T1: Climate Change
Prevents and mitigates the risk of climate change
SDG Goal - 13
The EPC banding distribution of our existing homes is as follows:
The average SAP score for our existing homes is 74.43
Notes:
1. The data excludes shared ownership homes
2. This is the EPC rating of existing homes (those completed before the last financial year)
The EPC banding distribution of new homes completed in the last financial year is:
The average SAP of our new homes is 85.74
Note: energy use intensity data not available
We have set a target for all of our housing stock to be EPC C by 2030 and are producing a costed transition plan to achieve this.
Through our Asset Management Strategy and forthcoming Sustainability Strategy, we will ensure our customers' homes are net zero by 2050, and our operations and supply chain are net zero by 2050 or earlier.
We will set intermediate targets for carbon reduction to ensure we meet these objectives.
Through our planned maintenance programmes, we have improved the loft insulation in 441 individual homes and eight blocks, added cavity wall insulation to 66 individual homes plus 10 blocks, and upgraded the windows in 659 individual homes and eight blocks. In addition, we replaced the heating in 1,241 individual homes with more efficient systems and upgraded the communal heating plant at 16 of our housing schemes. We also installed 20 air source heat pumps for customers that wanted them, and upgraded 268 storage heaters. Another 19 homes had fireplaces removed or made redundant.
Through our Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2 project, we retrofitted a total of 103 additional homes and have secured more than £5.9m of new funding through Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. This includes around £4.5m through our participation in the West of England Combined Authority consortium to retrofit approximately 500 homes across Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset, and around £1.3m for approximately 200 homes in Hampshire through our own funding bid. With additional funding being provided by Aster, these two projects represent a total investment of around £11.7m. We have procured a partner to deliver this programme, ensuring work can start in 2026.
We continue to monitor the results of a trial of novel energy efficiency technologies installed in two properties, to give us a better understanding of the options available to us for improving those of our homes which are least cost-effective to heat. In the first pilot property, NextGen infrared heating is combined with solar PV panels, battery storage and a Mixergy hot water tank. In the second, a Comfort Frame heated panel has been installed along with internal wall insulation and an air source heat pump. The findings of the trial will be used to further inform our strategy for ensuring all homes achieve EPC C by 2030 and net zero carbon by 2050.
Including homes built in the last financial year, 85.1% of our stock has achieved an EPC rating of C or better, with the average SAP score being 74.55. This is an uplift of 0.11 SAP points per property since 2023-24 and compares favourably to national and sector averages.
Our greenhouse gas emissions for 2024-25 were as follows:
- Scope 1 (mains gas, owned fleet, plant and equipment, fugitive emissions): 6,926 tCO2e, which equates to 192 kgCO2e/home
- Scope 2 (purchased electricity, location-based): 1,814 tCO2e, which equates to 50 kgCO2e/home
- Scope 3 (electricity transmission and distribution, housing stock regulated emissions, business travel, homeworking, leased fleet, electricity supplied by landlord): 65,000 tCO2e, which equates to 1,805 kgCO2e/home.
This represents a 19% reduction in emissions per home since 2019-20, from 2.529 tCO2e/property to 2.047 t CO2e/property.
We're required to comply with Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) requirements. The SECR report for 2024-25 was included in the company Annual Report and 9,084 tCO2e of GHG emissions were reported, covering those arising from energy use (gas, electricity and transport), as required by the legislation. The intensity metric used by Aster is GHG emissions per home owned and managed, and for 2024-25 the figure reported was 252 kg CO2e / home.
Climate risk will form part of our new Sustainability Strategy, which we are currently developing. We plan to carry out an assessment of the risks to our homes, operations and supply chain resulting from climate change and will put in place measures to mitigate the key risks identified.
However, we have started to evaluate overheating risk to our homes, in particular those occupied by our most vulnerable customers, including those living in our supported housing schemes. As part of this, an assessment was carried out into overheating at a particular scheme with known issues. The required primary interventions identified by the assessment were to minimise solar gain, for example by fitting external shading or windows with solar control glazing, and reducing internal heat gains through upgrading lighting to LED, removing unneeded hot water cylinders and ensuring heating systems are correctly controlled and properly maintained. Going forward, we will look to more fully assess our highest risk sites using recognised methods such as CIBSE TM59.
T2: Ecology
Promotes ecological sustainability
SDG Goal - 15
We recognise the importance of nature access for our customers and communities, as well as the need to protect ecosystems for planetary health. We are therefore currently developing a Sustainability Strategy which will incorporate targets around greenspace and biodiversity. Our biodiversity aims will partly be informed by our previous nature and biodiversity baselining exercise, carried out across our existing land holdings. This will help us to explore the potential for enhancement in the future, and develop a strategic approach to Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
During the year, we successfully completed the initial installation of an off-site BNG intervention, which achieved a 16.13% net gain in area-based habitat units and a significant 46.56% net gain in linear-based (hedgerow) habitat, well above the 10% required by Wiltshire Council. We continue to meet BNG requirements on-site across all other developments, giving those communities the benefit of better quality natural environments. We also continued to maintain wildflower meadows across our sites where installed, in accordance with the original planning agreements and associated requirements.
Work began in February to create a community orchard and sensory garden in Enham, and revamp the existing community walled garden. This will be a space where local residents can visit and engage with local growing and environmental activity, benefitting people's wellbeing whilst building community and helping to improve the biodiversity of the village. Consideration was given during works to retaining as much soil as possible, and creating and maintaining year-round habitats for birds, insects, pollinators and other animals. A more in-depth biodiversity study will be undertaken from late 2025 into 2026 involving the project volunteers and the wider community.
As our property maintenance and estates management activities have the potential to negatively impact on existing biodiversity, we have put in place procedures to keep disturbance to wildlife and habitats to a minimum. This includes ensuring that suitable checks are carried out before works begin, and that our employees and contractors know how to respond should a protected species be found. These procedures are being continually reviewed and updated in order to maximise their effectiveness.
To complement the wildlife procedure we introduced in 2022, we worked with the Field Studies Council to develop and deliver bespoke biodiversity training for our surveyors and contract managers in March 2025. The course covered an introduction to biodiversity and why it is important; the legal landscape and our responsibilities; what to consider and look for on a property; and what to do if we come across a protected animal. This will help to protect wildlife, save money and improve outcomes for customers in the future.
Through our environmental management system, we have mapped out and evaluated pollution risks, and we maintain this information as circumstances change. The most significant risks arise from our sewage treatment plants and septic tanks, and our domestic oil storage tanks. We have robust procedures in place to manage these risks, covering maintenance, contractor management, monitoring and audit, staff training, and emergency preparedness and response. In addition, we operate asset renewal programmes to ensure end-of-life plant and equipment is replaced as needed. Through our Asset Management Strategy, we look to eliminate risk wherever possible, for example by replacing oil-fired and solid fuel heating with more sustainable options.
We also have a Damp, Mould and Condensation (DMC) policy and procedure to identify and address cases of damp and mould and minimise the risks to health and quality of life, in line with the timescales and obligations of Awaab's Law. We provide a proactive analysis of the homes we believe are more susceptible to DMC, having installed environmental monitoring using the Aico ‘Homelink’ system, which allows us and our customers to see live data of the environmental conditions in that property at any time. We have a specialist damp and mould team and take a person-led, risk-averse, approach to reports of DMC, taking account of any vulnerability factors that may be present and working to identify the root cause of DMC. Our customer communications include videos and how-to guides, as well as providing hygrometers to customers to enable them to understand and manage moisture in their home.
We take proactive measures to prevent pollution on our development sites through the design of our homes, remediation of land contamination and robust contractor management, including monthly reporting on environmental incidents.
Our EMS is closely aligned to the ISO 14001:2015 standard. Included in our EMS is an environmental aspects register, which identifies and evaluates all of our activities, products and services which impact on, or which are impacted by, the environment. We also maintain a second register setting out our environmental compliance obligations – including applicable legal requirements – and we carry out annual assessments of the extent to which we are meeting these obligations. Compliance obligations and associated controls are mapped onto our company risk management system, JCAD. In addition, we carry out an annual programme of audits to assess how well the requirements of our EMS are being followed across the organisation and to ensure that we continually improve. Where we find non-compliances, be that with legal requirements or the implementation of our EMS, we set corrective and/or preventive actions as required, using Aster’s EHS online platform (Evotix) to track their completion.
T3: Resource Management
Sustainable management of natural resources
SDG Goal - 12
We do not currently have in place a strategy on responsible sourcing, although this will be given due consideration in the development of our new Sustainability Strategy and in our new longer-term materials procurement contracts.
In the meantime, we look to responsibly source materials wherever possible.
Our Employer's Requirements specify FSC-certified timber for developments, and product innovation for sustainability is a standing agenda item in our monthly contractor meetings with building materials suppliers.
As a member of PfH, our materials solution is procured through a framework with embedded environmental standards. Contractors and merchants prioritise products made from recycled content and those certified to recognised standards such as FSC, PEFC, and ISO 14021. Many source locally to reduce transport emissions and support nearby communities. Our kitchen provider, for example, procures 90% of their materials within an 80-mile radius, and all manufactured components are recyclable.
Circular economy initiatives among suppliers include recycling schemes which divert waste from landfill and promote reuse. Some offer in-branch facilities and compliant disposal services for customers. Our Dorset roofing contractor works to encourage the use of low impact materials, use recycled content or secondary material where possible, and design out waste, while reusing items like masonry, plastics, metals, glass and lumber on other projects.
Environmental performance of contractors is monitored via audits, fuel and waste tracking, and annual reviews, with merchants developing carbon assessments and ESG dashboards to support transparency. All activity aligns with PfH framework requirements, including Environmental Product Declarations, carbon offsetting, and social value reporting.
Through our community land trust (CLT) schemes we continue to help communities realise their aspirations for sustainable homes. Our Transition Homes CLT in Dartington, Devon will use timber frames made from FSC certified wood, mineral wool insulation, slate for the roofs which will have a longer life cycle when compared to concrete tile or sheet steel, and windows made from an aluminium-timber composite. All 39 homes will be delivered to the highest energy efficiency rating, EPC A.
Waste management forms a key part of our environmental management system, and we have procedures and training in place to help ensure we comply with waste legislation. Currently improvements are being made to ensure better compliance, for example through improved waste segregation, relocation of waste storage facilities and updating of contractor vetting processes. During 2024-25 we introduced additional segregation for food waste at our offices and care homes, together with separate collections for batteries, paints and chemicals at our operational yards. We are working to bring all of our entities into the centralised waste brokerage arrangements currently in place.
For waste that is managed through our waste broker, we receive monthly data on the quantities that have been disposed of and the fate of the waste. We aim for none of our waste to be disposed of to landfill, except where no other alternative is available, as is the case for waste materials containing asbestos.
During 2024-25:
- 76% of our waste was recycled
- 23.5% was recovered
- Only 0.5% was disposed of to landfill
(Note that these figures exclude East Boro Housing Trust's (East Boro) waste, some of Central and Cecil's (C&C) waste, and waste removed from voids and garage stores by clearance contractors, as we do not currently have the data relating to these. However, we are working to rectify this.)
We recognise that water efficiency is a key element of sustainability and it will be given due consideration in our forthcoming Sustainability Strategy. Currently, we ensure that all of our new developments meet the water efficiency requirements of Part G of the Building Regulations and any higher requirements specified in local planning policies.
