Net Zero Carbon schools
We are seeking to inspire and to encourage Church of England schools to sign up to a vision of Net Zero Carbon schools for the benefit of the whole school community, to conserve the environment and to enable the planet to flourish for future generations.
The vision
General Synod voted in February 2020 for the whole of the Church of England to achieve net zero carbon by 2030. The vote recognised that the global climate emergency is a crisis for God’s creation and a fundamental injustice.
Schools account for roughly 50% of the Church of England’s carbon emissions and therefore supporting our schools to reduce their carbon emissions is essential in order to achieve the ambition of net zero by 2030.
To this end, we are seeking to inspire and to encourage Church of England schools to sign up to a vision of Net Zero Carbon schools for the benefit of the whole school community, to conserve the environment and to enable the planet to flourish for future generations.
The Church’s commitment to Net Zero Carbon schools
Routemap
The Church of England’s Routemap to Net Zero Carbon by 2030 has been designed to help schools break down the journey into milestones to be completed by a particular year, taking it step by step with some easy wins now while laying the groundwork for long-term, more expensive investments that high-carbon emitting buildings will need to make after 2025.
Resources
The Church of England has produced a range of resources to support schools on their Net Zero Carbon journey.
Support for Climate Action Plans
The Department for Education’s sustainability and climate change strategy for education outlines their intention for all settings to have a sustainability lead owning a climate action plan. Use the links below to access support in developing a Climate Action Plan for your school.
Further support on sustainability in schools
For help and advise to calculate, understand, reduce and track carbon emissions, as well as supporting students to take action on climate change, check out the links below.