As an early adopter of the Sustainability Reporting Standards for Social Housing, Abri is pleased to share its 2021/2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report. The Group has also published its first Sustainable Finance Framework (SFF), which aligns their finance strategy and ESG ambitions.
On the ESG report and framework, Caroline Moore, Chief Financial Officer, said:
“Abri’s priority is to create thriving communities that promotes a more inclusive, diverse and sustainable future for all. Our 2021/2022 ESG report, is our second report, demonstrating improvements in our performance and ensuring we continue to be transparent and accountable. I’m delighted with our latest achievements and the foundations we’ve laid to deliver on our commitments, all underpinned by our organisation’s robust governance.
“To meet the commitments set out in the report, and Abri’s wider objectives our first Sustainable Finance Framework will allow us to access green funding to help us achieve the commitments set out in the ESG report, and our wider ambitions to deliver more affordable, sustainable homes in thriving communities.”
Abri’s SFF aligns with its ESG report – a set of standards that guide and provide a constant source of accountability and consistency for our environmental, social and governance priorities. Underpinned by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development goals, it ensures the funding sourced is invested in the right places and that we are measuring the impact it’s having on our customer and community outcomes.
In 2021/2022 Abri published its first Environmental and Climate Strategy, secured funding through Wave 1 of the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and increased the number of existing homes achieving EPC Band C to 75%. In the same year Abri invested £3.9m in fire safety works, issued £65,000 of grant funding to 47 organisations and £590,000 partnership funding for local projects. The Group also retained its G1/V1 rating with the Regulator for Social Housing, and A3 Moody’s credit rating.
The wider social housing sector has the potential to make a huge impact in both cutting carbon emissions and embedding the behavioural shifts that support long term change. In addition to being an early adopter of the Sustainability Reporting Standards for Social Housing, in April 2021, Abri, along with four peer housing providers founded the Greener Futures Partnership. Representing 300,000 homes, the partnership is committed to improving the energy efficiency of its customers’ homes, as well as creating shared standards for sustainability across the sector.
For more information on our ESG performance in 2021/2022 you can read our full ESG report here. You can find our 2021/2022 Sustainable Finance Framework here.
