Catholic church goes green in one of the UK’s largest renewable energy deals

More than 4,500 Catholic churches and schools have switched to renewable gas and electricity supplied by British Gas in one of the UK’s largest combined green energy contracts.

The deal with the Catholic Church’s energy procurement group, Inter-diocesan Fuel Management (IFM), covers 2,800 churches from 20 of the 22 Catholic dioceses in England and Wales, including landmarks such as Westminster, Nottingham and Plymouth Cathedrals. The contract also covers more than 2,200 schools, care homes and community centres across the country.

The Catholic Church is now one of the largest single consumers of green gas certificates based on annual volume. The volume of green gas and electricity to be supplied by British Gas Business is equivalent to supplying the annual needs of more than 20,000 UK households. It will also remove 32 ktCO₂e of carbon emissions annually, or the equivalent of taking over 21,000 cars off the road.

Gab Barbaro, Managing Director of British Gas Business, said: “We commend IFM and the Catholic church for their desire to take the lead on renewable energy adoption, and hope that others will follow.

“We’re seeing more and more organisations looking to switch to both renewable gas and electricity, particularly given the recent ‘net zero’ commitment made by government. This contract demonstrates that it is becoming easier than ever to cut carbon emissions from our public and private sector buildings.”

British Gas supplies renewable electricity to more than 9,000 businesses across the UK. As well as offering large business renewable electricity and gas, the company also offers their existing SME business customers a 100% renewable electricity tariff at no extra cost when they sign up to a new fixed term contract.  

The company recently become the largest supplier to gain an independent certification for their renewable electricity products from the Carbon Trust.

 

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Enquiries

Michael Pullan, Senior PR Manager, Michael.pullan@centrica.com, Tel: 07557 619446 

About British Gas

British Gas is Britain’s leading supplier of energy and services and is part of Centrica plc, a leading international energy services and solutions provider. The company is founded on a 200-year heritage of serving people and provides energy and services to millions of UK homes and businesses, supported by around 9,000 highly trained engineers and technicians. We also provide a range of innovative products and services including our on-demand digital tradespeople service, Local Heroes. We are focused on satisfying the changing needs of our customers, enabling them to transition to a lower carbon future. Our aim is to reduce emissions in line with Paris goals by 2030 and develop a path to net zero by 2050.

Notes

About British Gas

British Gas is Britain’s leading supplier of energy and services and is part of Centrica plc, a leading international energy services and solutions provider. The company is founded on a 200-year heritage of serving people and provides energy and services to millions of UK homes and businesses, supported by around 9,000 highly trained engineers and technicians. We also provide a range of innovative products and services including our on-demand digital tradespeople service, Local Heroes. We are focused on satisfying the changing needs of our customers, enabling them to transition to a lower carbon future. Our aim is to reduce emissions in line with Paris goals by 2030 and develop a path to net zero by 2050.