Get Certified!

Certified Cool Congregations wall plaques for four levels of accomplishment!

If your congregation has taken steps to reduce your energy use and carbon emissions, apply to be a Certified Cool Congregation today!

With this certification you will demonstrate your leadership in your community by showing that it is possible to reduce emissions, care for our common home, and often save money in the process.

How to Apply

If you already have the information on your energy savings, apply today.

APPLY

If you do not have the information use the Cool Congregations calculator for congregational facilities to take a “before” snapshot of your congregation’s carbon footprint, then make the changes to reduce your footprint, and come back to the calculator again to take an “after” snapshot. If you have reduced by 10% or more, you qualify for certification. Contact programs at interfaithpowerandlight.org to claim your certification.

You will receive a certificate suitable for framing and you can purchase a classy eco-friendly wooden plaque to show your leadership and inspire your congregants to make changes at home. You can apply for 10, 20, 30, or 40% reduction certification. Due to many congregations achieving higher levels of reduction, in 2020 IPL added new categories of 60, 80 and 100% reductions that a congregation can apply for. The average certified congregation has reduced 42%!

The Certified Cool Congregations listed here are jointly preventing over 1,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere every year. This is the equivalent of not burning one million pounds of coal every year. Read their inspiring stories and apply for certification!

Use the start up kit for congregations: “5 Steps to Becoming a Cool Congregation” to guide you through the process.

Download the Guide

40% and above CO2 Reduction – Gold Medallion

Church of the Brethren Modesto

Modesto, CA Gold Certified Cool Congregation, 40% carbon reduction As part of their Earth Stewardship mission, Church of the Brethren in ...
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Flagstaff Federated Community Church

Flagstaff, AZ Gold Certified Cool Congregation, 50% carbon reduction Solar power has slashed the cost of electricity at Federated Community ...
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St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church

Dover, MA Gold Certified Cool Congregation, 50% carbon reduction St. Dunstan’s in Dover, Massachusetts can be very chilly in the winter ...
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Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington

Bloomington, IN Gold Certified Cool Congregation, 50% carbon reduction The question driving this congregation was, “How can we best have ...
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Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Tucson, AZ Gold Certified Cool Congregation, 80% carbon reduction A progressive and diverse urban parish, Grace Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church ...
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Temple Beth El in Stamford

Stamford, CT Gold Certified Cool Congregation, 80% carbon reduction Temple Beth El in Stamford, Connecticut now has one of the largest ...
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Crosslake Presbyterian

Crosslake, MN Gold Certified Cool Congregation, 110% carbon reduction equivalent Crosslake is a rural town some refer to as “God’s ...
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St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Framingham, MA Gold Certified Cool Congregation, 110% carbon reduction The 168 solar panels that grace the lovely St. Andrew’s Episcopal ...
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30% CO2 Reduction – Blue Medallion

St. Thomas ELCA Lutheran Church

Central Union Church

Emmanuel United Methodist Church

First Unitarian Church of Cleveland

Salvisa Christian Church

Westminster Presbyterian Church

20% CO2 Reduction – Red Medallion

Bethany Lutheran Church

Genesis of Ann Arbor

Brackett Memorial United Methodist Church

Durham Community Church

Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church

St. John Neumann Catholic Community

10% CO2 Reduction – Green Medallion

First Unitarian Church

Louisville, KY Certified Cool Congregation, 10% carbon reduction For the past ten years the First Unitarian Church of Louisville has ...
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Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

Prairie Village, KS Certified Cool Congregation, 10% carbon reduction Lutheran Church of the Resurrection is a vibrant and busy church ...
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