With just over a month to go, all churches in the diocese are being encouraged to fill in the Energy Footprint Tool.
The Archdeacon of Halifax, the Venerable Bill Braviner, has written about how we should work out how ‘lightly we tread’, so we can work towards carbon net zero by 2030.
Archdeacon Bill says: “You may be aware (I hope you are!) that a few years ago, the General Synod set the Church of England a goal to become carbon neutral by 2030.
“The carbon net zero project is now well underway, with our Saving Creation strategy offering a range of resources to help parishes and others examine their carbon footprint, and exploring ways of reducing carbon emissions associated with our activities (and as a spin off benefit, hopefully reduce our energy bills too!)
“An Energy Footprint Tool has been developed to allow all churches around the country to find out what their "carbon footprint" is, simply by entering their utility bills into the tool, which is included in the Online Parish Returns system.
“This is available until Sunday, July 31.
“Nationally, it will help the overall Carbon Net Zero work by helping to establish a baseline, and to see what progress is being made.
“Locally, it will help our churches with information about how they are doing, so that options can be explored to save both carbon and money!
“For the sake of our future, and the future of generations to follow, we need to explore how we can ‘tread more lightly’ on the earth.
“The Energy Footprint Tool is a simple way to get useful information as we consider how to do that, so please do use it, and see what it reveals!”
In previous years our diocese has been one of the top dioceses in data collection, with over 50% of our churches filling in the EFT.
Please click here for more details on how to complete the EFT.