The CofE Birmingham recommends four initial actions that you can take as a church when starting your journey towards reaching net zero carbon and caring for the environment.
- Agree a Parish Environment Policy as a PCC
All PCCs are encouraged to agree a Parish Environment Policy, to ensure that environmental concerns are taken into account in all aspects of parish life. Download a template policy, which you can tailor to your own church.
- Appoint a Parish Environment Contact
A Parish Environment Contact can be appointed for your church, to act as a point of contact for the PCC and the Deanery Environment Champion on all environmental matters, though all churches should work as a team in achieving any environment goals.
- Register with Eco Church
Eco Church is a national award scheme with resources designed to equip your church to express your care for God’s world. Many churches in CofE Birmingham have already registered and achieved Bronze, Silver or Gold Eco Church awards. If your church hasn’t already registered it should consider this, and if you are already registered you can start working towards your next Eco Church Award.
- Start to plan your church’s journey towards net zero carbon
Some churches in the CofE Birmingham are already considered net zero carbon, but for many this will be a journey that starts with smaller steps. You can download the ‘Practical Path to Net Zero Carbon for Churches’, an excellent document produced by CofE to help your church in considering what actions it can start to take to reduce carbon emissions.
Ben Smith
Net Zero Carbon Project Manager