Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL)

Background

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) was founded in 2003 by Woody and Carol Bartlett as the Georgia affiliate of the national Interfaith Power and Light network. The organization has sponsored programs that provides houses of worship in the state with green energy provisions, reducing carbon emissions, opposing the development of traditional energy projects in the stare, and legislative advocacy to promote left-of-center climate policies. ^{2 1}

Activities

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) operates several programs aimed at providing climate-based services for congregations and houses of worship in the state. These include programs such as Green Teams for local environmental initiatives, Power-Wise and Solar-Wise energy audits and retrofits, Water-Wise conservation efforts, rewilding grants for native-planting and community gardens, and Zero-Waste initiatives. ¹

GIPL mobilizes congregations to engages in state-level advocacy, such as contacting state legislators to promote clean-energy policy. This includes opposing traditional energy projects such as natural gas pipelines and biomass energy development as well as supporting conservation efforts for the local Blake Plateau coral reef ecosystem. It has also partnered with Drawdown Georgia on environmental-related grants to faith communities. ¹

Funding

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) has received funded from left-of-center environmental groups and foundations including the Kendeda Fund, ³ the United States Energy Foundation, the Rural Climate Partnership, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Dogwood Alliance, Georgia River Network, Faith in Action Network, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Winward Fund. ⁴

Leadership

Codi Norred is the executive director of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL), serving in the role since 2020. His compensation from the group was $136,000 in 2024. Norred holds a master’s in divinity from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology with concentrations in justice and peacebuilding. He sits on the board of the national Interfaith Power and Light network. ^{5 6}