Nottingham Community Housing Association links environmental target to funding deal

Paul Moat, chief executive explained the importance of the environmental linkage: 

“Our environmental strategy is one of our key corporate priorities, and we have several projects underway to help support our ambition to improve our environmental performance. Specifically, for the linkage measurement with NatWest, we are committing to making sure that all of our tenants benefit from a warm, energy-efficient home. To that end, we are planning to upgrade 770 of our existing homes over a four-year period, by introducing low carbon heating technologies, and building fabric based insulation programmes. As well as this being an important step in tackling fuel poverty, this supports our wider environmental targets for carbon reduction over the coming years.”

Allan Fisher, NCHA’s director of development and assets adds: 

“The ESG linked loan fits well with NCHA’s emerging direction of travel having recently adopted its first version of an Environmental Standard and signed up to the new Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing. These key areas of work will provide a framework for NCHA to improve its environmental credentials in the coming years and will contribute both to improving the homes we already own, and the people’s lives who live in them. Building a target into our funding deal is a great incentive for us to deliver all of that. Paying a lower rate of interest puts more money into our development programme, allowing us to deliver more affordable homes.”

The 10,000 home association is planning to deliver 2,100 new homes across the East Midlands over the next five years.