Environment

Safeguarding creation, sustaining and renewing life

To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and to sustain and renew the life of the earth is our ‘Fifth Mark of Mission’. Environment

Society’s excessive use of energy and natural resources is contributing to global warming, pollution, loss of biodiversity and resource depletion. Every living being on the planet is affected in some way, and it is usually those in the developing world who suffer most – from unjust trading to satisfy demand, polluted environments, and disruption to weather patterns leading to drought, flooding, famine and destruction of traditional communities.

With this in mind, the Church of England has accepted an obligation to set an example in the way it does business. It commits itself to assessing the environmental impact of all its activities, and to considering, within its trusteeship obligations, ways in which to minimise and mitigate any environmental damage they may cause.

Sharing God’s planet

The Church of England’s vision for a sustainable future is set out in:

Sharing God’s Planet, which is available from Resources price £5.99
"How many lightbulbs does it take to change a Christian?", available from Resources

Our environment policy

The Diocese of Chelmsford’s policy and accompanying booklet for parishes offer practical guidance on reducing the damaging aspects of our impact on the environment and the opportunity to demonstrate we are ready to take the practical steps required to safeguard God’s creation.

The policy can be downloaded here:

Reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂)

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a major contributor to global warming. To combat this it is estimated that atmospheric concentrations need to be reduced to one-and-a-half times those of the pre-Industrial Age, which will mean reducing emissions by between 60% and 90% by 2050.

There are ways of calculating how much carbon you use and more importantly reducing your consumption.

Shrinking the Footprint

www.shrinkingthefootprint/cofe.anglican.org/path.php

General Synod has voted overwhelmingly to develop the Church of England’s Shrinking the Footprint campaign to reduce the CO₂ emissions of church members and church buildings.

Offsetting

A Rocha’s Climate Stewards campaign can help you prevent climate change when you make a voluntary payment to reverse the damage caused by your unavoidable travel.