A Five-Star Eco-Friendly
Quaker Meeting-House Rating System Return to Previous Page
Is your Meeting House or place of worship an Eco-Friendly place which
inspires reverence for all of Creation? Try this quiz as a starting
point to address sustainability and outreach issues inherent to the
concept of designated buildings for meeting for worship. There is a
maximum of six points per best practice, but give credit for any points
that apply, total them up and see what your score reflects. Try it!
ENERGY CONSERVATION:
- We had an accredited energy use audit done on water and electricity
use, but we have not yet acted on these recommendations. __ /1
- We have instituted some energy-saving measures which are already
cost-effective, or will be within five years, and have not sacrificed
comfort for efficiency. __ /2
- We had an accredited energy use audit done and have instituted all
or nearly all of the energy-saving measures recommended, and it is
as comfortable or more
comfortable than before these efficiency measures were taken. __ /6
- We generate some of our power from renewable sources like solar
or wind, or we access renewable-source energy off the grid. __ /4
WATER CONSERVATION:
- We have aerators on the taps and they don't drip. __ /2
- Toilets are low-flow. __ /3
- Roof-top run-off is optimized for the garden and/or we're off the
'grid' __/3
RECYCLING:
- We try to blue-box everything recyclable but still we often put
out some garbage that could have been recycled. __ /1
- We provide receptacles for kitchen wastes and compost this either
for our Meeting House grounds, or take it home. __ /2
- We blue-box everything we can and provide waste containers for different
types, through-out the Meeting House and outside. __ /4
- We make an effort to minimize paper use. __ /1
- At least some of the paper products we use are partially recycled
paper products, and are not chlorine-bleached. __ /2
- All paper products we use are from 100% recycled paper or from non-tree
source, and are not chorine-bleached. __ /5
CLEANING PRODUCTS:
- We use at least some cleaning products that are non-toxic. __/2
- All of our cleaning products are non-toxic. __/3
LANDSCAPING:
- We don't use toxic weed-killers, insecticides or chemical fertilizers
on our grounds. __/2
- We encourage wildlife with birdfeeders, bird houses, and or edible
berry bushes etc. __/2
- We have a space for young Eco-Friends to call their own. __/2
- We grow only hardy native species perennials and shrubs instead
of annuals. __/3
- Our grounds are naturalized or near maintainence-free because we
have xeriscaped, planted only hardy species, etc. __/4
TRANSPORTATION:
- We have a bike rack. __/1
- We have adequate bike racks which are user-friendly re U-locks.
__/2
- We actively encourage car-pooling to Meeting, or alternate transportation.
__/3
OUTREACH / IN-REACH
- We have a Sustainability or Ecology Committee or Working Group.
__/2
- We encourage communication with other local faith groups who may
be addressing these issues as well, and have participated in some
local workshops together to promote eco-friendliness. __/2
- We have helped publicize the success of our efforts in local news
media and or have posted news about our efforts in other publications
including electronically. __/3
- We researched ownership and habitation history of the property (bonus)
__ / 5
TOTAL: __/70
SCORING:
- Five stars if you get more than fifty points= DAZZLING!
- Four stars if you get more than forty points= Very Bright
- Three stars if you get more than thirty points= Quite Shiny
- Two stars if you get more than twenty points= Twinkling
- One star if you get more than ten points= Flickering
- Actually, take a bow if you are reflecting any Light at all, and
vow to keep up the great work!
This rating system is a project of the Quaker Ecology Action Network
of the Canadian Yearly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
See http://www.quaker.ca/qean
Return to QEAN Home Page
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