Carbon Footprint Reports

12/06/2026

Discover the latest findings on the Church of England’s carbon footprint.
vicar stands on church roof with solar panels Clare Kendall

The Church of England’s ambitious Net Zero Carbon Programme aims to equip, resource and support all parts of the Church to reduce carbon emissions from the energy used in its buildings, schools and through work-related transport by 2030.

For the Church of England to be net zero carbon - we will need to reduce the carbon emissions from our buildings and work travel by at least 90 per cent compared to our baseline levels.

Any remaining, hard-to-tackle emissions (no more than 10 per cent) will be offset in verified schemes that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. That means overall, our buildings and travel will not contribute to rising carbon emissions - their contribution will be 'net zero.'

Achieving net zero carbon is a complex challenge. This year’s report showing our carbon footprint for 2024 builds on the rigorous methodology developed in previous years and has been delivered in-house, reflecting the capability and expertise within the Net Zero Carbon Programme. Alongside this, the quality and coverage of our data continues to improve, as more churches and building managers submit energy information each year - this is our most complete and robust carbon footprint to date.

There is an inherent time lag between projects and measurable reductions in emissions, reflecting the time it takes to plan, fund and deliver projects, and then to capture the resulting data. The 2024 report largely reflects work undertaken before the Net Zero Carbon Programme commenced its work.

We have been reporting on our carbon footprint since 2019. You can find previous reports below.

Environment
Net zero carbon