In a significant step towards fostering a greener and more socially responsible future, North Wales Housing is proud to announce its adoption of the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing (SRS).
Sustainability for Housing (SfH) is the home of the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing (SRS) – an environmental, social and governance (ESG) standard designed to help the housing sector measure, report and enhance its ESG performance in a transparent, consistent and comparable way.
Jayne Owen, Finance and Resources Director at North Wales Housing: “North Wales Housing are happy to announce that we have joined a growing community who have adopted the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing.
We are excited to be involved in the shaping of reporting the sector’s sustainability performance, and to support the good work being done with residents and stakeholders to create positive social and environmental outcomes.
Being part of this community will allow us to invest in the sustainability of our communities across North Wales, ensuring a better future for our residents.”
Sustainability for Housing (SfH) added “We’re pleased to welcome another Welsh housing association to our community of adopters. We want the social housing sector to have one, shared voice on ESG and this means bringing organisations of all sizes and from all corners of the UK on the journey.”
For more information regarding Sustainability for Housing, please visit https://sustainabilityforhousing.org.uk/
Tenants living in a traditional stone-built property will benefit from improved energy efficiency, as a result of a ground-breaking new technique pioneered in North Wales.
As the property houses residents with physical and learning difficulties, it was not suitable for internal wall insulation due to the disruption that would be caused by rehousing them temporarily and working around their specialist equipment. Therefore, a decision was made to explore external insulation, allowing the residents to remain in their homes throughout.
However, due to the original render and construction of the Gwynedd home being built from stone and concrete render (which needed to be replaced with lime render), NWH had difficulty finding a product that would insulate the external walls while meeting the building regulation requirements for traditional buildings.
By working with local retrofit experts, Greenhouse Energy and Retrospect Consultancy Ltd on a pilot-scheme supported by the Wales Government, NWH has been able to find a solution for the property. A new technique has been created, using an aerogel product, which delivers significant energy efficiency benefits while preserving the building’s traditional look.
The team behind the pilot plan to present their evidence to Ofgem in the hope that the technique will be granted ‘innovation status’ and can be rolled out to similar traditional properties, which are common in rural areas in North Wales and the rest of the UK.
Ruth Lanham-Wright, Assistant Director Homes at North Wales Housing Association said:
“We work extremely hard to ensure that every home that we provide is high quality and resource efficient. This can prove difficult with some older, traditional-build properties, but we are committed to rising to that challenge and ensuring that nobody is left behind.
“What we have achieved in Gwynedd could set the trend for ensuring that similar properties across North Wales and beyond can still be upgraded to improve energy efficiency, and ultimately provide a better quality of life to residents.
“This project has been a showcase of partnership working at its best.”
Michael Robson, Managing Director of Retrospect Consultancy said:
“I am delighted that we were able to work with North Wales Housing and the Welsh Government on this pioneering technique. This property presented a significant challenge, as there is no current system designer for this product. However, we were able to amalgamate two current suppliers who have worked closely together to create a new system with the intention of officially taking it to market.”
Lee Morley, Director of Independent Energy Savers LTD who carried out the installation added:
“I believe we have put together one of the highest quality External Wall Systems to be used in the UK, and hope that this will be more widely used after this case study. A lot of experts were brought together to make sure that the system design and insulation would work to a high standard and last as long, if not longer than a standard system.”
Starting 1st September 2020 a company called Elvet Construction will be carrying out Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) surveys at tenants’ homes. We expect this work to be going on for at least a couple of months as they work their way through 600+ properties.
We are doing this work for a number of reasons connected to improving our understanding of the properties and planning for any possible decarbonisation works to meet our climate change objectives.
Elvet staff will all carry identification and will make appointments in advance. They have provided a full risk assessment in light of the continuing risk from Covid_19 and will be using appropriate PPE.
Thank you for your help in allowing the surveys to go ahead while complying with social distancing rules.
North Wales Housing have successfully achieved SHIFT Silver in 2016’s SHIFT sustainability assessment, a prestigious environmental awards scheme.
The SHIFT (Sustainable Homes Index for Tomorrow) benchmarking scheme, endorsed by the government, analyses the environmental performance of housing associations.
The assessment process covered all aspects of North Wales Housing’s operation including offices, purchasing, new build, existing properties and more.
North Wales Housing was first assessed in 2014, achieving Silver. Being part of SHIFT demonstrates our commitment to play an active role in creating better homes and businesses whilst enhancing people’s lives.
Do you want help and advice on how you can save on your gas and electric bills?
Energy Wardens will be visiting Llandudno on 18th November. For more information and details how to arrange a visit here https://www.nwha.org.uk/news-and-events/events/energy-saving-advice/.
North Wales Housing has been recognised with a Silver award for the sustainability of their homes in a prestigious environmental awards scheme. The SHIFT (Sustainable Homes Index for Tomorrow) benchmarking scheme, endorsed by the government, analyses the environmental performance of housing associations.
North Wales Housing has been recognised with a Silver award for the sustainability of their homes in a prestigious environmental awards scheme. The SHIFT (Sustainable Homes Index for Tomorrow) benchmarking scheme, endorsed by the government, analyses the environmental performance of housing assocations.
The assessment process covered all aspects of North Wales Housing’s operation including offices, purchasing, new build, existing properties and more. Weighted questions measure aspects such as energy efficiency, water use, waste and adaptation to climate change.
This is the first year that North Wales Housing has been assessed and is an important step on the journey to become a genuinely sustainable organisation. Richard Snaith, Sustainability Coordinator for North Wales Housing accepted the award at the Homes Conference in Olympia London 26th Nov. Richard said:
“To have achieved Silver in our first year is a major achievement for North Wales Housing. It reflects our commitment to sustainability and helps benchmark us against other housing associations. It also gives us a plan to work with, providing us with a clear set of actions going forward”
Paul Diggory, Chief Executive of North Wales Housing added:
“It’s great to be recognised in this way – the quality of the homes we provide and their environmental impacts are in many ways two sides of the same coin. With some forecasting that bills could double in the next decade, investing in improving the energy efficiency of homes is the best way to protect residents. Of course we can always do more, but it’s great to be part of a network of leading housing associations pushing up standards.”
Andrew Eagles, Managing Director of Sustainable Homes, which administers the scheme, said:
“These awards are all about recognising progress and achievement in improving the quality of residents’ homes. North Wales Housing should be proud of the strides they are taking to improve – especially at the moment when cash from the government is so limited. It’s important to remember that when we talk about ‘environmental performance’, it’s not some abstract ‘nice-to-have’ badge. For residents, investing in this stuff means lower bills – as well as a higher quality of life. SHIFT members are at the forefront of sustainability. They have committed to independent assessment and are working to reduce their impacts”
