We have secured Gold accreditation in this year’s Sustainable Homes Index for Tomorrow (SHIFT) assessment in recognition of our work to reduce our impact on the environment.
We are ranked 6th out of 40 assessed organisations as we increase from last year's score (52.18%) to 60.7%.
SHIFT is an independent body that helps housing providers be more environmentally friendly.
They looked at our 40,000 homes as well as our offices and supply chain.
The report also assessed our use of energy, transport and travel, climate risk, biodiversity and how we source our contracts and suppliers.
These are measured against several environmental factors, including carbon dioxide emissions, landfill waste generated and water use - giving an overview of our environmental footprint.
Key highlights from the SHIFT report show:
• We maintained our record of 100% of office waste being recycled or diverted from landfills.
• Over 75% of our homes are rated EPC C or above. We retrofitted 298 homes in the last year with new insulation, PV panels, windows and doors and heating systems.
• 82.3% of homes are at low risk of overheating.
• 100% of residents have access to energy efficiency advice through energy-saving tips on our website.
• We are ranked 5th out of 40 housing providers for our new homes as more than 99% are rated as EPC B or above.
We have achieved an average SAP rating of 72.22 across our homes and we are striving to increase this through our investment programme. Average Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) is a way of assessing energy efficiency in homes and provides a good estimate of CO2. The SAP rating refers to the cost per square metre of heating, hot water, lighting, pumps and fans.
The SHIFT report reflects our efforts to actively encourage our residents to additionally recycle, therefore diverting waste from landfills. These measures rank us as 4th best out of the 40 most recent UK housing providers to be assessed.
Energy efficiency is important to us, and we offer energy-saving tips to our customers through our website and other digital channels. Our renewable heating engineers offer advice when carrying out annual servicing which applies to 7,720 households.
Glynnis Poole, our Planning, Technical and Sustainability Director, said: “We are delighted to have received the SHIFT Gold accreditation which demonstrates the excellent work our teams have been doing to support our ongoing commitment to reduce our environmental impact as a large business in the South West.
“We are working hard to ensure our homes, our activities and our workplaces are as environmentally friendly as possible and this independent assessment from SHIFT demonstrates that we are continuing to deliver on these commitments.
“This is our third assessment, and I am thrilled with the progress we have made over the last three years, endorsed by moving from Silver to Gold accreditation.
“We will continue to use the findings of this assessment to monitor our environmental credentials and identify areas for improvement.”