St. Stephen's was the first church in the United States to register its facilities with the United States Green Building Council's benchmarking system known as LEED.

On April 19, GBACPA honored St. Stephen's and its architects, McKissick Associates with three awards: the 2007 Grand Prize Honor for Overall Sustainable Design, the 2007 Design Innovation award and the 2007 Sustainable Sites award.

St. Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral renovated five buildings, two of which are designated historic structures. The oldest buildings are the 178-year-old cathedral and the 161-year-old cathedral house, according to an article in the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal. One of the largest buildings, a four-storey 78-year-old garage, was converted into classrooms for the cathedral's pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school.

The project was a compilation of building renovations, historic preservation and the adaptive reuse of an unoccupied parking structure. During the initial goal-setting design study, it was determined that the parish wanted to a have the most environmentally benign project as possible within its existing property boundaries.

The Business Journal said that St. Stephen's long-term objective for this project is to educate its parishioners, students, and the surrounding secular and faith communities about environmental stewardship. The project has been seen as a model of how renovations, including a 178-year-old church, can be done in a way that does not adversely impact the natural and cultural resources of the environment, the article said.

More information about St. Stephen's "green" building project is available here and here.