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THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA – GREEN AUDIT PILOT PROGRAM
The General Council of the United Church of Canada has committed funds to enable the conduct of 100 ‘Green Audits’ of church buildings across the country. These audits will enable congregations and mission unitsto identify steps to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their buildings, reduce energy costs and so offer a practical and hope-filled way to participate in the fight against climate change.
The audits - to be conducted between June 2011 and May 2012 - will be performed by qualified representatives from Faith & the Common Good’s ‘Greening Sacred Spaces’ program. Each congregation benefitting from the program will be expected to commit to at least $750 to remedial work based on the audit. We hope that once you see the results of the Green Audit and have a list of priority actions, you are able to commit even more funds to reducing energy consumption and saving money for your faith community.
Ten audits will be performed for congregations in Toronto Conference. Within the City of Toronto, between September and December further assistance may be available through the Green Awakening Network’s Audit Programtogether with advice on incentives and other programs to increase the impact of remediation action. Full details will be provided when you apply for an audit.
About the Green Audit
The Green Audit involves a thorough audit of your faith community building by a trained professional Green Auditor who identifies structures and practices within the building that could be changed to realize environmentally positive change. This audit would take approximately three to four hours and members from the faith community are encouraged to come along.
The Green Audit covers topics such as air quality, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste management, daily operations and maintenance. The Green Auditor will writea report to your faith community that will include the audit findings and recommendations on how to improve the issues identified. Colour photos are also included to help faith community members understand areas of opportunity. Other reference materials help turn the recommendations into actions. A full description of the process can be found at
What you have to do
Participants will:
1. Contact us immediately to express your interest. Remember the number of audits available is limited! Contact information is given below.
2. Commit a minimum of $750 towards remedial action based on the report that is created. A simple table on the next pageillustrates the contribution based on church building size.
3. At the time of booking the audit provide last year’s data of energy consumption, gas, electricity, water, etc, with both the dollar figures and the consumption figures (m3, kWh, L, etc) .
4. After your congregation or mission unit has had time to implement recommendations, providea brief summary of what you have done, by letter, pictures, videos or any other means to help documentyour actions and achievements in greening your sacred space.
For further information contact:David Patterson at 647-274-3066
Email:
Contribution Tables
- For congregations and mission units within the City of Toronto the funding will be according to the following table:
Facility Square Footage / Audit Cost / UCC Audit Grant / Green Awakening Grant* / Congregation Commitment Towards Retrofits and Improvements
< 6,000 / $750.00 / $750.00 / $0 / $750.00
6,000 to 12,000 / $1,000.00 / $750.00 / $250 / $750.00
> 12,000 / $1,250.00 / $750.00 / $500 / $750.00
* A limited number of Green Awakening Grants are available so early application is advised. We are grateful for our partnership with Live Green Toronto for the availability of these grants.
- For congregations and mission units outside the City of Toronto:
Facility Square Footage / Audit Cost / UCC Audit Grant / Congregation Commitment Towards Audit Cost/ Retrofits
< 6,000 / $750.00 / $750.00 / $0 / $750
6,000 to 12,000 / $1,000.00 / $750.00 / $250 / $500
> 12,000 / $1,250.00 / $750.00 / $500 / $250
A Short List of Useful Resources:
A comparison of common forms of energy audit is available at:
If you are just learning about green building design and energy systems, we recommend that you and your green team/building managers browse through the FCG website at
The extensive GSS Resource Kit will prepare you to make the best use of the audit and follow up planning and green projects. Order GSS Resources from our website above, e-mail: or call: 1-866-231-1877 x103.
To joinGreening Sacred Spaces please contact the GSS Network Coordinator, Diana Brushey, at 1-866-231-1877 x 102 or e-mail .
Information about the Green Awakening NetworkAudit Grant program and other GAN activitiescan be found at by contacting the network at calling 905 771-5124.