|PIC1|Church leaders in the Diocese of Hereford have pledged to make environmentally friendly changes to their work practices and lifestyle in 2010.

The Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Rev Anthony Priddis, aims to print fewer emails and hold more conference calls and e-meetings with his diocesan staff to avoid unnecessary travel across the large rural diocese.

He will be encouraging car sharing whenever travel is essential and has also pledged to compost more vegetable waste and eat at least one meet free meal each week.

The Bishop of Ludlow, the Rt Rev Alistair Magowan, said people could cut their carbon footprint and their costs by driving as fuel efficiently as possible and only using the car when absolutely necessary.

“People say it’s hard in a rural area to be without a car but there are still things we can do,” he said.

The Archdeacon of Hereford, Malcolm Colmer, has hung a notice by his car keys reading ‘Could I do this journey by foot or bicycle?’.

Mr Colmer, who chairs the diocesan environment group, said he planned to hone in on electrical appliances in 2010, making sure they were all turned off at the wall socket when not in use.

“I am also resolving to buy an ‘owl’ meter to monitor the electricity we use,” he said.

A similar pledge was made by Nick Read, the diocese’s environment officer, who quipped that it would not be an easy job to ensure electrical equipment was turned off in a house full of teenagers.

He added: “I am going to be encouraging my children to wear warm clothing in the house so that we can turn the heating down. They are used to a hot house and T-shirts warn in the middle of winter so a little persuasion will be necessary. I hope they will do it for the planet if not for me and their mum!”

Other suggestions for green New Year’s resolutions from the four leaders include taking your own bags to the supermarket instead of using more plastic ones, carefully monitoring electricity consumption and heating, and encouraging the whole household to do their bit.

Mr Read added: “It’s often the small things we do that add up to big savings if we are careful. If every churchgoer kept one of these resolutions for the year our carbon footprint could be several shoe sizes smaller.

“I would also encourage everyone to go to the diocesan website and have a go at calculating what they use now and seeing if they can cut that down by 10 per cent in 2010 … ten for ten! Now there’s a challenge for the New Year.”

On the web: www.hereford.anglican.org/churchgoers/environment_and_rural_issues/the_missioner_for_environment_and_rural_affairs/measuring_your_carbon_footprint.aspx