Net zero carbon (Scopes 1, 2 & 3)
Our planet is in danger of catastrophic overheating that will affect billions of people worldwide. The enormity of the danger we face cannot be overestimated.
We have an unequivocal commitment to making a difference by cutting our own consumption of energy and driving down our carbon emissions across the board. We are committed to putting our own house in order and becoming a net zero carbon organisation by 2050.
Cutting out carbon
We’re reducing emissions by raising the energy efficiency of our homes. Two-thirds of our existing homes are now rated EPC C and above. The average energy rating of our new build homes is B, with some achieving an A rating.
We are now designing all of the new homes we build to be fossil fuel free by 2025 and are ensuring high standards of energy efficiency in any new home we complete.
The emissions from heating our homes are just one part of the picture. So we’re also tackling emissions caused by the construction of our homes by targeting reductions in our embodied carbon.
Progress on energy efficiency 2023-24
£18.2m
invested in retrofitting energy saving features
5,000
retrofits done, ranging from insulation to air source heat pumps
2,500
tonnes of CO2 emissions reduced as a result of retrofits to existing homes
“Delivering all new homes to net zero carbon in operation will not only help the planet, but also those living in our new homes by dramatically cutting their energy bills.”
Pioneering change
As the country’s largest housing association, we’re leading by example. The Government has used us as a case study for its Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, which aims to improve the energy efficiency of social housing.
We have now successfully partnered with Government and various Local Councils to deliver energy efficiency retrofits across Demonstrator and Wave 1 phases of the SHDF.
In 2021, we partnered with Fenland District Council and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council to secure £4.5m from the fund. We matched this with a further £4.5m and have upgraded 120 homes – bringing them up from an EPC rating of D (or lower) to an A rating. We used retrofit measures such as:
- triple glazed windows
- air source heat pumps
- solar panels
- external wall insulation
After the success of this project, the government awarded us £5.2m in February 2022 to upgrade 450 homes in Fenland, Merton, and Tonbridge and Malling.
Subsequently, we have successfully received the largest funding award through the latest Wave 2 of the fund, with £49.8m received from Government, which will be match funded by Clarion to deliver over £100m in investment to retrofit over 5,000 homes.
“I was visited every day by the resident liaison officer to check in, and the team on site have been brilliant. They have explained what was happening and how long it would take, and I appreciate how much work has been done to my home.”
Mrs Challice, Clarion resident
Award-winning development
Graylingwell Park is the country’s largest carbon neutral housing development.
The 750-home development is a joint venture with Linden Homes. It has a centralised energy centre providing heating and hot water to homes via a network of insulated pipes.
Graylingwell Park won the Best Sustainable Development Gold Award at the What House? Awards in 2013.
The development is scheduled to be completed by 2023 and is managed by our subsidiary Grange Property Management.
