The Environment

At HTB we long to see the transformation of society, to see the world changed and lives transformed. We believe that caring for creation is a biblical imperative – one that is becoming increasingly urgent to progress.

In 2006, Nicky Gumbel wrote this:
“We should care for God’s creation – not out of fear about what is going to happen, but out of love. Genesis 2:15 says, ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it’. If the world is created by Jesus and for Jesus we should treat it with honour, dignity, respect – there is something sacred about it.”

We acknowledge the connection between the climate and other environmental crises and the extreme social costs projected. These include fatalities, and widespread poverty driven by forced displacement of individuals. We recognise the damage done to our natural ecosystems and the increased risk of natural disasters.

Over the last ten years, HTB has been taking actions to reduce its carbon footprint. We source 100% of our electricity from renewable sources, mostly through Good Energy, who have obtained a USwitch Green Tariff Gold Standard. Our consumable products are all biodegradable, and our toilet paper comes from recycled paper. Our IT team has been monitoring their environmental footprint by sourcing easily repairable equipment and offsetting both our website and Microsoft 365 operational emissions. Our production team have extended the lifespan of all production equipment where possible before replacement. Our vergersmanage our land in a sustainable manner, including adopting appropriate mowing regimes and encouraging native wildlife to reside in the area. We regularly pray for relief from local environmental disasters and wisdom in political leaders running up to COP events. Our youth team has produced a four-part climate care video series on the topics of fashion, nature, food, and social justice.

Despite our progress, we recognise we still have much further to go to become leaders in this area, and lookto address the following points moving forward:

● We aim to be carbon neutral as a church by 2030

● We aim to reduce the environmental impact of our major events such as Leadership Conference and Focus

● We will develop a year-on-year roadmap for HTB church, working within the Eco Church framework, aimed at minimising our negative environmental impact. We are initially focusing on the areas of energy use, procurement, and increasing reuse and recycling through our waste disposal systems

● We will teach on creation care and environmental justice within our church

● We will report annually on our progress to our Church Council