What is the Diocese of Guildford doing?
Over the next six years, we will:
- Build on the existing information, resources and training
- Decarbonise schools, Diocesan-owned clergy housing, offices and glebe land
- Support churches to decarbonise their buildings
- Write new policies and schemes to reduce the carbon footprint of work-related travel
- Use carbon offsetting where we cannot reduce carbon emissions further.
Read more about our Diocesan Net Zero Carbon strategy.
Read our 2023 Net Zero Carbon report.
Our Church of England schools account for around half of our total overall diocesan carbon emissions and so are a major focus of our NZC work.
• With funds from the UK Governments Public Sector Decarbonization Scheme (PSDS) we are undertaking major decarbonization projects in eleven of our schools
• Exploring additional funding to deliver further work to reduce the carbon footprint of VA schools
• Exploring funding options for all Multi-Academy Trusts including The Good Shepherd Trust.
• Building our data (through quinquennial inspections, EPC and other tools) to inform our ongoing maintenance work so it reduces energy bills and carbon emissions whenever practically possible.
• With funding from the National Church and/or other sources, implementing ‘demonstrator projects’, gathering and applying learning from these in coming years.
• Building an understanding of our buildings and their carbon emissions so that the steps we take to reduce emissions are based on good data and are the most cost-effective.
• Building momentum in our NZC journey by starting to take small low-cost steps to reduce emissions.
• Taking advantage of resources provided by the National Church and other donors to create ‘parish demonstrator projects’, gathering and applying learning from these in coming years.
• Developing our understanding of funding opportunities and how to support parishes to access them.
Tearfund has developed a series of nine short videos featuring Katharine Hayhoe, the internationally renowned Christian climate scientist. In each episode, she responds to climate questions from key church leaders and members.
Find out what you can do to help your parish on their net zero journey
Learn more about NZC from the team at the Church of England
Read the latest NZC news from around the Diocese of Guildford