Collins House, Abri’s head office in Eastleigh, officially hit net zero for daily operations earlier this year, becoming the first of the housing association’s offices to reach this landmark achievement and setting the pace for Abri’s wider journey to become fully net zero by 2050.
To get there, Abri swapped out the building’s traditional gas boiler and heating system for a modern air source heat pump, making both heating and hot water fully electric. And because all of the office’s electricity is backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin certificates, the energy powering Collins House comes from clean, renewable sources.
Ben Earl, Head of Partnerships and Sustainability at Abri, said:
“Seeing Collins House go net zero is a real moment of pride and a tangible example of how our sustainability strategy is taking shape. This isn’t just a box-ticking exercise - it's about meaningful change that reduces our environmental impact and supports long-term sustainability for our communities and colleagues.
“Whilst we have a lot of work to do in Abri’s wider journey towards becoming net zero, it’s heartening to see the positive impact of the changes we’re making as we enter the final year of our current Environmental and Climate Strategy.”
This transition directly supports Abri’s net zero trajectory which commits the housing association to achieving net zero emissions across all operations by 2050. A key part of this is reducing reliance on fossil fuels by decarbonising the areas it directly controls, including offices, depots, scheme communal areas and our maintenance vans.
As a social housing provider that serves over 113,000 customers and manages over 58,000 homes and assets, Abri has a significant role to play in the UK’s net zero transition. Over the past year, the housing association has continued to execute its Environmental and Climate Strategy 2022-26, as outlined in its recent Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report. Here are some of the key highlights from the report:
- Thanks to the ongoing work in Abri’s retrofit programme, 74% of its existing homes are at EPC C+, which means they are more energy efficient, reducing their carbon footprint and lowering customers energy bills.
- Abri reduced its carbon footprint by 3.79% and saved 7,530 tonnes of carbon, which would have otherwise entered the atmosphere and contributed to climate change and global warming.
- Abri surveyed 19 suppliers in its first sustainability questionnaire to assess their commitments to net zero, and hosted around 40 suppliers at the first Sustainability Supply Chain Summit, bringing partners together to take collective action.
Abri’s ESG report brings together the three key strands of reporting that investors, customers and stakeholders want updates on to ensure that Abri is making a positive impact on society. Abri prides itself on having forward looking targets to set a strong benchmark for change within the organisation and with its programmes.
Housing providers and funders active in the UK social and affordable housing sector are adopters of the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing (SRS). SRS-adopting housing providers manage nearly 2.6 million homes across the whole of the UK, representing half of the UK’s social housing stock. The adopting funders represent the majority of the roughly £133 billion of private investment into UK social housing.
Learn more about Abri’s Environment and Climate Strategy and read the full ESG report