Organisations are increasingly looking for clear standards by which to assess their ESG performance. The GRI, or Global Reporting Initiative, was established to make sustainability reporting easier by creating a clear framework to follow.

Smaller Housing Associations have many important concerns, from safety to financing. Therefore, it is easy for more seemingly trivial matters like Environmental Social Governance (ESG) to get left to the wayside. However, the knock on social impact of not taking these issues seriously for your residents, particularly during this housing crisis, are dire. 

The Task Force On Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was set up in 2015 by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) as a set of recommendations. Many countries and trading blocs like the European Union, Singapore, Canada and Japan have adopted it as a regulatory framework. 

It was time again for another of Convene’s ESG Webinars earlier today, if you missed out you can watch the recording here. 

There are numerous reasons you may want to develop more sustainable buildings. In the long term, creating carbon neutral homes should benefit your organisation as well as your tenants.

Our ESG Webinar today was well attended, for those of you who signed up but were unable to make it, be sure to check your inbox for a link to the video. Once again we were joined by Arturo Dell, our Convene ESG consultant and also a Housemark Director, and Russell Smith from Orbit Housing who has recently used Convene ESG to produce their latest SRS Report. 

Orbit Housing recently spoke at one of our coveted ESG webinars. Orbit Housing Group is one of Convene ESG’s early adopters and discussed how Convene ESG helped them to successfully execute their ESG goals. If you were unable to attend, you can read on for our summary or attend our next ESG webinar, keep an eye on our LinkedIn and your inbox.

Access to funds is an essential part of all business operations and this is no different when funding your ESG projects. Recently, there has been an increase in financial opportunities for those who can demonstrate their organisation’s sustainability efforts. We have written about how an SRS Report has helped housing associations gain access to ESG funds in the past. In this article, we will discuss the wider range of sustainable financing options available and what you can do to access them.

This week, Convene were delighted to attend the NHF’s National Housing Summit. We’ve attended a number of the NHF’s conferences in 2022 and were delighted to have another chance to connect with housing professionals from around the country. This year, the event was held at the ICC in Birmingham.

Standards are a part of daily business. We all have targets, processes and a quality of work we are expected to maintain. It is so engrained you may not even realise that what you are doing is part of a standard. These goals and methods not only help your organisation but also your industry as a whole.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental, Social, Governance are two phrases that appear to have a lot in common. Many organisations in 2022 are seeking to improve their business practices and have a positive impact on the planet. But what exactly is the difference between these two terms?

There are many different issues you can encounter when trying to make your properties as carbon-neutral as possible. If you acquire older buildings, and the land with them, is it better to retrofit them with the required updates, or should you demolish them and start over?

With increasing focus on environmental, social and governance concerns, many organisations are looking at how to build this into their business practices. Considering the history of ESG issues can help us understand their importance and how to better maintain sustainable governance.

The Sustainability Reporting Standard was set out by The ESG Social Housing Working Group to help establish a framework for Housing Associations to report on ESG. 

Orbit Group have published their inaugural ESG report and utilised Convene ESG to do so. We invited them to talk at the CIH Housing 2022 Conference about their efforts. Here’s what we learnt about Orbit’s ESG strategy and how Convene ESG helped them produce the best report possible!