Following an exhaustive process, including an assessment of direct and indirect emissions, St Mary’s House has been awarded environmental charity ARocha’s Silver Eco Award.
This award is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the diocese’s environment officer, Jan Firth who put together the application for the award. It also demonstrates the commitment of the staff who work in the office to reducing their carbon footprint and their faithfulness in keeping it low.
The citation from Arocha recognised the use made of the 360 – degree carbon tool which assesses energy, travel, food, waste, water and other expenditure and is aimed at helping churches and other places of worship make a meaningful assessment of their carbon footprint.
Commenting on another aspect of eco-friendly activity, Arocha enjoyed the comment about the bird feeders in the application: 'The food is kept in the common room for all employees to access should the feeders run low.'
Environment Officer Jan Firth said: “The award recognises Lichfield Diocesan Office’s deep commitment to reducing their own carbon footprint and showing environmental care in other ways. This is wonderful evidence that the fifth mark of mission common to the whole worldwide Anglican Communion ( to tread lightly on the Earth) is deeply held in the forty of so staff of the diocesan office.”
Across Lichfield Diocese this same commitment to the environment is apparent in the eighty ARocha Eco Awards to churches. Lichfield Cathedral has recently received its silver award and Jan’s next goal is a silver award for the whole diocese.
Many churches have already found that specialist advice to congregations on how to make their church buildings more energy efficient and the best and most effective ways of cutting their carbon emissions makes them not just greener but also save them thousands of pounds on their energy bills. Many of the steps needed are simple and low cost. Through appropriate improvements in how they heat their buildings they are also creating warmer spaces as a result, so that in the winter months, they are more attractive environments for worshippers and other people using church buildings for a wide range of beneficial purposes.
Lichfield Diocese is among those allocated national funding for a Net Zero Carbon Officer to further this work with churches.
ENDS