Leading Midlands-based housing association, Midland Heart, has launched a new carbon reduction plan that will see the 33,000-home landlord become carbon neutral by 2050 and deliver the country’s first homes built with 80% less carbon footprint.
11th Nov 2021 - Corporate news
The plan focuses on reducing the impact every aspect of the organisation has on the environment, focusing on three key areas; current rented stock, new developments and ways of working.
Midland Heart’s first step has been to benchmark their carbon footprint, looking at not only the carbon emissions of their direct assets, but those of their supply chain and supporting activities. Following this, the housing association has detailed its actions for the coming year. These include:
Deliver the UK’s first homes built to future home standards in Handsworth Birmingham, using traditional building methods and local contractors
Moving all properties to EPC band D or above before moving all properties to EPC band C by 2030
Developing low carbon requirements for new homes alongside delivery partners
Devising a roadmap to bring energy usage down c20% by 2030
Setting clear expectations with suppliers and embed sustainability within the procurement process
The impact we have on our climate and the world we choose to leave for future generations has become the defining issue of our age. While we have worked for many years to reduce our energy consumption, become more sustainable and limit our impact on the environment, it’s clear that we now need a more ambitious plan to meet the scale of the challenge we all now face. With 90% customer satisfaction, compliance on building safety and delivering 4,000 new homes by 2025, our record for achieving top quality housing management, by getting the basics right first, speaks for itself. I am determined that we will apply this same grounded approach to decarbonisation, taking a measured approach to the different interventions we can make to make a positive impact for our customers, communities, and the wider environment.
Joe Reeves, Executive Director of Growth and Finance
