International law firm Trowers & Hamlins have co-sponsored and worked with The Good Economy and other sector experts on their White Paper ("Building a Sector Standard Approach to ESG Reporting") aimed at building a standard approach in the affordable housing finance sector to environmental, social or governance (ESG) reporting.
Sustainable finance has become a multi billion dollar industry with funders and institutional investors increasingly considering ESG issues when making investment decisions. Given the nature of their business sustainable finance is a natural fit for housing associations.
Adrian Carter, head of Banking & Finance at Trowers & Hamlins said:
"We are delighted to partner with The Good Economy on this incredibly important initiative. While we are living through unprecedented times in our industry there has never been a better time for housing associations to articulate and capitalise on the ESG outputs already generated by their business. There is a clear direction of travel from funders who want to lend ethically. Positioning ESG at the centre of your offer opens up an entirely new stream of funding to housing associations. The White Paper is a vital first step in establishing a meaningful set of common criteria for ESG reporting in the affordable housing finance sector, making it easier for lenders to assess the scale of borrowers' ESG activities.
The report launched on Wed May 6 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.
