Sustainability Strategy
2015–2017
PREFACE – WHEATLEY GROUP VISION
Wheatley Group has the opportunity to establish a standard for sustainability that is an exemplar
for the Scottish housing sector. The Group has a customer base of over 200,000 and we want to
continue to create sustainable solutions that meet ambitious national goals. Our sustainability
strategy will reduce our costs and cut customers’ bills while enhancing our reputation for
innovation. Our customers are well informed about energy efficiency, the cost of fuel, the
importance of environmental quality and the need to move to a sustainable economy. Our
customers do not just want to live in a clean environment that is protected and enhanced – they
expect it.
All too often, sustainability is considered in terms of what we must sacrifice from our quality of lives
to become ‘green’, rather than as an encouragement to consider good examples and expand on
efficient solutions. Wheatley Group’s aim of ‘making homes and lives better’ covers a broad range
of goals around sustainability.
Our strategic priorities aim to promote business, operational and community sustainability in our
activities that affect the economic, social and environmental quality of our communities. This
strategy links actions across the Group that will make energy more affordable, enhance the role of
communities, provide solutions for greater resource efficiency, protect our environment for future
generations, promote sustainability through our existing and future suppliers, and work in
partnership with our communities.
As part of our aim to make homes and lives better, we will support sustainable communities and a
sustainable environment by reducing fuel poverty, sharing efficiency best practice and embedding
whole-life value for money considerations early when designing processes. We will embed
processes for the procurement of sustainable goods and services and minimise energy use and
the impact of future price rises. By adopting sustainable material consumption, we can mitigate
maintenance costs and contribute to the long-term financial sustainability of our businesses,
communities and assets.
Being resource efficient means more than just using less; it requires us to contribute to reducing
fossil fuel and fresh water consumption, eliminate costly waste to landfill and minimise carbon and
other emissions. We will aim to control the use of hazardous materials in our repairs and new
build, as well as promote the use of long-term sustainable green infrastructure solutions in place of
short term ‘man-made’ remedies, such as developing new habitat networks and enhancing our
environment and bio-diversity.
Key to our goals will be promoting social inclusion in our communities, providing support to
residents that enhances their standard of living whilst maintaining our environmental balance. This
strategy provides a common-sense approach to developing our communities and ensuring we
enhance residents’ quality of life, health and well-being, and encourage local enterprise and
employment opportunities. We will improve our long-term business operational sustainability by
implementing efficient practices throughout the organisation, conserving diminishing resources and
mitigating our environmental impact. We undertake to improve the sustainability of our supply
chain by ensuring our procurement processes, suppliers and contractors match our objectives for
long-term sustainability. Finally, we are committed to fulfilling our wider obligations by contributing
to national targets and challenges for a sustainable future.
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FOREWORD FROM THE CARBON TRUST
The Carbon Trust is an independent, expert partner of leading organisations around the world,
helping them to contribute to a more sustainable future. Our mission is to accelerate the move to a
sustainable, low-carbon economy. Created in 2001, we have developed into a world-leading and
trusted expert in low carbon issues and sustainable strategies, environmental footprinting and low
carbon technology development and deployment.
We were asked by Wheatley Group to review and comment on their Sustainability Strategy. We
believe cutting carbon emissions as part of the fight against climate change should be a key
priority for all organisations, and particularly for influential organisations such as Wheatley Group
and its partner organisations, where a very important role can be played by leading by example.
We commend Wheatley Group for developing this wide-ranging Sustainability Strategy and we
strongly encourage the Group to invest in the long-term commitment and rigour which will be
needed to implement this strategy and the practical actions which follow from it.
A central tenet of Wheatley Group’s mission to make homes and lives better is to promote
and create greener, more sustainable, low-carbon communities. The Group clearly aspires to
be recognised as a UK leader in housing and housing services, regeneration and the development
of services which support people and help communities to thrive. We believe this Sustainability
Strategy is fully aligned to the Group’s commitments and ambitions. For example, not only can
this strategy reduce the carbon footprint of Wheatley Group homes and operational
activities, it can also help the Group’s customers save money by cutting their energy bills
through improved energy efficiency in their homes and by introducing innovative design features in
the new homes the Group builds.
Leading organisations such as Wheatley Group contribute significantly to enhancing
sustainability and reducing CO 2 emissions, not only in their own operations, but by enabling,
influencing and supporting customers, suppliers, partners, peers and other stakeholders to make
meaningful changes.
The Carbon Trust commends Wheatley Group for what it has done so far in achieving
greater sustainability and for the commitments it makes in publishing this Sustainability
Strategy. We wish you well as you engage with the challenges of implementation of this strategy
and we look forward to the opportunity to support and advise you as you convert the Group’s
strong commitments and intentions into firm action.
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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Wheatley Group’s strategic priorities take into account legislative requirements and have been
designed to support the places and communities in which the Group operates. Our priorities go
beyond mere compliance in developing a shared sustainable future. Wheatley Group’s partner
organisations have been effective at addressing many of these issues and examples of good
practice are identified below.
Making energy affordable
• Improve energy and thermal efficiency standards of our properties through
insulation and generation
• Alleviate fuel poverty through intervention to reduce energy costs and
consumption, as well as debt alleviation
• Improve quality of life and health through improvements to the local
environment, promotion of healthy living and improved housing quality
• Support tenants through our network of money and fuel advisors as well as in
partnership with energy suppliers.
Sustainable communities
• Long term sustainable working communities through our provision of jobs,
apprenticeships and training placements for customers
• Community involvement in sustainable environmental activities through our
better lives officers and the community-based projects we support
• Supporting local suppliers and minimising waste by helping embed our
sustainable procurement KPIs into our suppliers' own business operations.
Resource efficiency
• Improve new-build and refurbishment standards by building to Eco homes
'Very Good' standards and adopting BREEAM domestic refurbishment energy
standards, as well as meeting Scottish Government building division standards.
• Use resource-efficient utilities, materials and operations through purchasing
environmentally-conscious materials used in our day-to-day operations and
phasing in 'green' tariffs through our energy providers
• Reduce, re-use, recycle waste and aim for zero waste to landfill by
implementing new waste segregation and uplift across our office facilities, a zero
desk waste standard, and the expansion our recycled furniture service, Home
Comforts.
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Protecting the environment
• Minimise carbon and other emissions by reducing our consumption of raw
materials and utilities as well as generating energy-using renewable technology
• Reduce risks from climate change by adopting 'green infrastructure' methods for
site design and mitigating the effects of weather extremes through measures such
as tree planting
• Minimise use of hazardous materials, protect our environment and enhance
biodiversity by requiring clients to use environmentally-conscious alternatives
when procuring materials, as well as community activities to promote local habitat.
Sustainable supply chain
• Manage environmental impact on the supply chain by adopting site waste
management plans for construction and ensuring procurement of sustainable
materials
• Work with suppliers on innovative, resource-efficient solutions such as
adopting new technologies in conjunction with researchers
• Support small to medium-sized enterprises, social enterprises and charity
sector suppliers.
Engaging customers, staff and
partners
• Support for residents through our dedicated money advice and fuel advice
services to help promote stable household finances
• Building a committed and skilled workforce through our W.E.Excel staff
engagement campaign
• Effective partnerships with stakeholders and local and national partners to
implement sustainable solutions in housing, energy, poverty and environmentrelated activites
MAKING ENERGY AFFORDABLE
What are our objectives?
•
To ensure energy costs are affordable and help reduce fuel poverty by providing homes
customers can afford to heat both now and in the future, such as through our Wheatley
Tariff and our installation of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal systems.
•
To improve customers’ health and quality of life, such as through our Eat Well food
delivery service.
•
To provide energy-efficient homes and minimise carbon emissions and climate change
impacts, such as through our on-going insulation improvement works.
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What are our targets?
•
To improve energy efficiency and the cost of running our homes in support of Scottish
Government fuel poverty targets by 2016.
•
To achieve a 100% compliance with Energy Efficiency Standard in Social Housing by 2017
and to have between 98%-100% of our homes meeting Scottish Housing Quality Standards.
•
To build to the Eco Homes ‘Very Good’ standard, where possible, and adopt Section 7
‘Silver’, adding to the almost 1200 Eco Homes Very Good properties we have completed
How will we achieve these?
•
We are founding board members of the Our Power Community Benefit Society energy
supply company, established to provide a socially responsible, not-for-profit alternative to
conventional energy supply companies.
•
We will install solar photovoltaic systems in domestic properties, where feasible,
leading to an anticipated saving to customers of £100-£200 per year and a potential saving
on energy bills of millions of pounds over the lifetime of the systems.
•
We will continue to invest in energy-efficiency measures, utilising Energy Company
Obligations and accessing owner grant support. To date we have helped access over
£116,500,000 of additional grant support for energy efficiency improvement works, most of
which has supported owners to participate.
•
We will pursue alternative, collective and renewable technologies that reduce dependence
on conventional, price-volatile and unsustainable fuel sources. To date we have installed
over 1.25MW of solar PV and connected over 2000 homes to district heating.
•
We will work with energy companies to access grants, tariff agreements, income-related
discounts and energy-efficiency support for our customers.
•
Our fuel advisors and money advisors will continue to help tenants with energy efficiency
advice, debt arrangements, resolve issues with utility companies and transfer to cheaper
tariffs. Since the fuel advice service was launched it has helped tenants save more than
£900,000 on their bills.
•
We will run ‘winter ready’ home energy checks for the over-60s.
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
What are our objectives?
•
To increase opportunities that help people improve their own lives, such as through the
Wheatley Pledge, our Digital Inclusion strategy or our educational bursaries and business
start-up grants.
•
To establish a Wheatley Foundation charitable body to build on our successes by
collaborating with partners to widen community benefit (more details on page 15)
•
To involve residents in the development of their community space, such as through the
award-winning Stalled Spaces initiative with Glasgow City Council.
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What are our targets?
•
To include Community Benefit clauses in Wheatley Group’s procurement of goods and
services, supporting Scottish Government objectives.
•
GHA, Cube and West Lothian Housing Partnership to pay above the living wage, with
other partners in the Group working towards this goal before 2017
•
To promote Digital Inclusion to improve access to online services, support education and
reduce costs.
•
To expand the opportunities created by our contractors and suppliers through the Wheatley
Pledge
•
To adopt Scottish Government good practice on corporate social responsibility, such as
the Scottish Regulator Strategic Code of Practice and the Public Procurement Reform
Programme
How will we achieve these?
•
By including targeted recruitment and training clauses in our procurement, as commended
by the Scottish Government in the Community Benefits in Public Procurement.
•
By continuing to work with police and fire services through our Community Improvement
Partnership which has reduced repair costs due to fire or vandalism.
•
By implementing our Community Governance Model and engaging customers to influence
what we do.
How will we achieve excellence?
•
We will continue to support community groups with funding and professional assistance
•
The Wheatley Pledge encourages our contractors and suppliers to deliver benefits for
people in our communities. To date over 60 companies have signed up, with 151
customers directly benefiting. Over the next five years, the Wheatley Pledge will support
500 customers to get jobs, training or apprenticeships.
Good Practice
The award-winning Stalled Spaces initiative brings derelict land into temporary community use. We
have funded over 50 projects covering approximately 15 hectares of land with funding of up to
£2,500 per project. The scheme has also leveraged in over £500,000 in match funding.
RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
What are our objectives?
•
To embed resource-efficient and low-carbon practices across energy, materials and water
consumption
•
To minimise waste and carbon emissions in construction, demolition, maintenance and
repairs
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•
To design out waste in our services and to consider responsible alternatives to commonlyused materials and standard practices.
What are our targets?
•
All business office-based waste to be segregated at source and recycled to achieve zero
waste to landfill in accordance with Scottish Government plans
•
To prevent furniture and appliances sent to landfill when properties are cleared through
our Home Comforts service
•
To reduce our business operational energy (electricity and gas) consumption, and
associated carbon emissions by 10% by 2017, relative to a 2013 baseline. This equates to
169 tonnes CO 2 equivalent
•
To reduce our business operational water consumption by 5% by 2017, relative to a
2013 baseline. This equates to two tonnes CO 2 equivalent
•
To work with contractors and suppliers to implement our Site Waste Management
Procedures (SWMP), Take-Back, and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for waste
minimisation and materials resource efficiency.
How will we achieve these?
•
By setting out sustainable design solutions in our construction design guides
•
By implementing SWMP and KPI governance for new build-developments
•
By recycling or re-using household furniture wherever possible through a dedicated service
of collection, refurbishment and delivery
•
By incorporating ‘closed-loop’ business models to reduce waste, redirect it to other active
purposes or and maximise value of materials
•
Provide or promote kerb-side recycling facilities in conjunction with local authorities.
How will we achieve excellence?
•
By exploring new technologies and processes that utilise material previously considered
‘waste’ for the provision of energy and new ‘closed-loop’ product.
Good practice
•
As part of the legacy of the Commonwealth Games, Wheatley has recycled and
redistributed thousands of items of furniture from the athletes’ village to households
across Glasgow.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
What are our objectives?
•
To minimise carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions in our communities. Our
investment in insulation off-set over 240 tonnes of CO 2 per year between 2008 and
2015
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•
To encourage our communities to use our green and open spaces for sustainable,
educational and healthy activities
•
To minimise the use of hazardous materials and the generation of waste; to prevent
pollution and noise and comply with relevant environmental legislation
•
To protect, conserve and enhance green spaces and biodiversity
•
To work with partners to adapt places and communities in anticipation of climate change
impacts based on sound scientific principles.
What are our targets?
•
To incorporate green infrastructure techniques in our communities, using natural
processes to provide services, such as tree planting to bind soil instead of driving concrete
piles
•
To reduce carbon emissions as part of our energy-efficiency investment across our homes,
and to seek to increase our annual CO 2 off-set value least 300 tonnes per year by
retrofitting renewable energy technologies such as Solar PV.
How will we achieve these?
•
By funding stalled spaces applications, which promote community improvements on derelict
land
•
By creating a ‘green travel plan’ to increase use of public transport, cycling and car share
for business-related travel and commuting to work, and by transferring a proportion of
our fleet vehicles to use biodiesel
•
By expanding, where practical, habitat networks and re-establishing green space deficit in
our communities
•
By working with our partners to support the Scottish Government’s Climate Change
Adaptation Plans in anticipation of climate change impacts.
How will we achieve excellence?
•
By identifying carbon-intensive products and materials used in our projects and pursuing
environmentally-friendly alternatives where suitable.
Good practice
Local Environmental Action Forums (LEAF) put tenants are at the heart of raising environmental
standards by grading their communities and agreeing how they can be improved. The forums
assess the cleanliness of backcourts and the condition of open areas, among other things, after
which our environmental teams act on their recommendations.
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SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN
What are our objectives?
•
To maintain efficiencies and make economic and environmental savings as well as creating
employment and training opportunities from the procurement of goods and services, and in
so doing create a national standard for all our communities
•
To work with our supply chain to minimise risks, maximise resource efficiency, and deliver
innovation and value for money
•
To demonstrate leadership in sustainable procurement, raising the bar on environmental
and social responsibility.
What are our targets?
•
To adapt specific targets in the Scottish Government’s sustainable procurement
methodology, known as the Flexible Framework, to Group businesses and by attaining
‘LEVEL 5’ in the framework across the Group
•
To embrace, where applicable, good practice within the Scottish public sector, through the
adoption of Government buying standards relating to construction and other products
•
To ensure that timber used in new developments comply with the Scottish Government
Timber Procurement Policy
•
To actively seek to engage third sector organisations including SMEs and social
enterprises in the supply of products and services.
How will we achieve these?
•
By using the Scottish Government Flexible Framework Assessment Tool to assess
current sustainable procurement performance and improvement actions
•
By incorporating relevant Community Benefits into the procurement of service contracts
•
By working with suppliers to identify alternative ‘green’ specification of items and
rationalise disparate purchasing processes
•
By a new Information Communication Technology procurement which focuses on relevant
carbon emissions.
How will we achieve excellence?
•
By working with Resource Efficiency Scotland to minimise waste and use sustainable
materials through contract requirements.
COMMUNICATION AND BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE
What are our objectives?
•
To support residents to adopt energy-efficient, low-carbon, environmentally and
economically-sustainable lives
•
To enable our staff to apply efficient, sustainable practices
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•
To work with and learn from our external partners to promote sustainable practices.
What are our targets?
•
To support our partners in reducing Glasgow’s carbon emissions by 30% by 2017
•
To develop a dedicated sustainability intranet site for staff to target sustainability awareness
and training to disseminate best practice
•
To produce guides on subjects such as communicating with energy companies, utility bills,
energy efficiency and related energy awareness.
How will we achieve these?
•
By holding monthly regeneration seminars on topics such as sustainability and climate
change adaptation for staff and by continuing to incorporate sustainability messages in our
tenant magazines
•
By providing staff training in sustainable public procurement and Energy Company
Obligation
•
By encouraging customers and staff to participate in projects such as our Save The Wee
Bees seed project, tree planting and free bird boxes
•
By continuing our commitment to professional development, including offering all staff the
CIH Diploma in Housing Management through The Academy.
How will we achieve excellence?
•
By continuing to fund GHA’s Area Committees which support sustainability outcomes in
communities
•
By improving communications across departments to enhance sustainability outcomes
•
By working with external partners to support sustainability projects such as the Step-up,
Future Cities Demonstrator project and the Glasgow EU Green Capital bid.
Good practice
•
The Group contributes to Sustainable Glasgow, a partnership which aims to make Glasgow
one of the most sustainable cities in Europe and reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2017
•
Wheatley’s communications department uses either recycled or responsibly-sourced paper,
increasing the sustainability of our publications.
MONITORING PERFORMANCE
What are our objectives?
•
To measure progress against Group sustainability targets via annual carbon footprinting
•
To address barriers to progress and develop new objectives and targets
•
To encourage good practice within the Group and its partners
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•
To report on progress internally and externally and to improve accountability
•
To inform the Wheatley Board of progress toward our targets after annual carbon
footprinting
What do we monitor?
•
We have an annually-updated business operational carbon footprint, though which we
monitor energy, water, waste and travel-related carbon emissions, which will provide
evidence for our 2017 targets
•
The application of relevant actions set out in an accompanying Group Sustainability Action
Plan will be annually monitored
•
We monitor performance against project targets, such as zero waste to landfill, Site Waste
Management Plans, carbon emissions, and the achievement of other building standards.
What progress have we made?
•
GHA has reduced carbon emissions from its homes by over 320,000 tonnes CO 2 equivalent
since 2003
•
We are on track to ensure we comply with the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social
Housing by 2020 with over 90% current compliance and significant investment planned.
WHEATLEY FOUNDATION
The Wheatley Foundation is the Group’s new charitable foundation which will support community
projects to tackle poverty and social isolation, increase educational and employability opportunities
and promote digital inclusion. Our aim is to gain external funding to deliver strategic outcomes and
explore shared agendas with stakeholders and agencies to help us create longer-term, highervalue strategic relationships with key players including the EU, Scottish Government, Big Lottery
Fund and Scottish Natural Heritage. We will focus on accessing £5 million in match funding from
currently untapped Scottish and European funding sources, including Horizon 2017, INTERREG,
Big Lottery and ERDF. Resources raised through match funding will be managed through the
Foundation alongside ‘gift aid’ from commercial activities.
COLLECTIVE ACTION
This strategy sets out Wheatley Group’s commitment, with a consistent approach and message
which provides a unified methodology. It encompasses the core elements of environmental, social
and economic sustainability and is designed to inform and be relevant to decisions that underpin
other Wheatley Group strategies and policies. While this sustainability strategy sets the overarching objectives and actions for the Group as a whole, individual partners in Wheatley are able
to adapt individually according to their own activities and shared good practice. Some excellent
examples of our collective approach include:
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•
Cube Housing Association’s £27million district heating system in Wyndford, Glasgow,
connecting 1527 tenants and 360 homeowners to lower-cost heating, as well as saving over
7,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year
•
Glasgow Housing Association’s award-winning solar photovoltaic project providing free
solar panels to 500 tenants with a cumulative annual generation of nearly 100,000 kWh, as
well as saving around 600 tonnes of carbon emissions per year
•
The Group’s track record of accessing grant-funding on behalf of owners and support for
energy efficiency measures has provided an accumulated total support of over £116million
since 2003
•
Developing positive relationships with a number of energy companies allowed the Group to
offer a bespoke Wheatley Tariff for customers and staff, saving them an estimated
£990,000. We also secured a debt write-off agreement with two of the ‘big 6’ energy
companies to cancel all outstanding energy debt for Wheatley Group customers.
REGULATORY IMPACT
Wheatley Group, as an organisation that values forward thinking, aims to move beyond
compliance with relevant legislation to show how sustainability can be integrated to improve the
functioning, and reduce the costs, of our business practices. As a significant provider of housing
throughout Scotland, Wheatley Group is also committed to working with regulators and other
stakeholders to inform, design and deliver further improvements in regulation and to support the
establishment of practical targets.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC TARGETS
What progress have we made?
•
•
To reduce Group-wide carbon emissions for energy, water, waste and transport by 10%
by 2017, reported and monitored against a 2013 baseline
This equates to 243 tonnes CO 2 equivalent.
Energy
•
•
To reduce electricity and gas consumption and associated carbon emissions
in our sites by 10% by 2017, relative to a 2013 baseline,
This equates to 169 tonnes CO2 equivalent.
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Water
•
•
To reduce water consumption and associated carbon emissions in our sites by 5% by 2017,
relative to a 2013 baseline
This equates to two tonnes CO2 equivalent.
Transport
•
•
To introduce measures such as route scheduling, car sharing, fuel efficient fleet vehicles
and a Wheatley Group Green Travel Plan in the transport of staff, equipment and materials
Within the scope of this element is an operational total of 315 tonnes CO2 equivalent.
Procurement
•
To achieve level 5 in the Scottish Government Sustainable Procurement Flexible
Framework in our procurement of goods and services.
Behaviour
•
To develop a Sustainability Strategy Action Group among staff, drawing representatives
from across the Group with the purpose of completing individual Action Plans by sharing
best practice.
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