How do their gardens grow?

Friday 13th February

Work with tenants to save them money and improve their quality of life, advises Pinnacle psg's Mel Grech in her sustainability feature for this week’s Inside Housing magazine.

Much of the housing sector’s response to sustainability has focused on carbon emissions from buildings; hardly the most engaging approach. We are also going to have to accept that lifestyles will change, not only to be more sustainable but to get through tough economic times. We must drive forward with engaging issues; perhaps help residents to get on their bikes, buy unpackaged food, cut their energy bills or become a wildlife champion for their estate?

Housing organisations need a strategic approach to delivering sustainability which staff and residents can understand and get excited about: it must focus less on improvements to buildings and more on tangible improvements to people’s everyday lives. The vision must be one for improving the here and now, not a confusingly ambitious one about saving the planet at some point before it’s too late…

Organisations should ensure that any strategy is adopted by the whole organisation, reflected in decisions made throughout, in both operational and property-based divisions. Sustainability must be integral to the business planning and the business case must be clearly articulated and quantified or the common misunderstanding that sustainability is an expensive add-on may prevail and scupper progress. Strategies must also allow for flexibility - for bespoke, intelligent solutions to be created.  Involve residents in forming priorities: in many cases, residents will already be doing things themselves, allowing you to tap into energy already there.