Assets and Greening of Institutions

What We Have: Jewish Assets

Jewish communities around the world own and operate a large network of buildings, campuses, business and institutions out side of Israel.  Within Israel, we are responsible for the planning and management of cities, forests,  and a system of agriculture. The Jewish communities also manage and invest significant sums of money for charities and investment funds.  Together, the facilities and investment funds represent some of the Jewish Assets addressed in this plan.

Where We Are: What is Going on in The Jewish Community Now

With the support of programs like the Jewish Greening Fellowship (see above) Jewish agencies are taking the lead in modeling meaningful Jewish responses to global climate change.  20 JCCs and camps in the New York region are undergoing energy audits of their facilities, instituting green teams,  implementing energy efficiency upgrades, greening their operations and providing innovative programs for their constituents to teach what they can do to make a difference.

Vision for the Next Generation: Jewish Assets

• That every Jewish organization and institution has a Green Team responsible for recommending and implementing sustainability measures for the organization.
• Jewish facilities will operate efficiently and will do their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to conform to Copenhagen agreements and the requirements to stabilize the atmosphere at 350 parts per million CO₂.
• Investment and banking decisions will be made with environmental and social investment criteria; by the end of seven years 20% of money invested by Jewish institutions will use environmental criteria without sacrificing returns.

Jewish Assets - Goals for Generational Change: September 2015

Goals for Achieving Vision on Greening Assets:

• By 2010, all Jewish institutions should establish an in-house Green Team that will be responsible for recommending and implementing measures to make the running of the organization more environmentally sustainable.

Public environmental changes in buildings and institutions such as schools and synagogues, (e.g. to recycle or not to use disposable dishes), are of far more than symbolic value. They have a disproportionate influence in shaping the behavioral norms in the communities that are built around them.

• Jewish buildings should take steps to improve energy efficiency, buy renewable energy whenever possible, and offset the remaining footprint.

Over seven years every synagogue, Jewish community center and student facility and school develops a plan for greening itself, to include an energy audit, energy efficiency measures, transferring to a renewable energy program, zero waste catering, sustainable, local food, and planting gardens, and an integrated educational component.

• Jewish organizations should aim to reduce energy consumption next year by 10% and the following year by a further 10% by taking efficiency measures and educating staff about energy saving.
• Investment and banking decisions will be made with environmental criteria; by the end of next year 5% of money invested by Jewish institutions will use environmental criteria without sacrificing returns.

The Jewish community should run training seminars for charitable foundation boards, endowment committees, and professionals to promote environmentally responsible investment decisions.