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G15 landlord publishes ‘ESG Report for Investors’
Optivo has published an ‘ESG Report for Investors’, which brings together data on its environmental impact, social impact and governance for potential funders.
The 45,000-home landlord said it is the first housing association in the UK to publish such a document, which has become commonplace across corporates active in the public debt and equity markets.
Housing associations are increasingly making ESG-linked deals with lenders and investors which are looking to make ‘positive impact’ investments.
Last year, Optivo agreed a sustainability-linked loan with First Abu Dhabi Bank and BNP Paribas, in which both organisations lent the landlord £50m each.
Optivo will get a lower rate if it gets more than 1,000 of its residents into work and training within a set timescale.
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Bromford recently signed a similar deal with NatWest, with targets set based on the energy efficiency of the landlord’s homes.
ESG was also a key feature in a £350m bond issued by Clarion in January.
In May, a group of social landlords – including Optivo, Peabody and Clarion – published a white paper that identified 10 themes and 45 metrics which can help housing associations and private finance align to achieve social value.
Optivo’s ESG report has adopted the proposed sector standard from The Good Economy, a social advisory firm that was involved in the development of the white paper.
Tom Paul, director of treasury and commercial at Optivo, said: “The Good Economy proposed sector standard for ESG reporting is fantastic. It’s just what our sector needs to give investors the transparency they’re asking for.
“In publishing this report using their template, we’re showing how straightforward it will be for our sector to standardise ESG reporting. We really hope others will over time follow suit.
“We’ll be keeping an eye on what others do and where The Good Economy work lands. We’ll continue to support efforts to create a sector standard which we can follow next year.”
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