Housing Associations in the UK have been signing up in droves to the SRS. This ESG metric allows Housing Associations to hone in on KPIs that actually matter to them. The benefits of a solid ESG plan can be seen in your profitability, not only because most schemes will save you money in the long term, but also because it can encourage external investors. 

In the past, we have discussed the rising importance of ethics to younger investors, but we have also seen a trend with banks investing in Housing Associations based upon their ESG reports. One of our Convene clients, Clarion Housing, were able to secure over £300m in bonds after publishing their inaugural ESG report in 2020.

It is clear to see that publishing an ESG report is the right financial decision, but why is this?

Why Should You Publish An ESG Report?

Publishing an ESG report sets out your clear intentions for your future project. It includes your current investments and future investments into ESG. This will allow your potential investors to have a complete idea of how their money will be spent. 

A public ESG report will also grant you access to ESG funds. Increasingly, banks are setting aside money exclusively for ESG investment. In fact, 91% of international banks are monitoring organisations’ ESG efforts in order to determine their long-term financial sustainability. 

As we have already mentioned, there is a growing trend, especially amongst younger investors, to focus on “ethical” organisations. Recent reports suggest that over 75% of investors, regardless of age, said ESG risks are an important factor in investment decision-making and that companies should address ESG issues, even if doing so reduces short-term profitability. If you make it clear that your Housing Association prioritises ESG, you can be sure of attracting the attention of more investors. 

How Does A Standard Help The Housing Sector?

The SRS helps level the playing field for all Housing Associations in terms of ESG by giving a criteria for them to focus on. Organising a standard allows the whole sector to come together to determine what matters to them around the E, the S and the G in ESG. Whilst each Housing Association is individual from the next, there are not that many differences in the end goal, providing good quality and affordable homes. 

There are already over 70 Housing Associations who publish SRS reports and many more who publish ESG reports based upon the SRS criteria. This demonstrates that even though each Housing Association may not subscribe to the SRS specifically, as a whole it has already impacted the direction of Housing Associations' ESG focus. In turn, this will make the SRS more effective in achieving sector wide change.

How Can Convene Help You With Your SRS and ESG Report?

Convene ESG is designed for Housing Associations with the assistance of Housing Associations. Our Early Adopters discussed with us what they needed, and with their requirements we developed a tool that would help Housing Associations generate the best ESG and SRS Reports possible. 

With Convene ESG you can compare benchmarks, organise your report, assign sections, automate reminders and input your ESG data and the solution will create a Word document ready to publish or edit as necessary! 

If you’d like to learn more, you can read about our early adopters here, or contact us for a free demo. Also keep an eye on our LinkedIn and Instagram as we will be scheduling free webinars soon!