Former THFC boss to chair Sustainability for Housing

During his time at THFC, the group’s loan book grew to more than £8bn and the organisation created its sustainable bond framework as well as THFC Sustainable Finance, a vehicle aimed at helping housing associations tackle net-zero targets.

The aggregator also became the first lender in the sector to publish an environmental, social and governance (ESG) report and has published three to date.

SfH was established in 2021 to oversee the SRS, a voluntary framework designed to help housing providers report on their ESG performance.

Sarah Forster, chief executive and co-founder of The Good Economy, which is the secretariat to SfH and ran the recruitment process, said: “During the recruitment process, Piers stood out due to his wealth of experience in both the social housing and financial sectors.

“His commitment to the social housing sector is well known and we also note that, under his leadership, THFC was an avid supporter and early adopter of the SRS.”

Mr Williamson said: “The ESG and sustainability agendas have never been more important and I’m excited to build on the momentum that SfH has already created in the sector.

“Despite extreme financial challenges, housing associations have made strong progress on ESG over the last three years, thanks to the SRS. I am determined to expand on this progress and help social landlords rise to the challenge that net zero poses.”

Mr Sarsfield said: “Piers’ appointment is great news for the ESG movement in social housing. His deep knowledge of the sector will stand SfH in good stead along with the expertise provided by the existing board members.”

Last month, a survey found that 77% of funders believe the SRS has led to better and more useful information to assess ESG performance in the sector.