ECO - Lichfield Cathedral marks COP26 with Eco Award

Lichfield Cathedral has marked COP26 by working towards, and gaining, an Eco Church Bronze Award.  

Eco Church is the A Rocha UK’s Award Scheme for churches in England and Wales which want to be equipped to express their care for the world in worship; in caring for their buildings and land; in engaging with the local community and in global campaigns, and in the personal lifestyles of its members.

Canon David Primrose, who has spearheaded the Cathedral’s application for the award said, “Completing the application has been a worthwhile experience. Eco Church has provided a structured format for us to consider our environmental impact. A Rocha, who administer the scheme, recognise the complex nature of our heritage buildings. We discovered there were many areas where we were already following good practice. It’s been really easy to see how everyone has a contribution to make. As well as recognising where we’ve qualified for Bronze, it has also enabled us to identify many areas for potential improvement. We’ve now assigned responsibility to four teams, each focusing on different themes, so we can make progress towards Silver. All these activities are helping us to reduce our carbon footprint and to play our part in helping those whose lives are affected most by climate change.”

The Dean of Lichfield, the Very Revd Adrian Dorber said, “Receiving this award in the week in which the world’s eyes are focussed on COP26 demonstrates that we are serious about being an Eco Cathedral. We have plenty of challenges ahead, be that insulation in the Cathedral or increased biodiversity in The Close. We’re hoping to install cycle racks and are committed to developing links with local environmental organisations. Together with the Cathedral School, we took part in Churches Count on Nature and each week we share a new lifestyle tip with the congregation. I look forward to us being ready to enter for our Silver Award before too long.”