| Date: Tuesday 14th Sept | Time: 13:00 – 14:45 | Location: Online (Zoom) |
Kindly supported by Anglia Ruskin University and the Eastern New Energy Project
Event summary
Please join the Good Homes Alliance and co-hosts Eastern New Energy and Anglia Ruskin University for the third in a series of online events, held in conjunction with our Build Net Zero NOW campaign.
Following sessions on ‘Net zero and the role of MMC’ and ‘Net zero housing and embodied carbon‘, at this webinar we will explore the latest developments for net zero housing and green finance.
We would like to thank Anglia Ruskin University for supporting this session and look forward to hearing more about their important work as a partner in the Eastern New Energy programme.
Programme
Welcome from the event chair
Julian Brooks, Programmes Director, Good Homes Alliance
Julian Brooks is Programmes Director for the Good Homes Alliance and has spent over three decades in the construction industry working in the private, public and charitable sectors. At the GHA, he leads on our activities including our ever-growing local authority Vanguard and housing association Pathfinder networks.
Local Climate Bonds – Allowing local authorities to raise capital to fund green initiatives
Karl Harder, Founder & Managing Director, Abundance Investment
Pioneered as Community Municipal Investments by Abundance Investment in 2020, Local Climate Bonds can play a significant role in financing local authority climate emergency roadmaps. Example projects range from rooftop solar provision to wind turbine farms, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, retrofitting of buildings and nature-based solutions, such as rewilding.
In July 2021 the Green Finance Institute and Abundance launched the Local Climate Bond campaign, to raise awareness and support participating councils through the process of release their own Local Climate Bonds in the year of COP26.
Before founding Abundance Investment, Karl was a parliamentary researcher and also founded a green business which helped pioneer the London Living Wage. After 5 years he recognised that finance was the key barrier to creating a more equal and environmentally sustainable world, so left to study for an MBA at Imperial College and to pursue the idea that became Abundance.
Welcome from event co-hosts and an introduction to Eastern New Energy
Paul Bourgeois, Industrial Lead, Faculty of Business & Law, Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University are an academic partner for Eastern New Energy (ENE), a three-year regional support programme focusing on low/zero carbon actions and local economic development across the counties of Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Rutland and parts of Lincolnshire and Essex. The programme is designed to help local enterprises (private and social), and other organisations across the region, to understand and remove the barriers that we all face in rapidly decarbonising our communities, buildings, transport, and lives. Results gained from the East of England Region will inform plans to remove similar barriers across the UK.
Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing
Brendan Sarsfield, Chair, Sustainability for Housing (SfH) board
Brendan Sarsfield is the new chair of the new Sustainability for Housing (SfH) board. Brendan will leave his Chief Executive role at housing association Peabody this summer and will be responsible for promoting and embedding the new Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing (SRS), a new voluntary reporting framework covering 48 criteria across ESG considerations such as zero carbon targets, placemaking affordability and quality/safety standards.
Building a greener society – Green finance for community led housing schemes, SME developers and LA/HA shared ownership
Ian Rigarlsford, External Affairs Manager, Ecology Building Society
Over the past 30 years, long-standing GHA member Ecology Building Society has lent to over 3,500 building projects, supporting individuals, charities, environmental businesses and community-led housing organisations to realise their sustainable living ambitions. In 2020 they lent £39.3 million to support 230 sustainable properties and projects.
Ecology specialise in green mortgages for self-build projects which meet specific energy standard ratings and welcome non-standard construction types. They are currently focusing on self-build properties that are aiming for Passivhaus or EPC B (SAP rating 88+) or above.
Community-led housing developments are also a key focus for Ecology. They recognise the importance of maintaining housing as affordable to local communities in perpetuity and are keen to support projects that are structured to protect affordable housing provision for future owners and tenants.
About the campaign
The campaign was formally launched at a Good Homes 2020 conference session on 3rd November 2020 and will run throughout 2021. The aim is to showcase how new homes can be built at scale to net zero standards now, rather than by 2025 or 2030. This ambition is shared by many GHA members, including members of our local authority Vanguard Network and housing association Pathfinder Network, that are set to build 120,000+ new homes over the next 10 years.
Key information and booking
Date: Tuesday 14th September
Time: 13:00-14:45
Location: Online (Zoom)
Registration fees (All fees exclusive of VAT):
- £10.00 for GHA members
- £17.50 for members of partner organisations*
- £25.00 for non-members
*Partner organisations – AECB, Building Performance Network, Eastern New Energy, Passivhaus Trust, STBA, The Green Register, The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products, Woodknowledge Wales.
Booking: Registration via Eventbrite – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/build-net-zero-now-net-zero-housing-and-green-finance-tickets-164179722971.
A few days before the event, registered attendees will receive an email directly from the GHA with further information and joining instructions.
Further information: Please contact Richard Broad, Projects & Communications Manager, GHA – richard@goodhomes.org.uk.