1 of 26

Working as a congregation to address climate change��November 2025�

Jim Bigelow

Climate Action Team Chair

Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Boise, Idaho

2 of 26

The wide universe is the ocean we travel�� and the Earth is our Blue Boat Home�

3 of 26

Working since 2019

4 of 26

Carbon Neutral by 2050

Declare that BUUF would be �Carbon Neutral by 2050
In the long-term become

Energy independent
A community resource �during extreme heat �and smoke events

5 of 26

Green Sanctuary 2030

With this new effort on becoming Carbon Neutral, we looked to Green Sanctuary 2030 for suggestions and advice. The Four Essential Climate Actions provide a larger perspective than simply reducing carbon emissions.

Community Adaptation and Resilience to our worsening climate is and will be critical as summers get hotter and wildfires more prevalent. Especially since subcritical heat, that is heat effects on the body before heat stroke, is silent and deadly killers.

Climate Justice is crucial to an equitable and just world. People cannot be simply abandoned to live in rundown cars, RVs, tents and substandard housing. Neither can they be exploited to work in life shortening extreme weather.

Congregational transformation is necessary as we find new ways to live in a sustainable and carbon neutral world.

�But our declaration of Carbon Neutral by 2050 reminds us that our emissions today will have long ranging effects on our children, their children and all those coming after us.

Reducing today’s emissions, while not the sum of our work, is a critical part of our actions here and in the future.

�

6 of 26

Balancing Emissions & Absorption

Increase our energy efficiency to decrease indirect carbon emissions
Decrease our direct carbon emissions
Increase our carbon capture.

7 of 26

2023 Action Plan

Green Sanctuary 2030 Steps:

Stage 1 - Team Building
Stage 2 - Engage the congregation
Stage 3 - Develop and action plan

Stage 1

Climate Team consensus on new focus
Draw on existing experts

Building design and properties
landscaping

8 of 26

Engaging the Congregation and Presenting an Action Plan: Imagining a Carbon Neutral World

2023 Special Appeal:�Imagining a Carbon Neutral World

Define the problem – Heat/GHG
How to address the problem – Mitigation
Allies
Action Plan

Do a baseline carbon footprint assessment
Create a plan to reach or exceed a 45% reduction of the carbon footprint
Switch to 100% clean energy
Increase energy efficiency
Decrease emissions
Educate and Cooperate

Each year we hold a special appeal for a project. We decided to use the 2023 Special Appeal to introduce the Carbon Neutral Project to the congregation with the special appeal video Imagining a Carbon Neutral World.

Using the voices of our children we made the case for working to be carbon neutral by 2050 and to ask for funds for the following action plan:

Create a plan to reach or exceed a 45% reduction of the carbon footprint of our building and grounds by 2030
Switch to 100% clean electricity from Idaho Power
Increase our energy efficiency by replacing inefficient window and doors
Upgrade our ailing HVAC system
Replace our GHG emitting equipment with electric equivalents
Support climate education for the congregation, partners and the community

Our appeal was very successful and raised about $15,000.

9 of 26

3 Carbon Footprints of a Carbon Neutral Congregation

Buildings and Grounds
Travel to the Building
Members & Friends Households

10 of 26

Cool Congregations’ Congregational Calculator Data - Defaults

Facility

Electricity
Natural Gas
Other
Water & Wastewater
Solid Waste & Recycling

Transportation

Visits
Average Travel Distance

Food - 0
Procurement

Office Supplies
Maintenance

Reductions - Recycling

We wanted to measure our carbon emissions to establish a baseline to work from .

Interfaith Power and Light provided tools and information about reducing emissions through their Cool Congregations program. We were able to use their carbon footprint calculator to translate information about our building, grounds and congregation into a carbon footprints. The Example carbon footprint shown here shows how an overall carbon footprint number is subdivided into categories and emission sources:

The major categories are

Facilities
Transportation
Food
Procurement
Reductions

Each category is further broken down into emission sources, such as natural gas and electricity in the facilities castigatory

These tools were very useful. However today, Interfaith Power and Light is no longer available. So, We will need to find an alternative or a way to restore these calculators to continue using this approach.

��

11 of 26

2019 BUUF Carbon Footprint

56%

7%

Trees: -21%

Electric

32.26 MT/yr of CO2e

Goal: 7 MT/yr of CO2e

Here is the carbon footprint of BUUF’s Building and Grounds

We have 4 3/4 acres with a large grove of trees. Our trees and landscaping offset 21% of the footprint by the carbon that they capture each year,

�Our building was constructed in two stages, a main building in the late 1990’s and the two wings in the early 2000’s.

We heated our building with eight natural gas furnaces and cooled with eight AC units all either in need of repairs or replacement.

The 2019 baseline footprint is 32.26 metric tons of C02e

56% of that from our HVAC system

and addition 7% comes from Idaho Power’s dirty electricity sources.

Removing these emissions would reduce the footprint to 7 metric tons of C02e meeting our 2030 emission reduction goal

Let’s talk a bit about carbon offsets from landscaping before we move on to footprint reduction

12 of 26

Landscaping Carbon Footprint: Grasses

One acre of vegetation sequesters:

Lawn grass: 1.6 mt/yr
Switchgrass: 4.5 mt/yr��

��

Lawn carbon balance

Carbon Emissions: Fertilizing, Irrigating, Mowing
Carbon Capture: 1.6 mt/yr/acre

13 of 26

Landscaping Carbon Footprint: Trees

Trees capture carbon in trunks, branches, leaves, and roots.
Trees with large trunks and dense wood tend to be the best absorbers, large leaves and wide crowns help too
Prefer fast growing, native species, low-maintenance
How to Calculate Carbon Capture:

Trunk circumference, height and specie
Google spreadsheet Tree Carbon Capture Calculator used the calculations described this paper
How to calculate the amount of CO₂ sequestered in a tree per year

14 of 26

Reducing our Building’s Carbon Footprint

Goals

Replace aging HVAC system
Reduce carbon footprint and eliminate use of fossil fuels.
Increase energy efficiency.
Increase individual space comfort and control.

Study Results:

Option #1, Gas furnaces with heat pumps
Option #2, Electric furnaces with heat pumps
Option #3, Variable Refrigerant Flow �

Additional:

Electric multi-zone ductless heat pump for Offices & Nursery with
Outside air upgrade per code

The question in 2023 was How to go about reducing our footprint for our building

1 – switch to 100% clean energy

2 – find out how to replace our HVAC system

We commissioned an engineering firm to study our building and offer solutions that would

Reduce our carbon footprint and eliminate the use of fossil fuels.
Increase our energy efficiency.
Increase individual space comfort and control.
Heat our spaces during the winter when heat pumps aren’t as efficient

�The Study gave us 3 options

Option #1, Gas furnaces with heat pumps

Option #2, Electric furnaces with heat pumps

Option #3, Variable Refrigerant Flow

The study also recommended an electric multi-zone ductless heat pump for the Offices & Nursery

and necessary upgrade to meet code�We choose Option #2, along with the ductless HP and the air handling upgrades

�

15 of 26

Funding our Carbon Neutral HVAC System

$1,100,000 Capital Campaign
Boiseuu.org/giving/capital-campaign-2024

Serene Sanctuary

Carbon Neutral HVAC

16 of 26

BUUF’s Carbon Neutral HVAC System

2019 - 32 MT/yr of CO2e

23,280 kWh at 74% clean energy
434,500 cu ft of Natural Gas. = 130,350 kWh
153,630 Total kWh of energy

2025 - 7 MT/yr of C02e

82,426 kWh at 100% clean energy
36% reduction in energy use in the first 10 months of service”

17 of 26

Completing our 2023 Action Plan

Improving our Energy Efficiency
Longer term – replacing GHG emitting appliances, equipment

18 of 26

Working for 100% Clean Energy

Idaho Power offers a program to supply 100% clean energy

Electricity from renewable sources: hydro, wind, and solar

BUUF is working with a coalition of 11 Idaho groups to support fair rates from Idaho Power for private rooftop solar panels.
Widely distributed clean energy is a critical part of building local community resilience needed for our changing climate and provides an alternative to large scale solar farms in farmland.

BUUF was able to remove 7% of our building’s carbon footprint by signing up for 100% clean energy from Idaho Power at the cost of 1 cent per Kh.

Having switched to an all electric, carbon neutral HVAC system, our electric bill has increased even though our system handles energy more efficiently.

We will likely install solar panels, some time in the future to help with out electricity demands. Until then we are working with a coalition of Idaho groups to support fair rates from Idaho Power for private solar.

A robust, redundant and distribute network of solar installation is critical to increasing community resilience and adaptation. For example, The New York Times reports that people in Jamaica with solar panels had electricity almost immediately in the aftermath of the Hurricane Mellissa, while those without are still waiting for service to be restored.

19 of 26

Transportation Footprint

Mitigations

Remote Attendance
Carpooling to increase the number of people per vehicle
Member’s EV purchases

20 of 26

The collective emissions of our congregation’s households�

The Challenge: How can we work together as a congregation to understand and reduce our personal carbon footprint?
Why a Personal Carbon Neutral?

individual action can be empowering. And many individuals making lower-carbon choices can add up.

How does my household emit CO2e?

From the things we own: Our cars, homes, furnaces, and mowers
From the energy we buy: Electricity, natural gas, gasoline
From the production of goods and services: food, clothing, household goods

The 3^rd part of a congregation’s carbon footprint is the collective emission of our congregation’s households.

10-20% of total U.S. CO2e is from household CO2e footprints.

Digging deeper into carbon emissions:

There are 3 types of emissions; known as scopes

Scope 1 are emissions from things we own and can control. The other 2 are more difficult to quantify and control.

This next few are from a household carbon footprint class that we have available for a deep dive into your household carbon footprint. I’ve included them to give a brief intro to the topic.

The key point of these slides is that the household carbon footprint is a complex mix of Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions and that people have find the changes and reductions that work for them, their situation and their budget

21 of 26

Components of the Household Carbon Footprint

Travel: Car fuel, Car MFG, Public Transit, Air travel

Home: Electricity, Natural Gas, Water, Construction

Food: Meat, Dairy, Fruits & Vegetables, Cereals, Other

Goods: Clothing, Furniture, Other

Services: All

22 of 26

Reference Household Carbon Footprint:

Ada County Average

People/Household: 2.5
Income/household: $60K
2 cars, 26 mpg
No public transportation
Living space: 2,179
Gas heat�
47 tons of CO₂e/year

Allows comparison to an average household

23 of 26

Scope 1 vs. Scope 2&3 Household Emissions

24 of 26

Possible Household Action Plan, 2030

Zero Top Four Scope 1 emissions

25 of 26

Food and Your Footprint

University Michigan, Center for Sustainable Systems, Carbon Footprint Fact Sheet

26 of 26

Wrap up for questions/comments

A carbon neutral congregation is more effective & visible that any one individual effort
Process to Carbon Neutral

Reduce carbon emissions
Increase energy efficiency
Increase carbon emission offsets

Beware Carbon Tunnel Vision
Support community solar