By 2030, the buildings of the Church of England will be bright and welcoming, consuming much less energy and emitting less carbon than they do now. And that will be good for the people who use the buildings, and good for the whole of creation.

So how can we reduce the emissions of theological education institutions to less than 10 per cent of baseline levels? Our Routemap to Net Zero Carbon by 2030 breaks down the journey into milestones to be completed by a particular year, taking it step by step with some easy wins now while laying the groundwork for long-term, more expensive investments that high-carbon emitting buildings will need to make after 2025.

Milestones

By the end of 2023

• Develop a Net Zero Carbon Action Plan.

By the end of 2024

• Incorporate environmental teaching and learning within syllabuses and practices.
• Register with Eco Church and achieve at least Bronze. Where sharing a Diocesan office, your Institution should be included in the Eco Diocese award.
• If you have travel and expenses policies, update these to encourage sustainable transport.
• At the point of contract renewal, switch to 100% green electricity tariff. If you still have gas heating after having reviewed options to replace fossil fuels, switch to a green gas tariff at the point of contract renewal, based on national advice about the criteria to apply.
  
  Timing of this milestone to be kept under review, depending on stabilisation of the energy markets and/or government action.

By the end of 2025

• No new oil boilers installed after this date.

By the end of 2030

• Complete all actions in your Net Zero Carbon Action Plan.

Background

For the Church of England, being net zero carbon means that the carbon emissions of our buildings and travel will be reduced to less than 10 per cent of our baseline levels. The remaining emissions will be offset in verified schemes that reduce carbon. That means overall, our buildings and travel will not contribute to rising carbon emissions: their contribution will be ‘net zero’.

Responding to the climate crisis is an essential part of our responsibility to safeguard God’s creation and achieve a just world.

Climate change hits hardest on the poorest countries and poorest people of the world. Meanwhile, the widespread destruction of the natural world is a crisis for creation.

Tackling climate change also supports our local mission. It witnesses to our communities that we are people who care about climate justice, now and for the future. Also, many of the steps needed to reduce energy use will make our buildings warmer and more welcoming, so they are suitable to be used more often by more people, and can save us money on our running costs