TIDM56TE
RNS Number : 7086N
Sovereign Housing Capital Plc
26 September 2023
Sovereign Housing Association Limited
Press statement - 26 September 2023
ESG report tracks progress and performance as Sovereign moves
ahead with retrofit and net zero commitments
Sovereign Housing has today published its third Environmental,
Social and Governance (ESG) report , covering the 2022/2023
year.
The report sets out the housing association's progress and
performance in relation to managing carbon emissions, supporting
residents through the cost-of-living crisis, promoting placemaking
and championing key issues like equality, diversity and inclusion
(EDI).
It includes Sovereign's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint
and make its homes more energy efficient and cheaper to run for
thousands of households across the south of England.
The publication coincides with the formal launch of its
Streamlined Energy and Carbon (SECR) and Carbon Balance reports ,
which form essential benchmarks when developing a net zero strategy
and setting science-based targets.
This year's ESG approach provides data on Sovereign's greenhouse
gas emissions - showing year-on-year falls of up to 18% over the
last year - along with data on all other 'indirect' greenhouse gas
emissions from its supply chain and its homes, known as scope 3
greenhouse gas emissions and accounting for almost half of the
social landlord's total carbon footprint.
The report also highlights the progress made in retrofitting
Sovereign's customers' homes. At the start of the financial year
65% of its homes scored EPC C or above - a figure that through a
programme of ongoing retrofit, now stands at 70%.
By driving up energy efficiency and making its homes warmer,
more affordable and better for the planet, Sovereign is investing
in its future and its customers' wellbeing. This is underpinned by
its unique Homes and Place Standard - which sets out how it will
invest in its existing homes, and how it will build new ones.
With more than GBP9m secured from the Social Housing
Decarbonisation Fund earlier this year - and a target to start
retrofit work on 1,000 homes per annum - the number of homes being
retrofitted will continue to rise. Sovereign has worked with energy
and tech consultants Sero to ensure the SHDF funding aligns with
strategic outcomes defined within the Homes and Place Standard,
targeting enhanced affordability, health and wellbeing, carbon
reduction and mapping a clear pathway to net zero.
Graeme Gilbert, Treasury Director at Sovereign said: "Despite a
challenging environment we are making very clear progress to
improve the energy efficiency of our existing homes, alongside
progressing our wider environmental, social and governance
goals.
"Now we have completed the assessment of our homes against our
Homes and Place Standard, we expect to see growing positive impact
from our innovative, holistic, approach to strategic asset
management.
"This is the first year that we have published our ESG report
alongside our SECR and Carbon Balance reports. I'm pleased that we
continue to demonstrate our commitment to reduce our environmental
impact - and not just through our customers' homes, but through our
own operations too. Sovereign's ambition to minimise its
environmental footprint is embedded in our operations and this
report and accompanying data, shows the progress we are making and
gives us a benchmark for further improvements."
Sovereign also reported strong progress against the wider
measures of the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social
Housing - including promoting diversity and inclusion, and positive
social outcomes.
To support its aspiration to become sector leading in diversity
and inclusion it is transitioning to a leader-led approach,
integrating EDI into the overall business strategy.
Reinforcing this commitment, the housing provider has introduced
two new KPIs into its ESG reporting dashboard. The first is a
retrofit KPI looking at the number of homes retrofitted, while the
second is a new EDI KPI measuring progress on EDI through a
colleague survey.
Graeme added: "ESG provides a further layer of scrutiny, helping
to demonstrate our progress against these priorities, along with
how we are managing the many risks we face; it aims to show our
strengths and what's special about Sovereign, but also where we
must do and learn more."
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Graeme Gilbert, Treasury Director, Sovereign Housing Association
07392130856 Graeme.Gilbert@Sovereign.org.uk
Charles Pitt, Corporate Affairs Director, Sovereign Housing
Association
07887524378 Charles.Pitt@Sovereign.org.uk
https://www.sovereign.org.uk/investors
Follow us on Twitter: @sovereignha
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