Our LiveSimply Action Plan pledged to reduce the carbon emissions generated by the church premises' use of gas and electricity by 10%. The strategy was to switch electricity supplier to one which only sells 100% renewable energy. We expected that our bills would be higher as a result, but that would represent a parish-wide commitment to LiveSimply. In the event, because of fluctuations in supplier tarriffs, the cost is actually slightly less. The Finance Committee agreed to transfer the reduction to the LiveSimply Group to purchase carbon offsets or planting in the new garden.
The supplier selected was Good Energy and so far the Presbytery and one church flat has been switched. This has given a carbon emission reduction of 8.8%. Our historical CO2 emissions amount to 60 tonnes on average and this is now 55 tonnes (see calculation below). A small gesture has been the labelling of light switches to remind church users that they aren't always needed! When the hall is rewired it is hoped more effective control of lighting will be achieved there too.
As supply contracts expire, we shall switch these to Good Energy and achieve a total reduction of about 27%. There is also scope for installing solar panels and this will be pursued in the next year or two. We also need to install more effective central heating controls.