CHURCHES across the country are to learn from a £1.5-million grant from the Benefact Trust towards meeting the Church of England’s ambitious goal to realize net zero carbon emissions by 2030 (News, 14 February 2020).
The funding, announced last Friday, is the Trust’s first strategic grant that focuses on the climate. Spread over two years (£750,000 a yr), grants are to be distributed to 60 “Demonstrator Churches” — one in every of several initiatives announced last October as a part of the Church Commissioners’ £30 million in funding to satisfy the 2030 goal (News, 20 October 2023). A route map was agreed by the General Synod in 2022 (News, 15 July 2022).
These churches were to receive funding and technical support to grow to be showcases of green practice that other churches could imitate. PCCs were invited to place themselves forward to the respective diocesan advisory committees. Those nominated can apply for a preparatory grant to assist develop a net-zero project, and subsequently for a grant of as much as £50,000 toward capital works.
The Benefact funding will mean that successful churches could receive as much as an extra £36,000 towards eligible works.
Clare KendallJane Cook, the PCC secretary of St George’s, Waterlooville, with the bug hotel within the church grounds
The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, the lead bishop on the environment, said that the churches, “representing many differing kinds of community and situations, aim to encourage and encourage others to see that achieving net zero is feasible, and inside their grasp. . . By taking practical motion, we show God’s love for creation in addition to ensuring that our buildings are fit for our worshipping life and repair to local communities.”
The director of the C of E’s Net Zero Carbon Programme, Julian Atkins, said: “The funding which Benefact is providing will help us deliver a wide selection of net-zero projects and help us move closer towards our goal.”
The director of Benefact, Helen Gray, said that it was “a privilege to work with the Church of England, who’ve daring and impactful plans, as we make significant steps in our commitment to tackling climate change”.
A video shown on the launch of the grants, during an interdenominational conference in Gloucester last week, gave examples of churches and cathedrals that were already taking such measures. They included Manchester Cathedral, Portsmouth Cathedral, St Denys’s, Southampton, and Christ Church, Brunswick, in Manchester.
