Energy Footprint Tool

What is the Energy Footprint Tool (EFT)?

EFT is a national Church of England tool for churches to record churches’ energy use and calculate their carbon emissions. It forms part of online Annual Parish Returns.  This helps us reduce our contribution to climate change, a vital part of Caring for God’s Creation.

Each year, churches enter their energy figures from the year before.

The EFT will open for the collection of 2024 data on 13th January 2025.  The deadline for submissions is end of 30th June 2025.  This year data will be requested for your church building and then separately for other church buildings (eg church hall).

Work out your church’s carbon footprint to help care for God’s creation?

The Church of England’s Energy Footprint Tool is now open for churches to enter fuel and power use from 2024.

The data collected from the tool will help your church understand its carbon footprint and will mean you may be eligible for grants to help kickstart your net zero projects.

This work is an essential part of caring for God’s Creation, by helping to combat global heating and climate change.

The easy-to-use online tool will tell your church what your carbon footprint is, based on the energy you use to heat and light your buildings.

What do I have to do?

Simply enter your church’s energy figures from the year before both for your church and separately for your other church buildings (eg church hall). Once you have entered all the data, you will immediately receive a report and results on your computer or smartphone.  This includes:

• The church’s carbon footprint in CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent)
• A simple assessment of your buildings’ efficiency, in graphical form

What do I need to get started?

You will need your utility bills for the year before: electricity, gas, oil, or whichever other fuel you use. For example, if you are completing it in 2025, you need your 2024 bills. If you have solar panels, find information on their generation over the preceding year.

If you have a separate church hall you will need to add this building, and enter the bills for this too. If you want to exclude an area which is permanently rented out to tenants and sub-metered, you will want this information to hand.

The EFT is part of the online Annual Parish Returns and is usually completed by the PCC Treasurer.  To log onto Church of England Parish Returns Portal click HERE. You will need a username and password.  This is the same as what you may have used before for completing returns such as the Return of Parish Finance Returns.  If you do not have this to hand we can easily provide you with new log ins, please email info@truro.anglican.org for these.