We’re proud to launch our Sustainable Homes Matrix this week – the third research paper from our industry workgroups. It’s a guide to building and maintaining sustainable homes that are fit for the future with residents in mind.
Last year our Members voted the Net Zero challenge as one of their top strategic priorities. In response we launched our Climate Challenge research project.
For us the initial area to address was aligning to a common goal. In our first workshop early 2021 the group citied 25+ definitions of Zero Carbon in the sector. By the end of last year we had identified more than 72. 2050 is really not that far away so it’s going to be a race to get there. Not a 100m sprint, but no longer a marathon either.
If we stick the entire housing sector in the starting blocks for this decarbonisation race and present 72 finish lines, what you have is chaos. This is not supportive for Registered Providers, the supply chain, or more importantly those living in our homes and facing ever rising energy bills.
The Sustainable Homes Matrix is an accumulation of many hours of collaboration between stakeholders from across our network – including industry leaders, consultants, contractors and colleagues from Registered Providers all passionate about meeting the sustainability challenge.
They’ve developed a complete solution that enables organisations to move from pledges to measurable actions – formulating an investible approach from boardroom to doorsteps with residents at the as the primary focus.
The matrix is focused on levelling up capabilities which includes:
- Defining a Sustainable Homes Draft Policy for New Build & Retrofit
- Defining Sustainable Homes Smart Maintenance to Retrofit
- Defining a Matrix of existing and new approaches to underpin transition now.
The Matrix is clear, concise and easy to read. It’s free to use and you can download the document here – Sustainable Homes Matrix.
Please share the guide across your organisation – it’s been designed by your colleagues with you in mind.
I thank all those that have supported this piece to date, including the extensive support of the UK Business Council for Sustainable Development (UKBCSD). The exponential interest from a leadership level in this challenge shows its importance. A full decarbonisation strategy will be in each of our clients next 30 year plans. We are proud to continue working with and supporting the sector not just as a procurement option but a strategic partner that brings learning, training and stakeholder partnerships to help the sector accelerate its motion towards this goal.
We’ll be carrying on the research group into 2022 as we begin to promote the guide across our network and support customers to implement the process. We’d love to begin speaking to organisations about how the Matrix can support you with your carbon reduction targets – please speak to us if you’d like to be involved.
David Smith
Head of Business Partnerships, South East Consortium
