Greening Sacred Spaces (GSS) is our longest-running program. A practical program, GSS assists faith communities with both the educational and spiritual dimensions of greening as well as the “how to” side of audits, retrofits, and generally reducing a faith community’s footprint.
We have developed a number of resources to help faith groups become community leaders in working towards a more sustainable future for all. Click on the links below to find out more about our:
- videos and webinars,
- case studies,
- posters,
- guides,
- tip sheets,
- building audits,
- energy benchmarking,
- certification,
- awards
Visit your local chapter page or contact your local animator to find out about upcoming events in your area and to discuss your faith community's needs and how Faith & the Common Good: Greening Sacred Spaces can help.
Sign up for our local and/or national newsletter for program and event updates.
Current Projects
Great Canadian Giving Challenge. Fundraiser. Greening Sacred Spaces. Resource Updates.Resources
Ottawa Faith-Building Energy Benchmarking Program
The Energy Benchmarking Program (EBP) is a free program that helps faith communities to take practical and cost-effective climate action by raising awareness and understanding their buildings' energy use and emissions. The EBP uses the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, an energy management tool, to display energy costs & usage. It shows a baseline energy use and identify areas for improvement over a 3 year period. Every year, participants receive an annual report detailing their energy consumption and changes over time.
These case studies tell the stories of 10 participants on Ottawa from 2019-2022 with GSS Ottawa.
Click here to read more!
Action Workbook for Congregations: Faith & the Common Good partners with EPA’s ENERGY STAR® program
Webinar: Geothermal Energy
Recorded May 23, 2019
Archdeacon Michael Patterson and parishioner Mac Morrison of Anglican Church of the Incarnation (Oakville, ON) share their faith community's journey from needing to replace their HVAC system to deciding to go bold and implement a geothermal system instead.
Watch the free webinar to learn more about how the Anglican Church of the Incarnation went Geothermal:
Download options include:
- Entire webinar
- Individual pdf presentations:
Download Webinar to your desktop (50 minutes)
Greening Sacred Spaces DVD
Created in 2008, this engaging and instructive 5-part DVD highlights different aspects of the Greening Sacred Spaces program.
The first part is a 12-minute segment, Reasons to Green, offering insightful interviews with faith leaders from eight religious traditions on why people of faith need to address the ecological crisis and how their faith communities are responding.
The Renewing the Sacred Balance section offers stories of how people from different faith traditions are working to change their ways of life to be more ecologically sustainable.
The Greening Sacred Spaces section, in both an 18 minute and 5 minute version, point to a variety of ways that faith communities have begun to green their buildings. These are divided into light, medium, and deep green options.
The final section, Audits, provides a 5-minute tour of how a professional auditor conducts an energy audit of your religious building.
Steps to Greening
Steps to Greening is intended to give you and your faith community a quick overview of what is possible as you plan to green your sacred spaces and a ‘path’ to follow.
Download PDF (1 page)