Partner, Rebecca Rees comments on the role of social value in affordable housing investment decisions. This was highlighted in The Good Economy's white paper 'Building a Sector Standard Approach to ESG Reporting' which the firm co-sponsored alongside other sector experts, aimed at building a standard approach in the affordable housing finance sector.
Rebecca said:
"Engaging with the public consultation launched via The Good Economy's white paper 'Building a Sector Standard Approach to ESG Reporting', will enable housing associations to showcase the breadth and depth of the social impact they make to the communities within which they operate.
Considerable work has already been undertaken by the sector to promote a standardised approach for the capture, measurement and reporting of a wide range of social value outcomes. Trowers & Hamlins works closely with the Housing Associations Charitable Trust (HACT) as a member of the Social Value in Housing Taskforce and has published a joint Procurement Toolkit and Guidance on how to embed social value outcomes into an organisation's supply-chain and maximise the impact of every £ spent.
Given that work, we are confident that the sector can rise to the challenge of creating a workable set of ESG reporting criteria that demonstrates the impact housing associations make to all of their stakeholders and we look forward to supporting The Good Economy moving forward."
The report was launched on Wed May 6 and can be downloaded here: https://esgsocialhousing.co.uk/
The project will be in a public consultation period until June when there will be further findings and advice around ESG for the affordable housing sector.
