The Green Journey is a package of energy saving services for churches provided by Green Energy Consulting. The Diocese of Leeds have worked in partnership with Green Energy Consulting since 2015. A number of other diocese and denominations across the country also use the Green Journey.
Two hundred and fourty five churches in the diocese use the service, with 161 purchasing renewable electricity and carbon neutral gas with the Green Journey and further 79 purchasing renewable electricity and 5 just gas. Churches using the Green Journey reduced their collective carbon emission by 2,540.2 tonnes CO2e in 2019, nearly 19% of the total diocesan emissions. Switching to renewable energy generation is one of the quickest ways to help towards the net zero carbon 2030 target and one of the Essential Energy Actions in the Savign Creation Six Steps to Carbon Net Zero Church Toolkit.
The Green Journey includes:
- A supplier switching service, to carbon neutral gas and 100% renewable electricity tariff
- A VAT and CCL checking service and reclaim service when a church has been overpaying
- A complementary energy survey for all participating churches who wish to receive this service
- Account management services, dealing with the supply company for you
- Water supply switching service
- Installation of smart metres where appropriate
Green Journey Flyer
FAQs
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Green Journey - Fact Finder Webinar
Deciding which energy supplier to go with can be a challenge for any PCC and Church Treasurer. The energy crisis of recent years has made this harder. Of course you want to keep costs down and do the right thing for the planet too. At this, webinar held in 10th April 2024, Kevin Lumley, Green Journey Managing Director, and Craig Hogg, Ecclesiastical Accounts Manager, explain what the scheme offers, take us through the current state of the energy market and answer questions. View the webinar slides: Our Energy Bills and the Net Zero Carbon Journey Jemima Parker and An Introduction to the Green Journey Kevin Lumley and Craig Hogg.
10 Top Tips for Purchasing Church Energy
Energy bills are often the largest ticket item in the church budget, aside from Parish Share. So good stewardship here is very important both for church finances and environmental impact, particularly in the current volatile energy market.
Read our 10 Top Tips for your church to help you get it right.
Spring 2024 Re-contracting Update
Why are Churches using the Green Journey re-contracting now? Craig Hogg, Ecclesiastical Accounts Manger for Green Journey writes “As we anticipated, energy prices have subsided since we last agreed churches’ contracts as part of the basket, so the decision to contract for 12 months last time means we can now offer a reduction on your energy costs moving forward. Wholesale energy prices are currently the lowest they have been for the last two years, and prices are looking very favourable going into the summer, however, there remains a risk of further geopolitical tension later in 2024 which we are keen to avoid exposure to.
“As such, we feel now is the best time to begin the process of securing future contracts for churches using the Green Journey, subject to no significant change in markets over the next couple of months.” Craig adds “The last time around we looked at a shorter 12-month term extension for the basket given the increases in wholesale costs since 2019 as a result of the Energy Crisis, however at this time we recommend a longer 24-month contract duration now prices have fallen, to provide protection from potential volatility in wholesale markets throughout late 2024/5. This together with securing contract early will provide surety of price at a time when we feel an increase in price is now more likely than a reduction.”
Your Church Treasurer should have already received a letter with how to proceed with your renewal. If you have any questions do get in touch, contact details below.
The graph below shows the performance of the Green Journey scheme energy basket, since the first basket in 2015 to 2024, overlaid against the wholesale energy market movement (taken from Ofgem data). The four coloured blocks show the price paid by churhces in the basket at the time. Please note that past performance cannot be a garantee or future performance. 
Can Our Church Join the Green Journey?
Yes. Just contact the Green Journey team to ask for a no obligation quote. Make sure you do this ahead of any renewal obligations you may have with your current supplier. The closer you leave it to your renewal date the more expensive the gas/electric unit price is likely to be.
Diocesan Partnership with Green Energy Consulting
After a rigorous tender process where 11 companies bid to provide energy services for parishes, the service agreement was won by Green Energy Consulting in March 2019. Read why they were the winning contractor here.
Currently more than half of the churches in the Diocese of Leeds utilise the services provided by the Green Journey, 245 in total. One hundred and sixty one purchase 100% renewable electricity and carbon neutral gas through the Green Journey, 79 for electric only and 5 more buy carbon neutral gas. The Green Journey was established in 2015 as a partnership between the Diocese of Leeds and Green Energy Consulting. The service is now used by a number of other dioceses and denominations and serves over 2,000 churches across the country.
The Green Journey and the Energy Footprinting Tool
We have worked with the Church of England Online Parish Returns team to ensure that the Green Journey is among the list of approved renewable suppliers for your parish's annual return. When your parish completes the annual Energy Footprinting Tool (EFT), which calculates your church carbon footprint the Green Journey will be listed as one of the companies that have met the EFT criteria.
If you have any queries please contact:
Craig Hogg, Green Journey Ecclesiastical Account Manager, E: craig@greenjourney.org M: 07855 784633 T: 01913 006363 & 03330 067177
or Ian Fletcher, Diocesan Green Journey Link Officer, E: ian.fletcher@leeds.anglican.org M: 07788 413716