Image: Istock
Sustainability strategy: where to start?
The journey to net zero is about more than reducing your organisation’s carbon emissions. CT’s new webinar will help boards navigate this complex issue
INNOVATION & IMPROVEMENT
Adam Broadway
Associate, Campbell Tickell
Adam Broadway
Associate, Campbell Tickell
Issue 73 | September 2024
The housing sector has many pressures, but there is one issue that affects us all...how do we reduce our carbon emissions? For many, this topic has been sitting in the “too difficult” tray for some time. But time is running out; we need to be net zero by 2050 or ideally earlier. So how and where do we start?
The carbon reduction challenge for many is daunting. Where do you start? What information do we have? How do we collect and use the data? There is also the issue of language. What do we mean by “carbon reduction”?
“Taking a Fabric First approach is far better than simply adding solar panels.”
Three pillars of sustainability
For many of us working in this area for a long time, a key lesson is that the conversation needs to be wider than just carbon and climate change. It should be about sustainability as a whole – looking at the three pillars of environmental, economic and social impact.
To unwrap this complex topic, which consists of many competing challenges, organisations need to understand how they perform across these three areas. This involves not only knowing how your properties perform, but also understanding the benefits of adopting more sustainable practices to help your customers.
We are gradually seeing improvements in the energy consumption and efficiency of our new homes. The development industry is also learning that we don’t need to fill new homes full of complex kit. Taking a Fabric First approach (insulating the homes and orienting them the right way) is far better than simply adding solar panels.
However, the UK’s housing stock is old. It is also in relatively poor condition. We need to consider new ways to significantly invest in and improve the condition of our existing stock.
Sustainability strategies
By adapting a wider sustainability strategy across the business, organisations can map out their own route for adopting a sustainable approach to everything they do. It enables them to plan stock improvements which will lengthen the life of many homes and enable customers to benefit from lower bills and healthier homes, all while contributing to lowering an organisation’s impact on our fragile climate.
With a new government and some opposition parties focused on delivering a better society based on renewable energy, and significantly improved water services supporting a more biodiverse environment, the time is right to make the step change.
Yes, like everything there are costs. Lord Stern, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE, said many years ago that the later we adopt a sustainable business approach, the greater the costs and higher the chances that we will fail. The likelihood is that business legislation will follow, and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) reporting will be mandatory and critical to securing private funding. There will be a point when there is no excuse.
And aside from potential legislative reasons, why wouldn’t you want to work in a business that protects the environment, reduces waste, recycles, supports local businesses, helps customers to reduce their cost of living and protects its investment for the future?
The importance of engagement
Those in charge of governance – registered providers’ boards and elected members in local authorities – have a huge role to play in progressing an organisation’s work on sustainability.
It is crucial that board members are enabled and supported to take an active role in making things better. The relative newness of the subject can reduce the number of people actively engaging in it and/or the quality of the debate.
To play our part in tackling this, Campbell Tickell is running a free webinar focused on enabling those in governance to make more of an impact on the subject of sustainability.
Free webinar: Navigating sustainability – a board member’s guide
Campbell Tickell invites you to join our free webinar on 18 September to highlight why there is still time to address this global issue in your organisation and what tips we recommend you consider. To help us we have brought together some of the sector’s leading experts who will outline:
- What they have done
- How they did it
- Where they are at
- What’s still to do
We will also seek to unpack this complex subject and make the case for a wider intervention of sustainability.
