Buddhists eco-practice what they preach

28 January 2003

PRESS RELEASE

Eco friendly buddhists can now receive green power from the UK's leading green electricity company, Ecotricity. The switch to clean green electricity is being encouraged by the London Buddhist Centre (LBC), one of the largest urban centres in the West who has forged a partnership with the renewable energy company. Members and visitors can sign up to Ecotricity at the centre or on-line at www.lbc.co.uk.

The LBC, situated in the heart of London's East End, is encouraging the Buddhist community across the UK to opt for Ecotricity. The LBC is part of a leading Buddhist movement in the west known as the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO).

Jeff Reeves at the London Buddhist Centre comments, "The London Buddhist Centre is delighted to be in partnership with Ecotricity. We believe that any effective Buddhist practice in today's world must include an ecological perspective that is fully integrated into our everyday lives.

"When we met Ecotricity we realised they were a sincerely ethical company with genuine environmental concerns and a lot of energy to make things really change."

Making a positive contribution to society and the environment is a major focus for the partnership. FWBO has set up an eco-practice group "P.S…Buddhist Eco Practice" to increase awareness and practice of environmental issues among Buddhists and to show that eco living is firmly anchored in traditional Buddhist teachings. Ecotricity are achieving this by building new clean sources of electricity, such as wind energy, to replace polluting conventional sources. The awareness of environmental issues is also high on the agenda for the London Buddhist Centre who are keen to spread the word about the value of safe, clean, green power to the Buddhist community.

Dale Vince, managing director of Ecotricity says, "It is great to partner up with people who have the same values as us in terms of their ethical practices. Creating new renewable energy capacity to replace polluting conventional electricity sources is at the heart of our business and the only way forward if harmful carbon dioxide emissions are to be reduced."

Jeff Reeves at the London Buddhist Centre continues, "To be a Buddhist is to be responsive to the world around us and to the issues it faces. We seek to apply the timeless principles of Buddhism, such as awareness and compassion, to the ever-changing complexity of the world we and so many others inhabit."

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