St Wulfran’s Environmental Policy
The PCC of St Wulfran’s Church wants publicly to recognise the climate and environmental emergency and, along with the wider church, commit ourselves to a series of actions that aim to reduce our negative impact on the environment and to work towards achieving Carbon Net Zero by 2030.
An Environmental Group has been set up which will meet at least four times a year with the purpose of ensuring continual improvement and progress against our environmental commitments. St Wulfran’s PCC, as part of our strategy for successful implementation, will provide support and financial assistance where appropriate.
Our 10 Environmental Policy Commitments
Our commitments are as follows:
1. We will through worship, prayer and ministry share the Good News of Jesus Christ, and as part of this, actively promote good environmental stewardship and care for all creation. In our ministry to young people and families we will include teaching about the protection and love of the environment;
2. By September 2021 we will seek to achieve the Bronze Eco Church standard and we will progress to the Eco Church Silver standard by 2023;
3. We will replace our carbon heavy heating and lighting systems by 2023 with more efficient solutions running, exclusively, on renewable energy sources;
4. We will review our investments and energy suppliers to support our intentions to disinvest from fossil fuels, protect the environment and promote social justice;
5. We will maintain and, where possible, improve the environmental sustainability of our buildings to reduce their dependency on bought energy and wasteful use or leakage of water;
6. We will continue to manage the churchyard, Daphne’s Field and the woodland copse in such a way that we encourage the flourishing of wildlife. Where appropriate we will commission studies to enable us to better conserve and enhance biodiversity of flora and fauna;
7. We will reduce the pollution, we cause, by seeking to ensure that our purchasing of products and food meets the LOAF principles (Locally-sourced, Organically-grown, Animal-friendly and Fair-traded) and that where possible journeys to and from church and church related meetings are made using car-sharing, by public transport, by cycle or on foot;
8. We will explore ways in which we can encourage members of our church to contribute to this agenda both at church and in their own lives. In addition to principles set out in the proceeding commitments, reduction, re-use, repair and recycling will be strongly encouraged.
9. We will work with local village and community groups to promote a sustainable environmental approach;
10. We will seek to be informed of national and local initiatives and to work with other churches locally, in the city and wider afield on how we can best respond to the climate crisis and protect the integrity of creation.
(Adopted by St Wulfran’s PCC 5.5.2021)