TORONTO, ON—A Catholic church is setting an example in the race for environmental sustainability, with the help of the non-profit group Faith and the Common Good.

Faith and the Common Good is a national organization dedicated to facilitating religious groups to take action on social and environmental issues. The group recently launched a new initiative called “Greening Sacred Spaces” which encourages places of worship to become more eco-friendly by reducing green house gas (GHG) emissions and promoting energy conservation.

The move couldn’t be timelier as a United Nations agency reported on November 3 that “The amount of carbon dioxide [a GHG] in the Earth’s atmosphere—the major cause of climate change—has hit a record high last year and appears set to keep rising.” Coordinator of Greening Sacred Spaces, Rory O’Brien says the program, “is an amazing success and that Scarborough Missions, the Islamic Foundation,...Newtonbrook United Church,” are some of the groups on board.

But perhaps the most shining example of what can be achieved is St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church in Toronto. They recently tore down their old building and erected a new church on the same site. Father Paul Cusack, pastor at St. Gabriel’s, enlisted the help of architect Roberto Chiotti to design an optimal, energy-efficient facility. The result is awe-inspiring.

“Our whole south wall is glass so through the summer, we’ve never had the lights on,” says Cusack.

There is also a “30-foot wall of live plants that are meant to purify the air in the gathering space.” The lush wall of foliage is maintained by a thin stream of constantly flowing water. The church also has underground parking so “the imprint on the land around us will be as little as possible,” Cusack says. Adding to this energy-efficient lighting, heating and timers, the church hopes to reduce their energy bills substantially in the next few years.

St. Gabriel’s outstanding efforts are being recognized by a certification organization—the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC), which is a Canadian adaptation of the U.S. Green Building Council. The church is on track to win a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) award which recognizes organizations that achieve exceptional environmental performance and energy efficiency.

Chiotti says that “at this point…our expectation is that we will receive Silver certification.” Although, he hopes that St. Gabriel’s will win Gold he says, it “can only be achieved if the CaGBC accepts all our credits.” St. Gabriel’s will be the first church in Canada to achieve this honour, however the level of the award will not be known until December.

Ted Reeve, director of Faith and the Common Good says, “There are approximately 1,100 faith community buildings in the GTA and if only one quarter improved the energy efficiency of their place of worship, they could reduce their GHG emissions by an estimated 26,500 tonnes.” They can also “reduce their energy bills by 20 per cent or more,” says Reeve.

Sounds like a win-win proposition: lower gas emissions, energy conservation and savings for church budgets.

For more information, contact Rory O’Brien at 416-978-5306.