Mission

Welcome to the NDBF Net Zero Carbon pages. This is where we have gathered all the information to help you on you journey to save energy and reduce your Carbon emissions.

To begin let’s look at the why and then we can get going on the how.

Defining Net Zero Carbon

‘The reduction as far as possible of all in-scope carbon emissions and the removal of an equivalent amount of carbon from the atmosphere for the remaining in-scope emissions by use of accredited offsetting schemes’ Routemap to Net Zero Carbon by 2030

Background

General Synod voted in February 2020 for the whole of the Church of England to achieve net zero carbon by 2030. The vote recognised that the global climate emergency is a crisis for God’s creation and a fundamental injustice. The Synod asked for a plan to be made, setting out how to get to net zero carbon. That plan is called the Routemap. It was written by the Net Zero Carbon sub-committee of the national Environmental Working Group and went to consultation from October 2021 to February 2022 and the responses received shaped the final version. It was approved by General Synod in July 2022

Saving energy and reducing carbon can be part of everything we do. Where do you want to save energy today?

 

Start your energy saving journey at home. This section contains links to trusted national and local advice sites and grant schemes.

Many of the changes we can make to reduce energy use in our homes are simple and cheap or free. Things like turning down the thermostat by one degree or switching to LED lightbulbs. Other changes are expensive and benefit from careful thought and planning to get right.

If you or someone you know is struggling with a cold home and/or high energy bills check the following websites to see if there is help available.

Energy Saving Trust

Norfolk Warm Homes

Household Water and Energy Saving Advice – Groundwork East – Groundwork

Churches and church halls come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and there is no one size fits all to solution to reducing the energy use across all the different types and usage patterns.

If you are just starting out have a look at the advice sections on Fabric, lighting, heating and renewables.

Once you have identified the projects you’d like to investigate further, go to the ‘How can we help’ section to see what advice and grant support there is available

Reducing your Energy Footprint

Fabric

The first place to begin is with the fabric of the building. A dry and draught free church will be a much more pleasant and easy to heat space.

Energy: Economic, Environmental& Efficiency Improvements

Lighting

LED lighting is now a mature technology and can be incorporated into a flexible lighting solution. LED bulbs come in a range of colour temperatures and can now be dimmed to facilitate mood lighting.

It may be difficult to find bulbs for some older lighting fittings. It is possible to use adaptors in some cases.

LED is often presented as a simple, quick win measure that typically pays back in months if not years. In church settings, this can sometimes not be the case due to the difficulty and cost of accessing the bulbs or fittings to be replaced.

Heating

Improvements in technologies and understanding are changing the way we are addressing the very real challenges of heating the old, uninsulated, draughty buildings we love so much.

There are some key considerations when thinking about what heating solution will be right for you and your church or church hall and there is no one size fits all solution. The starting point to identifying the right heating system is a full understanding of your building and its usage, both current and anticipated. There is a huge amount of useful guidance on the Church of England website including a heating checklist that will help identify the most suitable heating options.

Heating | The Church of England

Renewables

Most churches are a potential location for solar photo-voltaic (PV) panels and some might be a suitable for wind turbines but there a number of considerations that need to be taken into account when developing a renewable energy project.

Guidance on installing solar PV can be found here: Solar_Panels_and_Faculty_Guidance_0.pdf

HOW CAN WE HELP

People

Schools are a big users of energy and sources of carbon emissions. It’s amazing how much difference you can make by understanding the way energy is used in your school and making some simple changes.

A great place to start is Energy Sparks. It is a paid for service but they often have fully funded places on offer. You can express your interest in one of these places by contacting hello@energysparks.uk

Cut Your Carbon – Eco Schools

UK Climate Change • Let’s Go Zero

How we get about and where we go can have a huge impact on our carbon emissions. In a largely rural county like Norfolk, not using your car to get about can be impractical.

Sustainable transport – CPRE Norfolk

Practical Tips for Churches to reach Net Zero

Ten simple steps to reach net zero

  1. Find some people to work together, this is a big challenge to do alone. Maybe you could team up with another church in your deanery, or get a keen volunteer from the community.​
  2. Have a look at our resources and case studies for inspiration and advice.
  3. Register for Eco Church and have a look at the survey questions – they have lots of ideas for free, including many easy changes​ you can make.
  4. Start recording regular meter readings so you can see how much energy you actually use. Or get a smart meter to make it even easier!​
  5. Fill in the Energy Footprint Tool (EFT) to get an annual carbon footprint report to share with your PCC and help get more people on board!​
  6. Use the Church Heating Checklist to think about what where your church needs to be heated – is it the space or the people? All the time or just Sunday morning? Everyone, or just the choir?​
  7. Use our new for 2025 Practical Guide to Net Zero Carbon for Churches to help you through lots of potential measures to save energy and reduce carbon.​
  8. Get some expert advice. You can ask your DAC, your QI architect, or get an independent energy audit. This will give you a summary of the likely measures suitable in your church.​
  9. Check what grants are available on our website.
  10. And finally have a nice cup of tea and celebrate everything you have done!

Watch our Net Zero video playlist

  • St Peter Mancroft Church journey to Net Zero
  • The Energy Footprint Tool
  • Top Tip Tuesday
  • The Bishop of Norwich speaks in  House of Lords debate about community energy.
Watch our Net Zero video playlist

Do you need more inspiration? 

You can also take a look at our new Practical Guide to help you – this is packed full of tips and advice, a handy flowchart to help with heating solutions and a checklist for step by step actions you can take as a church. There’s also a Word version of the new guide as well, handy for printing or for cut and pasting information into your own church documents and reports.
A Practical Guide for churches

Contact the Net Zero Carbon Adviser

Rosalind Bacon

Net Zero Carbon Adviser

01603 882 362

109 Dereham Road Easton Norwich