STEP 1: SETTING CLIMATE GOALS
You have to know where you’re going in order to make a sustainable impact. Picking a a bold goal will guide your community. See a list of synagogues around the world that are setting goals.
ACTIONS
Watch this slideshow, a few minutes long, which provides inspiration and a challenge to set carbon reduction goals. And then register for a JCAN “Setting Climate Goals” Webinar or find it in the list of JCAN-MA events.
STEP 2: BENCHMARKING
Benchmarking energy consumption is nothing more than figuring out the current use of energy: oil, natural gas, propane, and electricity. It entails filling in a spreadsheet. Taking this step will be the start of devising a serious plan for multi-year modifications to produce deep reductions. See a list of synagogues around the world that are bentshmarking their energy use.
ACTION
Sign up for JCAN’s next 1 hour training webinar “How to Bentshmark”. Or watch this JCAN-MA webinar on How to Bentshmark.
STEP 3: BECOME A SOLAR SYNAGOGUE
Solar is mature, proven, and profitable. Green teams can take years to figure that out. Or sometimes they take months. Almost all of these synagogues (see below) ended up going ahead with a no-cost, no-hassle PPA.
ACTION
Watch this amazing one-hour video of JCAN’s “Solar for Synagogues” program from May of 2018. Lay leaders representing three local synagogues explain how they made the move to solar. Over 20 synagogues sent representatives to this event. Six months later, six of them had gone solar! You can too.
| Year | Solar Synagogues |
| 2011 | Temple Emanuel, Greensboro, NC |
| 2012 | Tikvat Israel, Rockville, MD |
| 2012 | Cape Cod Synagogue, Hyannis, MA |
| 2012 | Adat Shalom, Bethesda, MD |
| 2012 | Temple Sinai, Glendale, CA |
| 2013 | Congr. Beth Shalom, Bloomington, IN |
| 2013 | Temple Beth Shalom, Vero Beach, FL |
| 2013 | Temple Beth El, Stamford, CT |
| 2013 | Jewish Temple and Center, Pasadena, CA |
| 2014 | Temple Beth El, Aptos, CA |
| 2014 | Temple Isaiah, Lexington, MA |
| 2014 | Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington, VT |
| 2014 | Kehillah Synagogue, Piedmont, CA |
| 2016 | Temple Sinai, Washington, DC |
| 2016 | Kehillah Synagogue, Chapel Hill, NC |
| 2017 | Eitz Chayim, Cambridge, MA |
| 2017 | Temple Aliyah, Needham, MA |
| 2017 | Temple Beth Elohim, Wellesley, MA |
| 2017 | Am HaYam, East Brewster, MA |
| 2017 | Congr. Har Hashem, Boulder, CO |
| 2018-9 | Temple Reyim, Newton, MA |
| 2018-9 | Tifereth Israel Congr.New Bedford, MA |
| 2018-9 | Temple Beth Zion, Brookline, MA |
| 2018-9 | Temple Beth David, Canton, MA |
| 2019 | Temple Beth Shalom, Needham, MA |
| 2019 | Temple Israel Natick, MA |
| 2019 | Temple Beth Elohim, Acton, MA |
| 2019 | Temple Israel Boston, MA |
| 2019 | Temple Shaarei Tefilah Newton, MA |
| 2019 | Temple Beth El Madison, WI |
| 2024 | Temple Shir Tikvah, MA |
STEP 4: RUN A DECARBONIZERS PROGRAM
This powerful, peer-to-peer program showcases your temple members who are making reasonable but radical reductions in residential carbon consumption. The program inspires and educates fellow congregants by letting them hear from friends and neighbors who are taking effective measures now to reduce fossil fuel use. Examples of such measures include: photovoltaics, electric cars, solar hot waters, and heat pumps. People are delighted to learn of steps being taken now and how we all can make a difference in climate change. It’s surprisingly simple to organize! JCAN will work with you to identify your own leading decarbonizers and customize the program to suit your synagogue.
“…a unique opportunity to hear first hand how local efforts to decarbonize lifestyles have been obtained. Hearing from car owners and home owners with detailed records of savings, both monetarily and carbon footprint, was impressive. A lot of credit goes to the members of congregation to look forward to a future they want to leave for their children and grandchildren.”
“I had an epiphany at the event…The man who presented on his solar array at the event was wonderful.”
Watch this JCAN-MA webinar Run A Decarbonizers Program to see how to do this great program.
STEP 5: WRITE AN ACTION PLAN
All long-term activities need a plan for how to implement a strategy. Synagogues need a roadmap with specific goals, actions, and timelines for achieving their targets related to reducing their carbon footprint. Tools are needed in order to quantify progress. By using your goals and your benchmarking, you can make a plan for the steps to take to reach your goals.
ACTIONS
Watch this JCAN-MA webinar on Climate Action Planning for Your House of Worship or Small Nonprofit
STEP 6: REVIEW JCAN CONGREGATIONAL CLIMATE ACTION POLICY
Congregations need to:
- Stand for climate justice which is consistent with our traditions
- Establish goals and an action plan for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the congregation’s building and operations
- Educate and assist congregants to reduce the carbon footprint of our households in a manner that honors individual circumstances; and
- Advocate for policies that advance the goals of this resolution, in our communities, and at the state, national, and global levels
CONGREGATIONAL ACTIONS
- Advocacy
- Establish a Climate Green Team
- Temple Building, Grounds, and Operations
- Education
- Religious
- Finance/Treasury
- Activities to Assist Congregants with Individual / Household Actions