Sustainability Manual

Cover page

” This manual is a toolkit, a collection of many tools that will be used in many ways by different congregations. A number of possible goals are laid out through the course of this text, none of which will be fully actualized in a short period of time. Indeed, an assumption of this manual is that the Green Team needs three years of consistent work to making an enduring impact within the congregation. “


The Green Team Manual is specifically written for Houses of Worship that are located in New York State. In consultation with environmental engineers, community organizers, and both lay and clergy leaders, the manual offers a “best practices” approach to building and maintaining an environmental focus as a congregation.

The five assessment tools, or audits if you will, help the Green Team set priorities specific to their congregation. In an era of climate change, all five areas are essential to the process of addressing the global pollution pandemic. This manual is a religious exercise, a project of putting faith/belief into action.


The manual is downloaded as a PDF file.


NYIPL offers this manual on an honor system. You may preview the secure document for free. We ask our member congregations to make a donation, which helps to cover the cost of building, maintaining, and updating the manual. Once a donation has been made, a password will be sent to you to unlock the document for printing.


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