Faith & the Common Good (FCG) is an interfaith organization that helps faith communities make the connection between their faith and care for the environment. Greening Sacred Spaces (GSS) is the main program that FCG uses to help faith communities make environmental changes within their place of worship and broader community. FCG has developed several essential ‘tools’ for its GSS Resource Kit to assist faith communities in their greening process, and one of the newest tools is the Green Audit. This service has been designed to help faith communities see the greening opportunities in and around their sacred spaces and guide them on how to make changes towards greater energy efficiency, health and sustainability.

The Green Audit

The Green Audit is a fee for service offered through Faith & the Common Good’s GSS program. The Green Audit involves a walk-through audit of your faith community building by a trained professional green auditor who identifies areas that could be greened within the building. This audit would take approximately three to four hours and a member or two from the faith community are encouraged to come along. The cost of the audit for buildings under 600m²/6,500ft² is $500. For larger or multiple buildings additional charges apply.

The audit will cover topics such as air quality, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste management, daily operations and maintenance.  After the audit is completed, the auditor will create a report specifically tailored to your faith community that will include findings during the audit, with recommendations on how to improve the issues outlined. Colour photos are also included in the report to help faith community members understand the areas of opportunity. Along with the report will come other reference materials that committee members and staff can use to help turn the recommendations into actions.

It is important to note that Faith & the Common Good also has audit partners for comprehensive Energy Audits that focus more specifically on detailed energy measures for each religious building.  The Green Audit is meant to be a broader more holistic overview of the wide range of greening topics to help faith communities prioritize a range of actions.

The Green Audit Process

An auditor will arrive at your faith community at a scheduled time. Faith community members and staff are encouraged to participate and gain hands-on insight into the process and the opportunities. Where feasible a blower door unit will be used to depressurize the building to help identify air leaks. The auditor will walk around the building, room by room and look at where energy efficiency could be improved, where potential air quality concerns are, where water resources could be saved, where waste could be diverted, and where operations of the building could be improved to save money and efforts. If grant money is available the auditor will help explain these opportunities. Where other similar faith communities have had successes and challenges, the auditor can also make recommendations. The auditor’s main purpose is to show you and your faith community members your building in a new light, from a more holistic perspective. Insights gained will help you with both short-term and long-term greening projects. The report will also assist with budgetary planning so that the report you receive facilitates the decision-making process with a valuable, easily understandable tool for all to use according to their various interests, roles and responsibilities in your sacred space.

The First Steps

If you are just learning about green building design and energy systems, we recommend that you and your green team/building managers browse through our FCG website at www.faith-commongood.net.  Our 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: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call: 1-800-231-1877 x101.

If would like more information on the Green Audit, please contact Stephen Collette at 705-652-5159 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .