Caring for the environment

We believe that, by investing in environmentally-friendly systems and materials, our churches and communities will have the best possible chance to thrive long into the future.

We believe that, by investing in environmentally-friendly systems and materials, our churches and communities will have the best possible chance to thrive long into the future. We are committed to developing the environmental sustainability of our estate. 

The challenge of managing the impact of climate change on the historic environment - as well as reducing our energy consumption and carbon emissions - has never been greater. Our efforts to be environmentally friendly as an organisation also mean that we can achieve a greater level of economic and social sustainability.

Damage to historic fabric, alterations to the landscape, changes to species and habitat compositions as well as traditional management and maintenance patterns are all evidence of the impact of climate change.

We work pro-actively to manage climate change risk and improve a building's resilience to climate change through a combination of mitigation and adaptation strategies. Of course not all churches can be altered. For those that can, our Conservation team investigate the potential effects of intervention on the architectural features and structural capacity of the church and its environs before selecting an appropriate course of action.

Retrofit Surveys

We commission structural surveys to explore options to reduce the carbon footprint of some historic churches and improve energy efficiency. Churches that are costly to run in terms of utility expenditure and those involved in community-led regeneration are usually assessed. These reports are extremely important and indicate the opportunities and limitations for structural adaptation. They inform future sustainable design options for churches involved in the regeneration process. In this way, we support national and international measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

You can read the carbon reduction retrofit report undertaken for St Paul's Church, Bristol and the report for Holy Trininity Sunderland.

Energy Auditing

Several of our churches are registered on sMeasure - an energy auditing system developed by the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford. This is part of a  trial provided by the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division at The Church of England. sMeasure is a database system which requires meter readings to be entered into the system on a weekly basis. This information will enable us to monitor the energy performance and identify patterns of energy use at these sites. CCT churches involved in the pilot include:  All Souls Bolton; Holy Trinity Sunderland; St Marys Shrewsbury; and St Nicholas' Chapel King's Lynn.  Also included are two churches which are not vested with us: All Saints Benington and St Mary's Brighton.