CSIP was founded in 2014 as a mechanism to bring religious organizations together in Chicago to benefit from the water fee exemption available to religious not-for-profit organizations (NFPs) and to participate in energy and water efficiency. We began by forming a working group made up of representatives from the utility companies and not-for-profit organizations such as the US EPA, US Green Building Council, Faith in Place and Elevate Energy. The working group identified efficiency programs that were available to NFPs and hosted workshops for congregations which led to the formation of CSIP.

CSIP’s process is to have a no-cost assessment completed of a religious facility (or set of facilities) to determine the necessary efficiency measures, then to identify all funding options that will allow the house of worship to implement the improvements. CSIP’s partners (in Chicago, ComEd, Franklin Energy and Elevate Energy) coordinate the assessment process so there is only one visit required to assess gas, electric and water systems. The partners will also install any items that are available at no cost to the church through current utility programs (i.e., light bulbs, steam traps, etc.) on the day of the assessment if possible, potentially lowering utility bills that day.

The other way CSIP has found to complete the facility assessment at no out-of-pocket cost to the church is to include the assessment cost in a larger project such as retro-commissioning. CSIP’s trade allies provide this assessment. This type of assessment is typically necessary for capital projects and will give the congregation a clear path forward to savings and efficiency.

After the assessment is complete, CSIP continues to work with the religious organization to complete the efficiency projects with our trade allies and NFP partners. CSIP searches for any money that may be available to enhance these projects through our NFP partners such as the Environmental Defense Fund and Catholic Climate Covenant and others.

At CSIP we know that it is necessary to provide reports that detail not only the financial savings to the church but the energy, water and operational savings as well. We require that our trade allies follow up with their church clients to provide reports and address any issues that arise. CSIP partners and trade allies accomplish this for congregations by using the US EPA’s free online benchmarking tool, Portfolio Manager. In this manner we can also set a standard for congregation benchmarking that allows for greater accuracy throughout the entire religious community nation-wide.