Carbon Footprint

As part of the Eco Church survey, Lifestyle category, churches are asked to encourage congregation members to measure their carbon footprint and as part of the Buildings and Energy category churches are asked to measure the carbon footprint of their church building and their church activities. It is important to distinguish between personal carbon footprints and the church carbon footprint.

1. Church carbon footprint

Climate Stewards 360°carbon footprint is a holistic tool carbon assessment tool that Eco Church recommends to churches - for churches applying for a gold Eco Church award, we require their Climate Stewards carbon footprint report. Please note, this is a tool for the church's footprint - not that of individual members of the congregation. Measuring our emissions as a church is to help us be aware of where they come from, once this has been done goals can be set and changes implemented to lower emissions. You can read more about this subject in the Eco Church Buildings and Energy Overview and Environment Policy and NZC Action Plan information sheet. 

2. The Lifestyle category

The Lifestyle category asks questions related to personal choices about energy use, food, transport, money, consumption of goods and services, waste and engagement with nature. For some churches, exploring the subject of personal lifestyle choices can be a challenging aspect of the Eco Church survey, and it’s not easy to know where to start. Eco Church will soon be publishing a resource to support this aspect in more detail, and a brief 'Personal Choices' questionnaire that could be adapted for your setting and might be a useful springboard for further conversation. It will be shared with you as soon as it is available, in the meantime it might be helpful to think about how you facilitate opportunities to grow together. Coming to an understanding of the climate and nature crises and making the connection to faith and action can take time for churches, and individuals. Eco Church is designed to meet people where they are and can be used to prompt actions, step by step, to move forward. However, an important part of Eco Church is to grow together as a church community. Spending time learning, making connections, and listening to God is important, and, as a church, you will need to consider how you create spaces to do this: Sunday morning worship, small groups, special services, visiting speakers, chats over coffee.

3. Personal carbon footprints

It is very likely that the congregation's collective carbon footprint exceeds that of the church buildings; therefore, this is where we need to drive change. It is helpful to understand your carbon footprint in order to make reductions in your carbon emissions. There are a number of free carbon footprint calculators available for individuals and households, such as the very simple WWW Carbon Footprint Calculator and more involved Climate Stewards 360°carbon tool (opt for the 'individual' measure). Perhaps discourage asking for an individual's results, but rather use it as a prompt for conversation with questions such as 'what did you notice' or 'were there any surprises?'.

Measuring your personal, or church, carbon footprint for the first time will form an important baseline measure. It will also raise awareness about the many ways we produce carbon emissions and will likely be a conversation starter. By calculating your carbon footprint each year, you can make comparisons and see progress on your carbon reduction.

Climate Stewards offer regular drop in sessions (no booking required) for people to drop in for a chat - this may be about practical assistance using the tool, or just to find out more. Here are the forthcoming drop-in sessions:

19/02/2026 from 12:00 to 13:00 GMT                   Zoom Meeting Link

24/02/2026 from 20:00 to 21:00 GMT                   Zoom Meeting Link

19/03/2026 from 12:00 to 13:00 GMT                   Zoom Meeting Link

24/03/2026 from 20:00 to 21:00 GMT                   Zoom Meeting Link