Our initiatives for a greener future
At Khalsa Gurmat Center, our commitment to environmental stewardship is deeply rooted in the Sikh principle of Sarbat da Bhala (the well-being of all). We believe that a responsibility to protect the Earth is fundamental to our faith. This philosophy drives our ongoing efforts to create a sustainable and green world for generations to come.
This principle asks that everything we do work toward the good of the whole world, leaving no one out. The climate crisis makes that harder to honor, because the harm from a damaged environment falls heaviest on the people least able to bear it. When we put up solar panels and cut our carbon footprint, we are living out Sarbat da Bhala in a very plain way: caring for the air, water, and soil that every person depends on.
Our faith teaches us to treat the natural world with reverence: "Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother."
The seeds of this project were sown in 2022 when a dedicated group of students and parents formed the KGC Green Team. Driven by a commitment to the Sikh principle of Sarbat da Bhala and a responsibility to protect the Earth, these young advocates began transforming the center’s operations.
To move all of our electricity over to clean power, the center built lasting partnerships with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and A&R Solar. A PSE Solar Grant covered the funding that made the project possible, and A&R Solar handled the design and installation, fitting a modern solar system into the building. Community vision, grant support, and skilled engineering came together to turn the facility around, so our classes and community programs now run entirely on clean, renewable energy.
Through our partnerships with Waste Management, King County, and the City of Federal Way, the KGC Green Team has put careful waste protocols in place across the whole facility. Every item is sorted into Recyclable, Compostable, or Waste before it reaches a bin, and holding that standard takes steady, hands-on work:
In 2023, the team managed food waste for 3,000 attendees at our annual Nagar Kirtan, a figure that grew to a peak of 10,000 attendees by 2025.
Over the last two years alone, the team successfully diverted significant waste from landfills, including 0.62 US tons of recycling and nearly 2 US tons of food waste.
Despite hosting 7,000 people in 2026, the team maintained high diversion standards, processing 1.1 tons of food waste and 0.34 tons of recycling.
The real test comes every year at our Vaisakhi (Nagar Kirtan) celebration, which draws somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 visitors to the center. Handling waste at that scale takes a lot of planning. The Green Team works out a full plan ahead of time so the thousands of pounds left behind, much of it food waste and recycling, get sorted and sent where they belong, and a gathering that big never ends up weighing on our local landfills.
Our Green Team has been recognized for their work by King County two years running.
Our new solar installation, backed by a Puget Sound Energy (PSE) Solar Grant and designed by A&R Solar, is the centerpiece of a much bigger upgrade. Making clean power is only half the job, so we paired it with real cuts to how much energy we use in the first place. To get the most out of the new system and bring our overall footprint down, the center finished a round of efficiency upgrades:
The center retired its old heating, cooling, and refrigeration units and put in commercial-grade, high-efficiency replacements that hold a steadier temperature, use far less baseline electricity, and work hand in hand with the new solar grid.
Every old bulb, fixture, and switch in the building was swapped for energy-saving LEDs. Updating the controls too means less power wasted on standby and lights that only run where and when they are actually needed.
To lock in these gains, KGC adopted a green procurement policy. From classroom supplies to items for large gatherings, anything we buy now has to meet real environmental and lifecycle standards, so our supply chain reflects our values.