Abri, a large housing provider recently hosted an innovative sustainability summit in partnership with the University of Southampton. The summit explored the vital role suppliers play in supporting the housing association’s shared commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions.
The first-of-its-kind summit brought together 45 companies from across Abri’s supply chain, including Travis Perkins and The Hill Group, to collaborate and share strategies for delivering social value, reducing carbon emissions, minimising waste and water usage, and much more.
The sustainability summit featured a variety of engaging and informative talks, covering topics like Abri’s sustainability journey, pathways and planning for achieving net zero, procurement frameworks and other important themes. Attendees also took part in breakout sessions on the Help to Grow programme, a UK Government initiative to boost growth in small and medium-sized businesses, how Industry 5.0 thinking and AI are starting to influence sustainability in supply chain management, as well as sustainability action planning, equipping them with practical tools to make an impact at their companies.
By the end of the summit, many of Abri’s suppliers made pledges outlining some of the specific actions they would look to implement in their companies to reduce their impact on the climate.
Ben Earl, Head of Partnerships & Sustainability at Abri, said: “It was fantastic to welcome so many of Abri’s suppliers at our first Sustainability Summit. It provided a great space to connect and collaborate with our suppliers, helping each other find solutions to the many sustainability challenges businesses face. I’m incredibly pleased to hear some of the pledges our partners made to reduce their impact on the environment and can’t wait to hear about their progress as they take these important steps.
“Sustainability is now being embedded into standard procurement activity at Abri, with conversations ongoing around initiatives being implemented by suppliers to ensure future sustainability improvements going forward.”
Abri is already making strong progress on its sustainability journey. As part of its work in the Greener Futures Partnership, a consortium of five housing associations, Abri secured £40.4m in grant funding to improve the energy efficiency of 5,500 homes. This investment has increased the number of Abri homes with an EPC rating above C to 79.4%, delivering more than £32 million in wider social value by helping customers reduce energy use and stay warmer at lower cost.
As well as retrofitting its homes, Abri is also investing in building new homes using modern methods of construction, improving biodiversity in its estates, transitioning to electric vehicles and more.
But, with more than a third of Abri’s carbon footprint coming from its supply chain, the association recognises the need to collaborate closely with its partners to drive sustainability improvements if it is to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Andrew Day, Sustainability Director at The Hill Group, spoke at the event. He said: "Our vision is to be the UK’s leading, most trusted housebuilder, creating exceptional homes and sustainable communities.
"There's so much converging policy, regulatory and voluntary standards in the ESG space, which means events like these are so important in shaping the direction of the housing sector towards a more sustainable future."
The summit took place on Wednesday 25 June 2025 at the University of Southampton Business School.
Professor Jeni Giambona, Associate Dean, Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise at The University of Southampton Business School, said: “We’re proud to have partnered with Abri to host such a successful summit. The University of Southampton Business School is a truly global School that is passionate about driving innovation and creating societal impact. Bringing together organisations from across the housing sector to explore solutions to sustainability challenges perfectly aligns with our goals to change the world for the better. We look forward to supporting more initiatives like this summit in the future.”
Richard Cartwright, Principal Enterprise Fellow at The University of Southampton Business School and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at Abri, spoke at the event. He said: “I’m pleased that Abri’s first sustainability summit went so well and so many businesses attended and engaged in conversations on important issues such as climate resilience, net zero, retrofitting and building lower carbon homes.
“Events like this are vital for fostering collaboration and translating ambition into action and innovation.”
Currently Abri asks its suppliers to complete a sustainability impact assessment, but as the association works towards its goal of being a sustainable and net zero business by 2050, the Sustainability Supply Chain Summit marks an important step in strengthening supplier partnerships for the benefit of the planet.
To support meaningful climate action, Abri will continue working closely with its partners to measure progress and strengthen long-term collaboration on the journey to net zero.