Hazon Seal of Sustainability
The Hazon Seal of Sustainability is a 12-month program designed to support organizations and communities working to create a healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable world for all. We do this by linking Jewish values to substantive action toward sustainability and climate-centered goals.
Through the Seal, participating organizations have access to comprehensive sustainability assessments, carefully curated guides to a variety of greening projects, one-on-one support, and an online community of like-minded peers.
Receiving the Hazon Seal of Sustainability means that your organization or community has committed to and taken substantial action on 2-3 projects focused on greening initiatives or sustainability projects over the last 12 months.
Hazon is the largest faith-based environmental organization in the U.S. and is building a movement that strengthens Jewish life and contributes to a more environmentally sustainable world for all. As the Jewish lab for sustainability, Hazon effects change through immersive experiences and inspires individuals and communities to make specific commitments to change with a particular focus on food systems. Learn more at hazon.org.
Creating healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable Jewish communities through education, action, and advocacy.
Program Details
We invite your organization to journey forward with help from the Hazon Seal staff on a 12-month sustainability arch outlined here. Please note: you are welcome to join at any point during the calendar year; your 12 months start when you sign on. To that end, we recommend you create an organizational green team prior to signing on to the Hazon Seal. While it is not a requirement to have this in place before you begin, a green team is extremely useful in creating organizational change and you will need this group before making progress on your projects.
Program Structure and Timeline:
- Optional – speak to a Hazon Seal staff person to learn more about the program
- Form a green team at your organization
- Apply to the Hazon Seal of Sustainability, sign the Letter of Agreement, and pay your participation fees
- Get onboarded to the program by a Hazon Seal staff member in a welcome call
- Establish your annual goals and let us know what they are
- Optional – Schedule your free advisory calls for programming or facilities support throughout the year
- Optional – Attend online monthly learning sessions with the Hazon Seal community
- Report your progress at the end of the year and receive your Hazon Seal of Sustainability Certificate
Along the way, we have hundreds of resources to help you reach your goals. From curricula to project ideas, from advisory calls to site visits, and everything in between, we have the tools to help you succeed. Check out our Resources page for more information.
For more information and a complete breakdown of our program fee structure, see our FAQs below.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Access to four comprehensive sustainability assessments
- A wealth of resources and toolkits to help meet your goals
- Advisory calls with Hazon greening staff to discuss program and facility projects
- A cohort of peers to learn with and from
- Cohort training events, including webinars on greening topics
- Hazon Seal of Sustainability social networking site
- Publicity from Hazon, including being featured on Hazon’s social media
- Eligibility for Hazon Seal certification (including a physical certificate and digital logos)
- Occasional scholarships or mini-grants as they become available for conferences or projects.
Joining the Hazon Seal is a commitment to your community that you a) recognize and accept the current climate / environmental crisis and its implications to Jewish communities and b) are willing to do something about it. In order to be an active participant in the Hazon Seal of Sustainability we ask that you:
1) If you Haven’t Already, Start your Green Team. A Green Team is a group of individuals interested in leading your community in implementing sustainability projects.
2) Schedule your Welcome Call with a Hazon Staff Member. During the call we’ll go over how to login and use the Hazon Seal portal, what to think about when planning your projects, and what to expect throughout your year. Bring your questions! We’ll have answers.
3) Take the Assessments. The assessments help you understand where your organization is currently in regards to environmental activities and impact. You’ll look comprehensively at your energy use, waste generation and disposal, education opportunities, and food choices to see where you can improve. Each assessment will offer suggestions for how you might improve your performance.
4) Plan your Projects. After taking the assessments, work with your Green Team to determine what 1-3 sustainability projects you want to tackle this year. To receive the Hazon Seal certification at the end of your year you’ll need to have made substantial progress toward your 1-3 sustainability projects.
5) Publicize your Participation. Be proud of the journey you are on! You are Guardians of the Earth (Shomrei Adamah). Download the Hazon Seal logo here and put it on all of your program or greening materials. Share your news on social media, put updates in your organizational newsletter, encourage your rabbis and leaders to speak about your progress, and get your friends to hop on board.
6) Join a Hazon Seal Webinar, Cohort Meeting, or Social Networking Group. Get involved with your Hazon Seal community. Each month, webinars will be offered with tips, tricks, and support for your Jewish sustainability journey. Throughout the year you’ll have regular cohort meetings to connect with other Green Teams doing similar work and on the Hazon Seal website you’ll have access to a private social networking platform just for members of the Hazon Seal.
7) Schedule a Consultation Call. Along the way, you may run into questions or stumble over roadblocks. That’s okay! Hazon Seal staff are here to help you by offering two complimentary one-hour consultation calls to be used as you see fit. If two calls isn’t enough, and you are not in the Colorado or Detroit regions, we are more than happy to schedule more time with you for a small fee of $50 per call.
8) Report, Celebrate, Repeat. At the end of your 12 months, you’ll share with us what you’ve done and we’ll send out your certificate. Once you’ve finished your projects be sure to celebrate – you’ve earned it! Then, we warmly invite you to sign up for next year!
In setting our participation costs we are conscious of two things 1) how much it costs Hazon to run this program and 2) how badly this work is needed in the world. To that end, we offer a recommended pricing structure on a sliding scale with a few caveats. If this does not work for your organization please let us know – no one will be turned away due to an inability to pay. Please note – due to generous local funders, program fees do not apply to Colorado or Detroit regional sites.
Annual participation fees are recommended as follows:**
Operating budgets of $500,000 or less – $180
Operating budgets of $500,000 – $1 million – $500
Operating budgets of $1 million – $2.5 million – $1500
Operating budgets of $2.5 million+ – $3600
**Jewish Youth Climate Movement Kvutzah who are interested in participating should contact liana.Rothman@hazon.org for payment related questions.
**Sites in Colorado should contact eliana@ekarfarm.org; Sites in Detroit should contact hannah.fine@hazon.org
Everyone! Any Jewish institution, community, or group of dedicated volunteers is welcome to join!
From our earliest days as a people, Jewish tradition has commanded a reverence for and a call to protect the natural world. From mikvah to Tu B’shvat, from prayers for rain in the sh’ema, to building and covering our sukkah, Jewish tradition is inextricably connected to the natural world. But what happens when that world is in danger?
Through participation in the Hazon Seal of Sustainability, we invite individuals and communities to explore how essential Jewish teachings can inform our pursuit of a healthy and just world in balance with nature. Jewish traditions and rituals, many of which have roots in the ancient agricultural practices, provide meaningful opportunities to educate both youth and adults about our connection to the earth and the impact we have on it. It is on us to use these teachings and lean on these resources to build a better world – for neither are we obligated to complete our task, nor are we free to desist (Pirket Avot).
Learn more about what drives us here.