Efficiency & Sustainability within the Housing Sector
Advantage Utilities is a partner of the National Housing Federation. Working together to help implement energy efficiency measures for housing associations across the UK. Read more about our Property Management services.
The British Housing sector will inevitably prove pivotal to the nation’s post Covid recovery as well as fulfilling commitments outlined in the government’s election manifesto regarding ‘levelling up’ the country. During Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget released last week, it was announced that funding for the Affordable Homes Programme would be increased by up to £3bn as well as the introduction of measures to facilitate the return of 5% deposit mortgages.
Given the increasing reliance and likely growth of the industry moving forward, two key phrases, efficiency and sustainability, can be applied to both Energy procurement and management activity associated with the sector.
Achieving carbon ‘Net Zero’ is increasingly a primary consideration for many organisations and is invariably a long-term concept, with the government’s own target being for the country to achieve ‘Net Zero’ status by 2050. Around 175 major UK based corporations have so far followed suit and committed to doing the same, with dates for completion typically ranging between 2035 and 2050.
Embarking on the road to ‘Net Zero’ could be motivated by any combination of meeting expectations of stakeholders within a business, realising cost savings, to fulfil ever-growing and widening government legislation including the likes of Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) and Streamlined Energy Carbon Reporting (SECR) or of course, to meet public expectations, with the government’s latest public attitudes survey suggesting that as many as 75% of the British Public claim to have an awareness of the concept.
No organisation can be expected to navigate the route to ‘Net Zero’ to the substantial detriment of its overall operation but taking proactive, affordable, and proportionate steps increasingly seem warranted regardless of the source of motivation for doing so. Measuring and getting a handle on carbon emissions would seem a natural first step and ‘low hanging fruit’ could include procuring green energy with the cost gap between traditional ‘brown’ energy and green sourced energy narrowing all the time.
Solar solutions, thanks to the availability of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA’s) can potentially achieve savings both monetarily and in terms of carbon reduction, without any capital expenditure nor risk.
Wider considerations would likely include the provision of Electric Vehicle charging points given that 600,000 charging points will be required to facilitate the government’s ban on new petrol vehicles from 2030 as well as reviewing heating sources, lighting provisions and the plethora of energy efficiency measures now freely available.
Energy costs remain firmly entrenched within the top 5 areas of expenditure for most housing associations. Given that wholesale markets are widely predicted to be both volatile and unpredictable within the coming months and with non-energy costs being disrupted by the onset of Targeted Charging Review (TCR), having a prudent and strategic approach to energy procurement has never been more important.
Both ‘pass through’ and flexible energy solutions are increasingly more widely available meaning that for many organisations there is a greater range of procurement strategies available to them than ever before. It is also worth noting that Housing Associations previously using the now obsolete OJEU for transparent tendering, will now need to consider reverting to using the post Brexit equivalent, Find a Tender Service.
Given the above considerations, it is perhaps hard to argue that efficiency and sustainability being at the forefront of energy decisions are key to not only saving the planet but achieving any financial goals that the organisation may have, fulfilling any corporate social responsibility and many would argue, futureproofing business?
Advantage Utilities is a partner of the National Housing Federation. Working together to help implement energy efficiency measures for housing associations across the UK. Read more about our Property Management services.
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