How we work with dioceses
We work with diocesan staff — Net Zero Officers, environment leads, property officers, finance officers, DAC secretaries, diocesan architects — as our default engagement model. Parish-by-parish delivery is the right unit of work, but parish projects don't happen in isolation: every successful project we deliver reinforces the diocesan trajectory, fits the diocesan capital programme, and uses the diocesan permitting process.
Our standing offer to diocesan officers: a parish referred to us is treated as a diocesan project, not an installer lead. We engage with the diocesan team early, share our feasibility output with the diocesan office (with parish permission), and integrate into the diocesan reporting framework. We don't compete with the diocesan team for the relationship; we extend the diocesan team's capacity.
What diocesan officers can expect from us
Diocesan engagement at survey stage. Before the parish-level faculty package goes to formal submission, we send the diocesan architect a draft of the Statement of Significance and ask for feedback. This catches issues early and improves the application quality at DAC.
Buildings for Mission applications written to diocesan priorities. We adjust the mission framing of every application to align with the specific diocesan Net Zero plan — Oxford's 2035 trajectory reads differently from Salisbury's 2030 trajectory, and our applications reflect that.
Reporting in your format. After commissioning we provide the parish with year-on-year carbon and generation data that fits the diocesan annual reporting framework. Many dioceses now have specific parish carbon reporting templates; we work with whichever format you use.
No undercutting of diocesan programmes. Our pricing assumes proper grant offset — if a parish is in a diocese with capital programme support, we model the diocesan grant as part of the funding stack and don't try to bypass it with installer financing.
Programme-level offers
- Diocesan-wide initial feasibility studies (5-20 parishes screened in one tranche)
- Diocesan parish-readiness scoring (which parishes most ready for solar this year)
- DAC training on solar applications for diocesan committee members
- Co-delivered Net Zero Officer events with parish-facing content
- Diocesan Net Zero conference speaking (no charge)
- Parish carbon reporting framework support (data, dashboard, templates)
- Group-buying coordination across multiple parishes in a single diocese
- Diocesan property office contract framework agreements
- Annual diocesan parish solar review and pipeline forecasting
- Direct liaison with Diocesan Net Zero Officer monthly during active projects
What Diocesan Officers typically experience
Specific support for new programmes
If your diocese is launching or restructuring a parish solar programme, we can support pre-launch design — programme criteria, grant ceilings, parish-readiness scoring, reporting framework — without committing the diocese to any installer relationship. Several dioceses have used our advice in this consultative role.
If your diocese is mid-programme and looking for a delivery partner panel, we're happy to join formal procurement processes. Our preference is for diocesan panels of 3–5 installers rather than single-installer contracts, which keeps diocesan flexibility and gives parishes choice.
If your diocese is reviewing programme performance, we can share aggregated data from our installs across the diocese (with parish permission). Several diocesan annual reports have featured such aggregated data and found it useful for council and synod conversations.
Contact us via the form below or directly to discuss any of these. We respond to diocesan office enquiries within one working day and typically have an initial conversation within five working days.
Common Diocesan Officer questions
Do you charge dioceses for advisory work?
No. Pre-procurement advisory conversation is free. We bill at installer level when individual parish projects are delivered. Programme-design support and diocesan training is at no charge to the diocese.
Can you handle multiple parishes in one diocese simultaneously?
Yes. We've delivered up to 8 parish projects in one diocese in a single 12-month period. We bring in additional engineering capacity for tranches above 5 concurrent parishes.
How do you handle diocesan reporting requirements?
Every diocese has its own reporting framework. We adapt — providing parish-level carbon data, generation data, financial benefit data in whichever format your diocese uses. Several dioceses have asked us to build dashboards; we do that at no charge for active partner dioceses.
Do you compete with diocesan property departments?
No. We extend the diocesan property team's capacity, never replace it. The parish remains the diocesan property team's client; we are a specialist contractor that brings faculty experience and grant-writing capacity to projects.
What's the right way to introduce you to parishes?
We're happy with any of: warm introduction via the Net Zero Officer email, referral from the diocesan parish solar webpage, presenter at a diocesan event, or simply listing us on a diocesan recommended-installer panel alongside others. Diocesan-level visibility helps parishes trust the process.