Representing 5,000 congregations, Interfaith Power & Light is challenging faith communities to get serious about climate change. The organization recently launched a carbon footprint calculator designed specifically for congregations.
In order to encourage faith communities to lower their footprints, $5000 will go to the group with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per person. Another $5000 will go to the congregation that has shrunk its carbon footprint the most (as a percentage) after one year. To be eligible, participating groups have until December 31, 2008 to measure their footprints.
They might not garner as many headlines as big-name corporations when they go green, but many churches across the U.S. are tackling environmental challenges as a way to honor God’s creation.
Among those leading the way are groups like the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCC), whose Eco-Justice Working Group includes participants of every denomination from African Methodist Episcopal to Greek Orthodox and Mennonite. The NCC’s Washington, D.C.-based Eco-Justice Program also provides a wealth of resources to help churches and church-goers take environmental action.
Many of those actions are highlighted in the Eco-Justice Program’s guide to “Bottom Line Ministries that Matter: Congregational Stewardship with Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Technologies.” Among the success stories held up as examples in the report:
