Housing Associations in Australia have developed their own version of the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing (SRS). The reworking of the UK standard establishes guidelines for dealing with ESG concerns in Australia.

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.

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. 

The first rule of effective management is setting attainable targets. When it comes to sustainable development, this may seem like a daunting task, as it involves the long-term success of your organisation. However, the future of your company may depend on this small change in your current strategy.

Transparency is one of the most important parts of good governance in the modern workplace. Access to information about the actions and processes of your organisation should be open and clear.

In a first for the UK economy, the Social Housing sector welcomed the Sustainability Reporting Standard (SRS) in November 2020 to increase investment in the sector. Although a large number of ESG reporting standards have already been established, SRS has been specifically tailored for Social Housing providers.

What Is The SRS?

The Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing was published in November 2020 as a voluntary reporting framework for ESG concerns. This details 48 ESG issues that the Housing Association sector should take into consideration; from stakeholder engagement to zero net carbon targets. 

There is no time like the present to focus on ESG, with the Energy Crisis and Global Warming reaching a boiling point, the recommendations from last year's IPCC Report need to be implemented. 

What Does the 2021 IPCC Report Mean for Businesses?

ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance and is a theory that there is an ethical way to do business. This method involves prioritising the environment, being socially responsible and ensuring there is transparent governance. But what exactly do these ESG criteria entail?

Whilst this turbulent year has been costly, to many people, businesses and organisations, its has also allowed them to take a step back and realise what is most important to them and society - that more needs to be done to protect our world and its natural environments. 

At the recent ICSA ‘Governance Beyond the Pandemic’ conference, we were delighted to sponsor the fascinating breakout session, ‘ESG: A new dawn’ with Kate Larsen, Susan Hooper, Daniel Neale, Leon Kamhi and Andrew Wallis. The panel discussed how ESG plays a part in the success of businesses as they move beyond the pandemic and through what is looking like a prolonged recession.

Often undervalued and taken for granted, London’s trees, parks, gardens and woodlands provide us with more than just open spaces and oxygen.

This week we thought we'd send our customers a small token of our appreciation for their continued support. In Green Convene fashion of course.

Here at Azeus Convene, we are passionate about two things. Environmental sustainablity and customer satisfaction. In fact, we are happiest when we can do both at once. So with the festive season fast approaching, we set out to do just that.

Last week, Convene sponsored the Forum and heard how the role of Company Secretary needs to change to meet the challenges faced by 21st century boards.