By Glenn Harris, Midland Heart CEO.

Midland Heart has been working hard to build better homes and communities in the Midlands for almost 100 years. We’ve done this by recognising the need to continuously adapt to change, across the homes we rent, the homes we build and the way we work.

I was proud that last year, we were one of several organisations who led the way by publishing the sector’s first ESG reports and were early adopters of the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing. As we publish our second ESG report, I’m pleased to say that we’ve made some significant strides towards achieving our goals.

In the last year we’ve installed thousands of energy efficiency measures, from building fabrics to electric heating, and we’re working with British Gas to increase energy efficiency in as many homes as possible at lower cost. Now, 55% of our homes are rated at EPC C or better and we’ve removed EPC G homes from our portfolio altogether.

Through ‘Project 80’ we’re also delivering the UK’s first homes to meet the government’s Future Homes Standard, using 80-90% less carbon, and saving our customers an anticipated 65% on their energy bills. On two sites in Handsworth and Edgbaston, tenants are now living in Future Homes Standard homes, saving money on their bills, and supporting us to deliver the homes of tomorrow.

To make sure we learn from their experiences and share this with others, Birmingham City University are monitoring the low carbon technologies used and talking to our tenants about their experiences.

As well as meeting our environmental responsibilities, we strive hard to be a ‘best in class’ landlord providing ‘best in class’ services to our tenants. To support our customers during the cost-of-living crisis, our Money Advice Team of FSA accredited advisors is offering independent advice, helping customers manage their finances and sustain their tenancies.

Last year, they supported our customers with £2.468m in income maximisation, increasing incomes and reducing debts. We’ve created fifteen new apprenticeships for local young people; from Multi-Trade Operatives to Software Engineers and promoted our apprenticeships in schools across the region, making sure that young people in our communities know what opportunities are open to them.

It’s very important to me that we continue to support and empower our colleagues.

This year we’ve successfully introduced development schemes aimed at our female and black colleagues to help them progress their careers and expanded our apprenticeships to trade industries. We take our responsibility and role as a major regional employer and landlord seriously and will continue to do all we can to do these things brilliantly.

Finally, despite the challenges, our governance remains strong and we retained the highest possible G1/V1 rating from the Regulator for Social Housing.

I am happy and proud to say Midland Heart has met the many challenges of recent years with professionalism and fortitude. Delivering on our goals means concentrating more than ever on the challenges of the future.

Our 2022 ESG report can be found HERE.