GSS Resources

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!

At Faith & the Common Good (FCG), our ongoing commitment is to provide tools and resources that enable faith communities to improve their carbon footprint and be more sustainable in their places of worship. To this end, we look for opportunities and partnerships that further this goal.

For example, along with our DIY Energy Audit Guide, we use the USA’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® resources, such as the Portfolio Manager software to help faith communities better understand their energy consumption patterns and empower them in making educated decisions on how to become more energy efficient. We are excited about our latest partnership with ENERGY STAR®. 

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)

 Download Geothermal Presentation

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.

 Order the Greening Sacred Spaces DVD($12)

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)