Cash flow challenge preventing churches from going green

Findings from a survey¹ by Ecclesiastical Insurance and The Bible Society revealed that four in five churches (79%) believe that reducing their climate impact was important.

When asked why they believed this, almost three-quarters (73%) of churches said it was part of the mission of the church, with three in five (63%) saying it was the right thing to do for the environment.

Churches are already taking practical steps to reduce their climate impact, including switching to LED lighting (53%), reducing paper usage (49%), training volunteers to help reduce the carbon footprint (33%), and switching to a renewable energy supplier (30%).

However, over a third of churches say they don’t have the funds to make changes, while more than a quarter (28%) say planning laws are holding them back owing to their building’s listed status.

While many of these green steps have limited costs, and in some cases save money, almost half (49%) of churches said they had used reserves to pay for these changes. Almost a quarter (22%) said that they had used donations, while nearly one in five (19%) had applied for grants.

As part of its ongoing ambition to support the work churches are doing to tackle the environment, Ecclesiastical launched a new made simple guide, entitled Climate change and your church, which is intended to help parish churches manage their risks as they make changes to meet their net-zero goals.

These include dealing with extreme weather, maintaining and heating church buildings efficiently, and alternative heating and energy options.

To support its ambition to be net zero for scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, the Church of England developed its Routemap to Net Zero and allocated £190 million over the next nine years to fund grants and projects to help churches, schools, cathedrals, clergy houses, and other buildings reduce carbon emissions.

In July, the CofE launched a £5.2m Demonstrator Churches project as part of its Net Zero Carbon Programme with the aim to help 114 churches in 2024 and 2025 pay for items such as solar panels, heat pumps, insulation, secondary glazing, LED lighting, and infrared heating systems.

Ecclesiastical’s charitable owners, Benefact Trust, pledged £1.5 million towards this landmark scheme, which will support 60 churches over two years, to achieve net zero by the end of 2025. This contribution is the Trust’s first strategic grant that focuses on climate.

St Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich city centre is one of the first churches taking part in the Demonstrator Churches project. Located in the marketplace in the heart of the medieval city of Norwich, St Peter Mancroft is the largest of the city’s 31 surviving medieval parish churches.

The church has received a Church of England Demonstrator Churches grant of £50,000, with co-funding of £36,000 from Benefact Trust, to transform its carbon footprint and energy use by replacing its entire interior lighting system and installing heat pumps, as well as batteries and 48 solar panels.

Through this work, the church expects to see an 84% reduction in emissions by saving 52.26 tonnes of CO2 each year.

The Rev’d Canon Edward Carter, the Vicar of St Peter Mancroft Church, has been instrumental in this project.

¹ Survey of 551 church representatives from multiple denominations carried out by The Bible Society on behalf of Ecclesiastical Insurance between 28 June 2024 and 18 July 2024.