Sustainability in the Housing sector
Read time: 11 mins Added: 08/12/22
How the social housing sector is rising to recent economic challenges
The events of 2022 have shone a spotlight on the importance of sustainable housing. Unprecedented disruption to energy supply chains have pushed gas and electricity prices through the roof, piling ever more pressure on households and prompting government intervention on a massive scale.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Building more efficient homes can significantly reduce the amount of energy they use, bringing down bills for good and making homeowners less vulnerable to the slings and arrows of global markets.
It’s been estimated that the UK needs around 340,000 new homes every year, including 145,000 affordable homes, just to keep up with demand.
But retrofitting existing homes is also essential; as many as 80% of current homes will still be being lived in by 2050.
Supporting the social housing sector
Lloyds Bank have been focussed on enabling the supply of new homes, delivering £2.4bn (PDF, 8.4MB) in sustainability-linked funding for social housing providers since 2021.
Additionally, the free Green Buildings Tool is helping property owners prioritise the most effective energy-efficient investments in their buildings. It’s already been used to assess more than 240,000 social homes, generating insights that will inform ongoing investment in their green credentials.
Our downloadable report (PDF, 7MB) outlines how some of our customers are facing into the recent economic challenges with the support of industry benchmarking, the Green Buildings Tool and sustainability-linked loans:
- The Hill Group
- Onward Homes
- Platform Housing
"As we've seen in the past 12 months, ESG – and sustainability in particular – is top of the agenda across the housing sector, with a clear focus on expanding provision through green investment. As organisations continue to refinance and pursue growth, we'll no doubt see much of this converted into ESG-linked activity in the coming years with the ultimate aim of addressing the country's changing housing needs."
David Cleary, Managing Director, Head of Housing, Lloyds Bank