The Diocese of Sheffield have appointed a new Net Zero Project Officer to oversee an action plan for reducing carbon emissions. David Castle is an engineer who brings with him years of experience in the manufacturing industry, Supply Chain Management, planning and project management.
The role is paid for by the Net Zero Carbon Diocesan Capacity Building Fund from the Church of England’s Environment Programme to deliver milestones on the Routemap to Net Zero. David’s remit will include the creation of a Net Zero Carbon action plan to be delivered to Diocesan Synod later this year, and supporting the production of data using the energy footprint toolkit. David will work with the wider Diocesan team to prepare an application for a larger capacity-building grant as part of the 2022 Church Commissioners triennial funding commitment of £190 million (over nine years) to support the Church in the transition towards Net Zero by 2030.
This all forms part of the wider Church of England’s goal to have net zero carbon emission by 2030, following a motion passed at General Synod in February 2020 recognising that the global climate emergency is a crisis for God’s creation, and a fundamental injustice.
David says:
“I’m delighted to be starting in this new role of Net Zero Carbon Officer for the Diocese of Sheffield. I have always had a great interest in environmental issues, and remember as a child waiting keenly for the next programme from Jacques Cousteau to come on the TV each week, as well as David Attenborough’s Life on Earth series.
“Having travelled to many parts of the world and experienced first-hand glaciers that are now retreating, I am determined to do what I can to be part of the solution to climate change.
I’m really looking forward to developing our Net Zero roadmap and working with our parishes to realise the key objective of achieving NZC by 2030, so we can all do our bit for this wonderful planet.” Please pray for David and the wider team as they start this work together. You can find more resources and information on Net Zero in the Diocese of Sheffield here.