The Research and Statistics team at Church House, London, has been working on creating a tool that will inform churches of their carbon footprint based on their energy usage.
This tool will be made available to all Church of England churches using the Online Parish Returns System and will allow each church to see the amount of carbon produced by their church annually.
It comes as discussion about what the Church can do to reduce its carbon footprint increases.
A recent vote at the February General Synod saw a committment for the whole Church to reach ‘Net Zero’ carbon emissions by 2030; this is a change from an original date of 2045.
The Diocese of Rochester was one of a number of dioceses invited to take part in a pilot stage, which ran through January through the Online Parish Returns System.
Following any adjustments that need to be made following the pilot, the full tool is planned to be available by the end of March.
A powerpoint explaining how to use the tool can be found here
There will then be two efficiency scores, including one for energy efficiency based on building size and one for attendance.
There will also be some helpful tips to reduce carbon emissions.
In the future there will be the opportunity to see how churches progress over time as well as the ability to compare with other churches within their diocese and other similar-sized churches nationally.
If you would like to know more, please get in touch with Dr. Sam Nunnery, Research and Statistics via: sam.nunney@churchofengland.org To find out more about you can be supported in your environmental journey at: https://www.rochester.anglican.org/diocese/environment/