New Zero Carbon Hwb brings Welsh social landlords together to achieve housing decarbonisation goals
A new knowledge sharing hub has been launched to unlock the expertise and experience needed to reduce carbon emissions from existing and new social homes.
All Welsh homes account for approximately 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Wales, and as a result housing associations are committed to finding innovative solutions to improve the energy efficiency of their houses.
This not only protects the environment, but also provides good quality homes that support the health and wellbeing of tenants.
Through the Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP), a Welsh government programme which aims to help landlords reduce carbon emissions in existing homes, they have introduced energy-efficient solutions and technology to cut emissions and make existing houses more environmentally friendly.
From adding ground source heat pumps, to solar panels and Intelligent Energy Systems, housing associations have embraced a range of measures in a bid to reach net zero.
They also continue to build thousands of sustainable new homes across Wales, accounting for around 70% of new social housing built last year, with further Welsh Government investment in the Social Housing Grant set to support them over the next year.
As innovators in home decarbonisation, registered social landlords are now coming together with developers, residential social landlords, and owners to share their collective knowledge as part of a new Welsh Zero Carbon Hwb.
The Hwb will be phased over three years with the aim of becoming a central point for net zero design, construction and housing performance information in Wales. It will also coordinate and support learning from existing innovative projects and initiatives across the UK to provide industry-leading advice to landlords in Wales.
As the sector’s trade body, Community Housing Cymru sits on the Hwb’s steering group along with members Clwyd Alyn and Pobl, and will support registered social landlords as they continue to work towards decarbonising Welsh social homes.
The Hwb is being funded through Welsh Government and delivered by The Energy Saving Trust, Good Homes Alliance, Trustmark and Sero, with support from the Welsh Local Government Association, the Design Commission for Wales, Carmarthenshire County Council, and Denbighshire County Council.
Find out more about our work on decarbonisation here.
