Guardians of Creation
A project to develop a generalisable framework for sustainability transition in the Catholic Church, for use in the Catholic Church of England and Wales and beyond, commenced in December 2020. This project is supported by the Bishops Conference of England and Wales, with Bishop John Arnold the project sponsor.
The strategic goal of the project is to help the Catholic community in the UK make transformational change towards carbon neutrality and a more sustainable future. The project will develop a generalisable framework for sustainability transition in the Catholic Church and will be implementable at the Diocesan level. The project team, which includes researchers from St Mary’s University, The Laudato Research Institute, Campion Hall, University of Oxford, and The Tyndall Centre, The University of Manchester are developing this framework over a two-year pilot case study in the Diocese of Salford. The project team are also collaborating with dioceses across England and Wales.
The project will build on existing good practice and environmental activities and will concentrate on how to conceptualise and measure Diocesan sustainability (e.g., carbon footprint), how to practically implement and create change towards sustainability in a Diocese (e.g., carbon reduction and environmental management), and how to communicate the implications of sustainability in a Diocese to a wider audience. It will also engage with issues relating to the social and theological aspects of sustainability in the Catholic Church and will look at integrating primary and secondary education into Diocesan sustainability transition. The lessons from Salford will be translated into a toolkit that any other Diocese and religious order can use.
Further information: decarbonisation@dioceseofsalford.org.uk
More information on the Guardians of Creation project: https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/research/areas/theology-and-ethics/guardians-of-creation/about.aspx
The Guardians of Creation project released a series five reports providing decarbonisation guidance for Catholic dioceses.
You can read the full reports by clicking here.
A new report helping faith communities learn more about climate change and how we can adapt our places of worship the meet the changing needs of our world has been released.
Please click here to read the full report.
Three hot air balloons of carbon dioxide a day: ‘Guardians of Creation’ project releases decarbonisation strategy guide.
This is the first report from the ‘Guardians of Creation’ project, it will help Catholic dioceses begin that journey, providing advice on developing a buildings decarbonisation strategy. The Guardians of Creation project has been developed collaboratively with the Diocese of Salford, St Mary’s University and the Laudato Si’ Research Institute at Campion Hall, University of Oxford.
Faith groups in the UK, collectively, have a significant property footprint. For the government to meet its legally binding target of reducing carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, the built environment, which is responsible for approximately 40% of UK emissions, will need to decarbonise quickly.
Each Catholic diocese in England and Wales is responsible for hundreds of buildings; churches, halls, schools and presbyteries, in a variety of sizes, conditions and uses. Initial findings estimate that in the Diocese of Salford these buildings (excluding Catholic schools) are responsible for the equivalent of three hot air balloons full of carbon dioxide every day. Data for schools is still being collected, which it is expected will increase this amount several times over.
The report, ‘Guidance on Developing Strategy for Decarbonising Catholic Diocesan Building Stocks,’ is based on consultations with diocesan managers and expert participants from industry and academia. It offers guidance on developing a strategy to reduce the operational emissions of diocesan building stock, breaking the task of decarbonisation down into comprehensible, manageable elements.
This is the first report issued as part of the ‘Guardians of Creation’ project, which is running as a pilot in the Diocese of Salford. The insights from this pilot project are being translated into tools to support other dioceses. During the lifetime of this project, practical guidance will be released on topics such as calculating a carbon footprint and environmental auditing within a diocese, as well as social and theological aspects of sustainability in the Catholic Church.
For any enquiries, please contact decarbonisation@dioceseofsalford.org.uk
Click here to view the Guardians of Creation Project report.
More information on the Guardians of Creation project: https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/research/areas/theology-and-ethics/guardians-of-creation/about.aspx
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded a multi-thousand-pound grant to help the faith community on its journey to net zero.
Thanks to the Together for our Planet programme from the National Lottery Community Fund, we have been allocated £10,000 to help produce a decarbonisation guide for places of worship.
The guide will be co-created with parish volunteers and professionals working within our diocese, but our aim is to make it a valuable tool for parishes and dioceses across the Catholic Church in England and Wales, as well as other faiths.
Due to the unique nature of our buildings, places of worship face complex challenges in their bid to decarbonise.
While there are guides for universities, offices, hospitals, and more to support their contribution to a greener world, currently no such guide is available to help places of worship.
By building on recent advice from Historic England, the Church of England, and other faith initiatives such as Eco-Church, Eco- Synagogue, and Eco-Mosque, we aim to create this pivotal guide, incorporating detailed and up-to-date information based on audits of around 20 buildings across our diocese.
These audits will examine a wide range of buildings; from small village churches to larger inner-city churches, historic listed buildings, and modern properties to provide an insight into a range of different needs and challenges.
From this information, we aim to provide the most effective and affordable decarbonisation strategies for those needs, highlight indicative costs and the potential carbon savings of the various interventions.
The Guide will be relevant to all responsible for the management and maintenance of places of worship but will particularly benefit under-resourced groups, particularly those that rely on volunteers.
Many such groups have expressed a desire to help tackle climate change by decarbonising their place of worship but that they feel overwhelmed by the scale of the task, finding the right information and the technical aspects of interventions.
The Guide will offer practical examples and case studies that will help groups to put the climate crisis and solutions into the context of their particular setting, and to find a suitable path towards decarbonisation.
The Guide will be available online and will be accessible to interested parties of all faiths and none.