FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 13, 2009 Contact: Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications 202-265-3000 contactus@thejcpa.org Gathering of Jewish Leaders Charts Sustainability Strategy in Jewish Community - COEJL Hosts First Annual Jewish Sustainability Conference BALTIMORE –The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life is hosting a gathering this week bringing together leaders of national Jewish organizations in order to prepare detailed “going green” work plans and to take steps towards increased sustainability in Jewish institutions nationwide. The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), a program of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, hosted this two day conference to expand the contemporary understanding of such Jewish values as tikkun olam (repairing the world) and tzedek (justice) to include the protection of both people and other species from environmental degradation. Participants in this conference include Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, United Jewish Communities, the Orthodox Union, the JCC Association and other major Jewish organizations that own or operate significant real estate. Buildings consume as much as 30% of operating costs, and the majority of those costs are related to energy use. Buildings – their construction, renovations and operations – hold the keys to both the financial health of our institutions and to environmental sustainability, the groups say. “We are excited about the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life’s efforts to be on the forefront of addressing sustainability within the Jewish community,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow, president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. “There is a growing awareness among national Jewish organizations of the need to understand the rapidly expanding discipline, procedures and marketplace of sustainability and this conference is a much-needed first step.” The initiative explores the sustainability sea-change, and the unavoidable choices it is posing to organizations; provides a supportive place to explore the challenges and opportunities of “going green” among fellow-travelers who understand the business and cultural conditions of the Jewish communal world and creates a mutually-supportive community-of-practice that can drive the greening efforts of the major American Jewish organizations. “It is imperative that Jewish organizations work together as a community to be on the forefront of sustainability within our institutions,” said Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, general consultant for the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) and director of the Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network (BJEN). “We are excited to work with these organizations in their efforts and give them the resources they need to succeed in ‘going green.’” The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life is the leading Jewish environmental organization in the United States. ### JCPA, the public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community, serves as the national coordinating and advisory body for the 14 national and 125 local agencies comprising the field of Jewish community relations.