Partnering with the Scottish Episcopal Church on its Journey to Net Zero

Churches

Published: 29 January 2025

Benefact Trust is excited to announce its pledge of £490,000, over two years, to support the Scottish Episcopal Church (the SEC) with its ambitious Net Zero Grant Awards Programme. This initiative aims to support churches across the SEC to achieve net zero and create a network of exemplary churches to inspire others across denominations.

The programme will distribute a total of £700,000 in combined funds from Benefact Trust and the Provincial Buildings Grants Fund. Churches will be nominated by their dioceses and invited to apply. Our grant will play a crucial role in the SEC’s mission to build a sustainable and flourishing church that will serve Scotland’s diverse communities now and in the future.

The partnership will help to address the unique challenges faced by churches on their journey, including building types, financial situations, and geographical locations.

Each Scottish Episcopal diocese will be invited to nominate churches that would benefit from tailored support to reduce their carbon emissions, and will contribute towards a culture of peer-to-peer leadership within the SEC. Funding will be allocated to churches from each diocese, which will be identified as Pilot or Pioneer projects:

Pilot churches will be awarded project development support with funding for professional works such as consultancy fees or trialling innovative technologies.
Pioneer churches will receive funding to enable the implementation of project plans that have already been developed.

With the support of our funding, this scheme will enable Pilot and Pioneer churches to reduce the carbon footprint of their own buildings and contribute to emission reductions across the province. Most importantly, they will act as role models to inspire and encourage other churches both within and beyond the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Helen Gray, Benefact Trust Director, said: “We’re delighted to support the Scottish Episcopal Church through our latest Strategic Grant. This partnership will enable more churches across Scotland to access expert advice, guidance, and essential funding on their journey to net zero. It will also create a network of example churches, leading the way and inspiring churches of all denominations to take action.

“This latest strategic partnership is the next step in Benefact Trust’s commitment to addressing climate change.”

This grant to the SEC is Benefact Trust’s second, major Strategic Grant focused on helping churches across denominations to achieve net zero. In 2024, we pledged £1.5m towards the Church of England’s target of reaching net zero by 2030.

Paul Williams, SEC Net Zero Delivery Director, said: “We're thrilled to be working in partnership with Benefact Trust on delivering strategic net zero initiatives within the Scottish Episcopal Church. This collaboration will empower congregations to significantly reduce their contribution to climate change through implementation of zero carbon technologies. Together we can provide strategic funding and resources to support leading churches in their journey to net zero, demonstrating how places of worship can continue to serve not only as spiritual havens but also as beacons of environmental stewardship.”

For more information on the Scottish Episcopal Church’s net zero work, visit its net zero portal: Net Zero Portal Net Zero Portal – Journeying towards a net zero church