Sustainability
Stonewater has once again achieved the SHIFT Gold accreditation in its annual environmental assessment.
The SHIFT rating is a prestigious environmental sustainability certification for the housing sector that allows Stonewater to receive an independent measure of its environmental credentials.
It covers the financial year from April 2023 to March 2024, and gave Stonewater an improved score of 65% – the third consecutive year that they have improved their score and achieved a Gold rating.
Achieving SHIFT Gold is another significant milestone in the leading housing provider's journey towards attaining SHIFT Platinum rating, underscoring their commitment to environmental excellence and sustainability in housing.
The accreditation is awarded to organisations that excel in meeting environmental standards, including areas like carbon emissions, water management, waste reduction, and climate change resilience.
SHIFT is recognised by the Government and helps housing providers highlight their commitment to sustainability, offering a structured assessment to improve environmental performance.
Achieving this Gold standard signifies Stonewater’s dedication to reducing its carbon footprint and enhancing the environmental efficiency of its housing stock.
The report highlighted several positive environmental measures:
- More than 77% of homes are EPC C or above
- More than 96% of waste is recycled
- More than 80% of materials are responsibly sourced
- Scoring 15 out of 15 for an effective environmental strategy, ensuring that sustainability runs throughout the organisation including their homes, office and other activities
- Score 3 out of 3 for resident engagement on energy efficiency showing that 100% of residents have access to energy efficiency advice
- More than 90% of homes at low risk of overheating meaning our homes are less likely to develop damp and mould
- More than 95% of homes are at low risk of flooding, making them climate resilient
For more information, please view Stonewater’s Environmental Strategy.
Greenoak Centre of Excellence
The Greenoak Centre of Excellence is a collaborative thought leadership initiative.
We want to identify and highlight the most effective routes for the housing sector to achieve a zero-carbon future.
The global climate emergency requires rapid and effective changes. For the housing sector, this includes decarbonisation across all activities and adaption of our homes to provide safe, comfortable and affordable places to live now and into the future.
By engaging and learning from others in the sector, we can uncover the best practices and sustainable measures that really work for our customers, our businesses, and our planet.
Stonewater and Greenoak launched the Centre of Excellence at an event in November 2023, bringing together Stonewater partners, contractors, consultants, and senior colleagues from across the housing sector to discuss the net zero challenges and opportunities ahead for the housing sector.
We also explored possible decarbonisation solutions for both new and existing homes and looked beyond buildings to wider sustainability issues.
On the Air: Greenoak Centre of Excellence Launch
We filmed a bonus video episode of On The Air at the launch of the Greenoak Centre of Excellence. Host Paula Palmer was joined by Vicki March, Greenoak's Director of Development and Sustainability and our very own Clare Rainsford, Environmental Sustainability Business Partner.
Key sustainability projects
Thought leadership
At Stonewater, our ambition is to build a reputation as a thought leader within the housing sector. Our size and financial strength gives us the opportunity to be a leading voice in the industry, as well as champion causes that will have positive impacts on our customers, the housing sector, and the environment we live in.
We have been working closely with some of the UK’s leading researchers on a number of projects over the past few years. This includes:
- Working with IPPR to find a solution to the significant challenge of decarbonising the UK’s existing housing stock, with a focus on tackling fuel poverty
- Our work on decarbonisation in housing was shortlisted for the PR Week 2021 Awards for Public Affairs Campaign of the Year, demonstrating the impact that it has had on influencing the sector and the Government.
Read our Influencing Policy