consumers of electricity.
• CVV has implemented cost-effective methods for conserving electricity and water. Motion sensor lighting systems in corridors and automated distribution of water and electricity enhance efficiency and sustainability.
• Chinmaya International Residential School located in a large campus at Siruvani on the outskirts of Coimbatore makes smart use of the abundant sun of Tamil Nadu with a very large bank of solar panels.

Eco Friendly Sewage Treatment

Sewage from the buildings in the CVV campus is processed by advanced eco-friendly sewage treatment plants, without any chemicals. Using microorganisms, plants, and gravel, the sewage is purified to provide water for horticulture and washing purposes. Chinmaya Vibhooti ashram has installed a solid immobilized bio filter for sewerage treatment of the range of facilities both conference and residential.

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Rainwater Harvesting

Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth campus features comprehensive rainwater harvesting systems across all buildings. These systems collect water, and channel it into multiple on-site ponds. From there, the water undergoes treatment in dedicated facilities, ensuring its suitability for various campus needs.
At Chinmaya Vibhooti, rainwater harvesting is carried out in a number of ways. The primary being a series of ponds that collect and store.

Plastic Free Campuses

CVV is dedicated to going plastic-free by cutting out processes that produce plastic waste. The university works closely with vendors to implement policies for retrieving plastic packaging waste and ensure regular collection and recycling of plastic waste as part of its commitment.
Students at all Chinmaya Vidyalayas and Colleges, and CHYK Groups engage in local community clean-ups and plastic collection as a regular form of seva.

Best green campus Award

In 1918 Chinmaya International Resiential School was an early adopter of environmental protectiona and sustainability, taking part in a contest for the greenest campus award organized by Kovai Green League with an aim to increase green cover of Coimbatore and create awareness of conservation.

About 100 schools took part and 10 schools were short listed based on the tree cover, sources of water and utilization, gardening activities, birds spotted in the campus and alternative energy sources used at school.

Chinmaya International School won the best green campus award.

Egocentric to Ecocentic

As a organisation dedicated to the spread of Vedanta, Chinmaya Mission used its top level philosophical magazine, Mananam, to explore environmental isues. In its issue, Egocentric to Ecocentric, the magazine explored the wisdom of saints, sages and the scriptures as well as environmental champions regarding the deeper moral and ethical and philosophical issues underlying environmental concerns.

https://www.chinmayapublications.com/egocentric-to-ecocentric

Chinmaya Mission Niagara (USA)

The Chinmaya Mission centre in Niagara the USA has established a movement for environmental awareness and action amongst its members. The movement called Loving Earth is the means through which the Niagara Mission can serve individually and collectively to improve the health of our Mother Earth.
The flow of our Loving Earth effort is to move from education to implementation.

Each month our community

learns from an expert in the field about an environmental concern

practices changing an aspect of our lifestyle to make a positive impact

actively supports each other through sharing reflections and asking questions

identifies an opportunity to support organizations committed to the care of the environment,

For more information visit: https://www.chinmayaniagara.com/communities/earth/

Central Chinmaya Mission Trust

Saki Vihar Road, Powai, Mumbai - 400 072.

Tel : +91-22-2803 4900

E-mail : ccmt@chinmayamission.com