Eight leading figures from the worlds of housing, finance, and beyond have been appointed to the board of an organisation set up to oversee the UK social housing sector’s sustainability standard.
The new non-executive team at Sustainability for Housing bring extensive experience from their fields and the wider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement.
Their backgrounds span the investments, housing, and care sectors, as well as the civil service, with representation also for social housing residents.
The board will have responsibility for the continued rollout, implementation, mainstreaming and evolution of the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing (SRS), which was launched last year to communicate and promote the sector’s strong ESG story.
The SRS is a voluntary reporting framework, covering 48 criteria across ESG considerations such as zero carbon targets, affordability and safety standards.
It enables housing providers to report on their ESG performance in a transparent, consistent and comparable way.
Brendan Sarsfield, chair of the Sustainability for Housing board, said: “We now have a fantastic and diverse team to promote, support and evolve the sector’s Sustainability Reporting Standard.
“This is a great opportunity for the sector to embrace the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) movement, access quality finance, and enhance our reputation among investors, but also the government and other key stakeholders.”
Joining Sarsfield on the board are:
- David Cleary, managing director, head of Housing, Corporate & Institutional Coverage, Lloyds Commercial Banking
- Sarah Forster, chief executive, The Good Economy
- Robert Hall, associate director ESG, Impact & Innovation, Federated Hermes Inc
- Martin Hurst, former senior civil servant, working on environmental issues, and experienced Housing Association Non-executive Director
- Craig MacDonald, global head of Fixed Income, Aberdeen Standard Investments
- Julie McDowell, ESG and Responsible Investment specialist and chair, Blackwood Housing & Care
- Fayann Simpson, board member and resident, L&Q
- Sarah Smith, chief financial officer, Optivo
More than 100 housing providers, funders, and sector bodies have signed up to the SRS as adopters or endorsers, which was created following extensive consultation with the sector by an ESG working group led by impact advisory firm The Good Economy and launched in November 2020.
The new independent entity, Sustainability for Housing, was announced as the steward of the standard, with a separate governance steering committee set up to oversee the establishment of the board.
The steering group announced in April 2021 that Brendan Sarsfield, outgoing chief executive of Peabody, will chair the new organisation.
It then undertook a rigorous selection process after more than 100 people applied for the posts.
Sarsfield added: “The standard is unique as the only ESG standard in the UK to be led by the sector, for the sector, and agreed in a truly collaborative way with those that fund the sector.
“Its reach extends beyond the housing sector, and even the UK, with interest already from Europe, America, and Australia.
“We already have nearly 100 UK adopters and endorsers of the standard and are growing rapidly.”
Image: Rubencress/Shutterstock
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