Our Sustainability Action Plan
We’re making our net-zero goals real with clear guidelines for what we, our colleagues, residents and partners, need to do to become a more sustainable organisation. It’s a journey we can’t make on our own, so join us and help make choices today for a better tomorrow.
We’ve been around for 160 years and we're creating an organisation that’s fit for the future in every way.
One that’s not only sustainable environmentally and financially, but also socially.
Our aim is to help the people living in our homes and communities flourish. We do this by providing great homes and housing services and making a positive difference in our communities. We’re also creating an inspiring and inclusive place to work so that we can continue supporting our residents, their communities and the environments in which they live for another 160 years.
What does sustainability mean for our residents?
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Reduced rents: at an average of £127 a week, our rents are £621m a year lower than the market rent.
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More environmentally-friendly housing: we’re improving the energy efficiency of our homes.
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Improved outdoor spaces: we’re investing in green spaces and play areas in our communities.
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Higher incomes: we offer training courses, apprenticeships and career advice.
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Increased independence: we provide help and support where it’s needed.
What does sustainability mean for our organisation?
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Improves our credentials as an organisation with a social purpose.
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Widens our options for raising money as we can take out loans linked to sustainability targets.
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Ensures that every decision we make has a positive impact on the future because we know we’re investing, building and creating for the long term.
Net zero
As a large organisation with over 220,000 residents and 4,000 colleagues, we know we can make a positive impact over the long term for the benefit of the planet.
We’re improving the energy efficiency of thousands of homes so they’re better for the environment and cost residents less to heat. We’re managing our open spaces to cultivate plants and wildlife. And we’re reducing our carbon emissions.
All of this is part of our journey to be net zero by 2050. We estimate we need to spend over £1bn to get to where we want to be and are working closely with residents, colleagues, partners and other housing associations to make sure we’re ready for the future.
Find out more about our plans for the next three years in our Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2023-26.
Certified Sustainable Housing
To be truly sustainable, our work needs to be measurable. That way, we can see what we’re doing right, where to make improvements and how we compare against others.
In 2020 we helped create the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing. Today we continue to be guided by its 48 criteria across the areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG).
In March 2024, we were reaccredited by RITTERWALD as a Certified Sustainable Housing entity for the third time. We achieved frontrunner status in two of the three categories.
You can find out more at Certified Sustainable Housing Label | RITTERWALD Consulting.
Green spaces
We know the importance of green spaces. We know they can help make us more resilient to climate change and reduce flooding. We also know they help improve residents' wellbeing, giving them a place to spend time outdoors.
Because of this, we're doing what we can to add more green spaces and improve the ones we already have. Making space for nature is one of our key priorities and increasing biodiversity - that's the number of different forms of life that live in that space - is an important part of this.
Focusing on green spaces also helps us to meet new legislation which requires all new developments to deliver a minimum 10 percent net gain in biodiversity - that means creating more or better quality natural habitat than was there before the development.
You can find out more in the Green Spaces Advisory Board's Green Space Stewardship Model report
Our Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2023-26
Our ESG report
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