Introducing our Environment and Sustainability Team

Our Environment and Sustainability Team are Jonathan, our Group Sustainability and Environmental Manger; Peter our Sustainability and Environmental Officer and Andy, who recently joined the team as Retrofit and Contracts Surveyor.

The team are working to ensure sustainability is considered in every area of our organisation to help us achieve our environmental and sustainability goal of becoming net zero carbon by 2050.

When asked recently what are the challenges and opportunities for the team and the social housing sector around net zero carbon, retrofit and sustainability they shared:

Some of our key challenges currently include:

• Financial: Retrofitting buildings can be technically complex and costly. Progress Housing Group recognises that achieving net-zero carbon emissions will require a transformative programme of investment to reach our goals, but this needs to be managed alongside all of our other priorities.
• Tenant Engagement and Education: Engaging tenants and communities in the transition to net-zero housing is crucial but challenging due to varying levels of awareness, access barriers, and scepticism about the benefits of having work done.
• Policy and Regulation: Lack of consistent policy and funding can hinder long-term planning of energy-efficient upgrades, creating uncertainty for housing associations and contractors.
• Technical: Technologies and ways of working continually change and improve; we must ensure we have the in-house knowledge to manage our route to net zero.

However, we do also have some key opportunities, which include:

• Climate Change: Housing is responsible for around 26% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions, and 80% of the homes that will be around in 2050 have already been built, so how these homes are upgraded in terms of energy efficiency will help determine how the UK meets its carbon reduction targets.
• Fuel Poverty: Reducing fuel poverty is a key driver for improving the energy efficiency of our properties.
• Health and Wellbeing: Energy efficiency can improve indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and overall living conditions, positively impacting tenants' health and wellbeing.
• Funding: We aim to utilise funding to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions in social housing. Accessing these resources can help overcome financial barriers and deliver more benefits to tenants.

We also asked them, what are you each looking to achieve this year?

This year, we are looking to successfully deliver several projects, including:

• retrofitting 93 of our hard-to-treat properties under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund
• upgrading 78 properties with new high heat retention storage heaters
• continuing our energy efficiency improvements to communal lighting and heating systems
• pulling together our plans for all properties to reach C rated by 2030.
• We are also collecting more feedback about the work we carry out and how it is helping to reduce carbon emissions, tenant's household bills and alleviate the risk of condensation, damp and mould. Knowing we are making a positive difference to a tenant and the property is at the forefront of our work.

Thank you for answering our questions, Jonathan, Peter and Andy!

You can find out more about our Environmental Sustainability Strategy and the homes we are building here - https://loom.ly/946yfo8