ENERGY STAR for Congregations

An average worship facility can save up to 30 percent on energy through no-cost actions, strategic investment, and smart operations and maintenance. These savings can verify the careful stewardship of member’s donations and can be repurposed to the mission and ministries of the congregation.
This thoughtful stewardship of natural resources reduces pollution that is harmful to human life and health, protects our life-sustaining ecosystems, and conserves resources for future generations. Action on efficiency gives active life to the stewardship teachings of virtually every faith tradition and joins with EPA’s mission to protect human health. ENERGY STAR provides the tools, training, and technical support to help your congregation achieve and sustain a high level of stewardship.
To get started now, download the free Action Workbook for Congregations from this page. Next, learn why the powerful, free Portfolio Manager is the national standard tool for understanding baseline energy and water use and for tracking your savings and pollution prevention. Then, help educate your congregational leadership and urge them to join ENERGY STAR as a partner at no cost or reporting obligation.
We also recommend the following recorded webinars:
- Overview of ENERGY STAR for Congregations (34 min.)
- Interfaith Panel on Climate Change, hosted by ENERGY STAR (67 min.)
Visit the Portfolio Manager training center for more webinars, videos, slide sets, fact sheets, and a link to our highly rated Help Desk where you can always ask a question.
Search for federal income tax credits and incentives for energy efficiency.
Educate and engage your staff and “Green Team” with Bring Your Green to Work resources, and learn about the Treasure Hunt campaign guide, worship facility treasure map, worksheet and videos.
See which Congregations have earned the ENERGY STAR.
Co-brand Resources with ENERGY STAR
Religious denominations, local governments, utilities, Chambers of Commerce, associations and NGOs are invited to partner in providing efficiency resources to the community: Team Your Brand with the ENERGY STAR® Action Workbook: Co-branding Opportunities.

Resources for Congregations
Use these resources as planning guides for implementing cost-effective energy improvement projects for your house of worship.
- The ENERGY STAR Action Workbook for Congregations
- ENERGY STAR Manual de acción para las congregaciones
- EPA Resources for Small Businesses and Congregations
- Estimate health benefits of efficiency/renewables kWh savings
- Supporting Healthy Houses of Worship
- EPA Green Stormwater Solutions for Congregations (PDF, 13.9 M)
- Click here for more Tools and Resources