Eco Church

Eco Church is an interdenominational Christian environmental awards scheme for churches, run by A Rocha UK.

Eco Church helps you record and celebrate the environmental activities of your church. The scheme provides tools and ideas to help churches integrate their response to environmental issues into worship and teaching, management of church buildings and land, community engagement and lifestyle. Simple actions such as praying for environmental causes, twinning your toilets, championing local and Fairtrade produce, or holding a harvest festival can count towards gaining an Eco Church award.

The Diocese encourages all churches to join Eco Church by 2030 - but the earlier, the better. Please let the Revd Johannes Nobel know when you register.

Eco Diocese

Eco Diocese is part of the wider Eco Church scheme, to encourage more churches to register with the scheme and to demonstrate commitment to caring for God’s creation.

We have registered to become an Eco Diocese and to attain our Bronze award we need 10 per cent of our churches registered and 5 per cent of our churches in receipt of awards. Each church that registers to become an Eco Church is a step closer for the Diocese of York to become an Eco Diocese.

In addition, the whole Diocese is required to reach Eco-Church Bronze Award standards for its management of buildings and land. There is also a requirement for ethical investment of diocesan funds and for the inclusion of care for creation in training for ministry. More information can be found here.

The following initiatives are part of our work towards Eco Diocese status:

  • Having a Diocesan Environment Steering Committee
  • Creating a Diocesan Environment Policy (launched in 2021)
  • Communicating Eco Church success stories from around the diocese

Go to Environment home page