Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report

Summary

This inaugural Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Report demonstrates how our strategy can tackle the wider issues that define our society, perhaps now more than ever. We are proud early adopters of the Good Economy’s sector-wide Sustainability Reporting Standard, which is aligned to six of the UN’s global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), demonstrating the contribution social housing can make to local health outcomes, work and economic growth, reducing inequality, sustainability, responsible consumption and climate action. As an early adopter of ESG reporting, we commit to reporting annually on our achievements in these areas:

settle’s Neighbourhood Model focuses on improving physical and mental wellbeing for residents. Having good-quality, affordable housing is key to improving local health outcomes.

We invest in our communities and work with residents to help them live the life they choose. We provide apprenticeships in the local area and support our employees through wellbeing and inclusivity initiatives.

We provide a solution to the crisis of unequal housing opportunities in the UK: we build and manage affordable housing to help people who are struggling to find a place to live.

We build communities as well as homes, engaging with residents and creating local partnerships to ensure the areas we work in can grow sustainably.

We are aware of the need to achieve our core purpose without compromising on existing resources. Our sustainability strategy sets ambitious targets for more efficient homes and sustainably sourced materials.

We have developed a business-wide strategy to achieve Net Zero by 2050. We recently received a Silver SHIFT award which demonstrates our commitment to climate action as a provider of social housing.

Environmental

At settle we take our responsibility for the environment seriously. This is reflected in our ambitious sustainability strategy, which shows how we will play our part in the national programme to decarbonise our economy, support residents in fuel poverty and invest in green spaces within our neighbourhoods. While we are closely aligned to government sustainability targets, as a social purpose organisation we are committed to going beyond these and working in an environmentally sustainable way across all we do.

Tackling Climate Change

From our 2020/21 Group Carbon Audit, we know that 98% of organisational carbon emissions originate from our housing stock. With responsibility for more than 9,600 homes, and over 900 in our development pipeline, our strategy for building, retrofitting and maintenance will be key to managing these emissions. Our approach is “fabric-first”: 100% of new developments are built to an EPC B efficiency standard and we are investing £16 million to ensure all of our existing stock reaches a minimum of EPC C by 2030.

Good data is key to understanding the Net Zero challenge, so we are actively monitoring the emissions associated with our housing stock and organisational practices. Current organisational emissions total 19,960 tonnes CO2 , equivalent to 2.4 tonnes per home we manage, compared to a UK average of 2.7 tonnes per home. Ongoing improvements to our head office make it on track to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025—according to the Sustainable Homes Index For Tomorrow (SHIFT), we have one of the greenest head offices in the sector.

Our sustainability strategy goes beyond reporting on the efficiency of our housing stock and operations. Customers are at the heart of what settle does, so customer experience is naturally central to our sustainability strategy. In 2017 we began an award-winning project with North Hertfordshire District Council to renovate recycling facilities across all of our flat blocks. By educating customers and improving storage provisions we have reduced contamination incidences to just 3% of all flats, meaning hundreds of customers can now recycle more easily. In addition, all new residents are provided with information on local sustainable transport options when they start a tenancy with settle.

As some of our homes move towards cleaner forms of energy, we remain aware of the need for affordable energy that is easy to manage and use. Tackling fuel poverty goes hand-in-hand with tackling climate change and we are currently researching how we can manage affordability through user-friendly, energy-efficient interventions.

Ecology and Resource Management

Our new Neighbourhood Model will invest in green spaces and biodiversity as part of our mission to preserve the environments we are responsible for. All new schemes are assessed against the ‘Building For A Healthy Life Criteria’ and our ongoing SHIFT assessment ensures we continually monitor biodiversity across the land we own. As proud providers of social housing in the world’s first Garden City, we encourage colleagues to use their ‘Giving Back Days’ to maintain the green spaces in our residents’ homes where it is not possible for a tenant to do this.

94% of waste generated by maintenance and development is diverted from landfill and our Upcycling scheme distributes surplus household items across the housing stock to those in need. Our procurement tender process ensures that sustainability outcomes are a priority when choosing contractors and suppliers.

In April 2021, we achieved our first Silver SHIFT award. This demonstrates a business-wide commitment to monitoring our sustainability metrics and using them to generate ambitious science-based targets.

Environmental Reporting

Social

As a well-run social business, our role at settle goes beyond being a landlord. Whilst delivering on our core function – to provide homes to people who are struggling to find a place to live – we also re-invest surplus into achieving a wider social impact in the communities we serve.

Affordability and Security

We provide homes at up to a 56% discount to local market rates across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire and 82% of our homes are set at social rents. Rent prices increase with national inflation but remain well below the cap for a registered affordable housing provider. This model allows us to provide housing security and affordable living to nearly 9,000 households in an area where waiting lists and property prices are high.

In 2019 we took the decision to end fixed-term tenancies. All existing fixed tenancies are now renewed to assured lifetime tenancies. This gives residents peace of mind, and the opportunity to live the life they choose in a comfortable home they can be proud of.

Building Safety and Quality

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of a good quality home for health and wellbeing. 100% of homes receive an annual, accredited gas safety check and are compliant with a Fire Risk Assessment, which is carried out as required every three years. Currently 97% of homes meet the Decent Homes standard and we are on track to achieve our target of 100% by March 2022. In 2020/21 much of our planned maintenance programme for kitchen and bathroom updates was put on hold in order to reduce the risk of Covid-19 to our tenants and colleagues. The programme was reworked to focus on external updates and so this year we were able to invest £3.8 million in our existing homes, and we have plans in place to increase this investment over the coming years.

Resident Voice

The Big Check In is an opportunity to hear from our customers and review our services. This is a quarterly engagement tool; during 2020/21 we met or spoke to nearly 1,700 customers and this insight is being used to inform our resident engagement strategy.

Additional in-house surveys are undertaken as well as a bi-annual Institute for Customer Service survey to understand the level of customer satisfaction and trust held by our residents. We also run focus groups and interviews throughout the year to test new ideas, ask questions and understand what matters to our communities. Internal assurance panels monitor our obligations around consumer standards and complaints to ensure we put things right first time.

Placemaking

Our £20 million regeneration of John Barker Place on the Westmill estate in Hitchin is now underway, informed by consultation with residents and the wider community. Alongside this project, our new Neighbourhood Model will increase our positive impact in the community, working to improve educational attainment, employment, wellbeing and mental health while tackling loneliness and isolation. This will build on the £1.9 million equivalent social value we generated in 2020/21 through activities in our communities, and the £140,000 committed to our social partnerships. We maintain strong insights into the geographical areas we operate in and have a real desire to see them thrive through sustainable investment and local partnerships.

Social Reporting

Governance

settle is a Registered Charity under the Cooperative & Community Benefit Society Act 2014. We are a not-for-profit registered provider of social housing.

Structure and Governance

settle has the highest possible regulatory ratings (G1: V1). Our risk management framework is embedded within the organisation. We identify and control risks at all levels, from the high-level Strategic Risk Assurance Framework to directorate-level Operational Risk Logs, and these are updated and informed by the regulatory, political and socioeconomic environment. We also regularly consult Treasury and policy advisors in order to protect the business against external financial stresses. More detail on risk management is contained within the Governance section of this report.

Board

The Board has responsibility for setting settle’s strategy and then monitoring the delivery of the strategy and settle’s business plan. In September 2020 we welcomed a new Chair to the Board with a background as a Finance Director in the retail and financial services sectors. Relevant expertise is embedded throughout our board and diversity has been promoted with each new appointment. In March 2021 we adopted the National Housing Federation’s (NHF) new 2020 Code of Governance which promotes compliance with best governance practice in the housing sector.

Colleague Wellbeing

Annual Wellbeing and Creativity benefits are available to all colleagues to support a variety of activities outside work. During the pandemic, the safety and wellbeing of colleagues has been our priority. In March 2020 we moved to flexible and remote working. We held regular focus groups for colleagues with caring responsibilities and mental health was prioritised with reminders for all colleagues of the help available, for example our trained mental health first aiders.

Social purpose is at the heart of what we do, so colleagues are encouraged to take two paid Giving Something Back Days to volunteer in their community each year. During 2020/21 we reached our target of 100 Giving Something Back Days completed by colleagues in their local communities.

Supply Chain

Our Procurement Panel ensures that social and environmental value is factored into business procurement decisions. Currently, all tender documents require the provider to offer some contribution that would help settle to deliver on our social purpose strategy of reducing social isolation. Providers can make contributions by offering up time to carry out activities such as renovations of social spaces, donating items or making a financial contribution in the region of 0.5% of total contract value. In 2020/21, £27,714 was generated for social purpose activities in this way.