Steps for churches who are looking to work towards Net Zero
Some of the key resources available from the Church of England to help us reduce our carbon footprint.
| Action | Details | Cost |
| Get help | Find a few people who are willing to work together | Your time |
| Pray | Consider setting up a small group for bible study and prayer on net zero. Many of the case studies have videos and discussion questions.
Net Zero Carbon and Environment Case Studies | The Church of England |
Tea and coffee |
| Join | Sign up for Eco Church and start working towards an award. You’ll probably find you are doing more already than you had realised! | Your time |
| Learn | If you are able, it can be a really useful start to carry out your own heating walk-round of your church. Following this checklist will provide some useful info to help you start making energy savings. | Your time |
| Learn | Watch some of the webinars and case studies from the National Environment Programme. They are really encouraging, inspiring and informative.
Webinars on getting to net zero carbon | The Church of England |
Your time |
| Learn | Get a professional Energy Audit – this will give you a list of actions and measures which can reduce your carbon footprint. The audit is essential for working out which measures are most effective for your own church. We’re subsidising audits with Inspired Efficiency | £225 + VAT |
| Measure and report | Dig our your previous year’s energy bills and complete the Energy Footprint Tool on Parish Returns. This really helps us to understand what the carbon footprint is of the whole church in Devon and nationally. | Your time |
| Take action | Work through the Practical Path to Net Zero for Churches. This will take you through the actual energy reduction measures.
Practical Path to Net Zero Carbon for Churches | The Church of England Review the National Routemap 2030, especially section 4.2 with the list of Milestones and considerations for churches. Try and make a plan for you church based on this guidance. |
Your time and varied costs
Your time |
| Wider community | Check out whether there are any sustainability, climate action, transition town or community energy groups already set up in your area. There might be people in the groups from the wider community who can help your church or share their expertise, and there are bound to be opportunities for outreach mission. | Your time |
| Connect | Let us know who you are and which church you’re from so we can keep in touch with you.
Sign up as an Eco-Contact for your church, parish, mission community or deanery! |
To download this information as a document, see here.
