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Major landlord targets ESG projects with £1bn in funding
A large Midlands-based housing association has updated its sustainable finance framework that will link over £1bn of future funding to a range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) projects.
Bromford said it hoped to fund projects that would “empower its 100,000 customers and 1,800 colleagues, and positively impact the spaces where they live” under the updated framework, which was first published in 2021.
Each project will be target driven over the course of the landlord’s corporate strategy up to 2027, which aims to deliver more than 10,500 new affordable homes while reducing its total carbon emissions to under three tonnes per home.
Bromford’s recently unveiled 2023-27 corporate strategy has “a customer-focused approach with a renewed focus on place, scale and impact”.
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Last month, the association highlighted its “sustainability golden metrics” in its year-end trading update, with a commitment to driving more visibility, accountability and comparability of its performance.
Imran Mubeen, Bromford’s director of treasury, said: “As a social landlord, we remain absolutely committed to working with our customers and colleagues to understand the drivers that deliver truly sustainable outcomes. We must lead our own sustainability agenda to create appropriate discussion and scrutiny on the performance measures we know will have a positive impact on our people and places.
“Ultimately, we must own and be accountable for our investment decisions. The power of this framework is in setting out our narrative and commitments so that investors can understand and challenge how their funding helps to unlock these powerful ESG outcomes.”
The 46,000-home landlord also aims to bring 1,000 customers into employment or training, achieve a customer advocacy score of 85% each year, and continuously reduce its gender pay gap from its current level of 6.5%.
The framework is being accredited by DNV Business Assurance Services UK (DNV).
Niki Bowen, principal sustainability and ESG consultant at DNV, said: “Bromford’s framework focuses on enabling access to ESG-financing that drives real, credible impact in the social housing sector.
“We are delighted to see Bromford Housing has focused on how sustainability outcomes and impact will be truly demonstrated for affordable housing, alleviating unemployment and driving socioeconomic advancements and empowerment.”
Ms Bowen described the framework as “sector leading” and said she hoped it would encourage other landlords to follow Bromford’s lead.
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