environment

Jewish tradition teaches our responsibility to protect the environment and preserve it for future generations. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Silicon Valley looks for opportunities to have an impact on the local environment and in national environmental issues. 

Local activities include participation and organization of two creek cleanups each year, advocating for restrictions on the use of plastic bags, and encouraging synagogue and Jewish agency greening through energy audits. Nationally, we partner with the Jewish Council of Public Affairs and its subsidiary, the Council on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJEL), to take positions on National and Statewide environmental issues. We welcome community input and involvement.

We have recently joined the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign. Here is what we are committed to working on.

Elevate the Jewish environmental and energy imperative by:
o Reaching out especially to Jews in leadership positions in the public, communal and private sectors to ensure that Jewish-owned real estate, be it communal or individual, goes green;
o Encouraging Jewish philanthropists to support Jewish environmental organizations and initiatives and to support clean technology innovation; and,
o Advocating legislation and policies that promote energy security, alternative technology, alternative and renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainability; and,
o Advocating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on carbon intensive energy sources while seeking to build a sustainable and resilient response to climate change, especially in developing nations that are most vulnerable.

Engage in Jewish stewardship by creating a sustainability plan for our agencies and institutions that includes the following goals for implementation:
o Set as a goal to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by 14% by September of 2014. Including recent efforts and using our energy costs as an initial measure, creating a comprehensive baseline with which to measure our full carbon footprint, and working within this community-wide effort.
o Conduct a comprehensive energy audit;
o Identify a sustainability officer, team, or otherwise appropriate green contact person – with an integrated, system-wide approach in mind;
o Connect and share resources with our Jewish, interfaith, and civic partners in such efforts, both locally and nationally; and,
o Identify and commit to specific energy/carbon reduction targets, and to specific reporting structures to evaluate and publicize progress.

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