Our homes have never been more important to us than they have been during the coronavirus crisis. Everyone deserves a safe, secure, comfortable place to call home. Not just now, in the middle of this crisis, but always.

Investing in social housing makes this possible. It will also boost the economy, create jobs and improve people’s lives when our nation needs it most.

That’s why we’re taking part in the National Housing Federation’s Homes at the Heart campaign – a national campaign and coalition calling for a once-in-a-generation investment in social housing.

This week’s Homes at the Heart theme is ‘a greener country’ and we wanted to highlight what we’re doing to help tackle climate change and increase energy efficiency in our homes.

The Sovini Group

Since joining The Sovini Group in 2011 we have seen the Group’s Carbon Footprint reduce by 54% in comparison with our base-year data, which saw a reduction from 9.34 Equivalent CO₂ tonnes per FTE in 2010/11 to 4.33 FTE in 2019/20.

Also, as part of The Sovini Group we have recycled more than 4,000 tonnes of construction waste and over 40 tonnes of office waste of which 100% was recycled/diverted from landfill.

Oxford House

We are completing an extensive refurbishment at Oxford House to update and improve the internal environment of people’s homes by installing new, more controllable heating and ventilation systems. Along with this, we are improving the thermal envelope of the building by installing external wall insulation and better performing windows, along with a new insulated roof and improved flat entrance doors. These measures combined will help to reduce the energy demand on each flat, in turn reducing energy bills and lowering our carbon footprint. The building will also benefit from a new render system to give it a more modern and aesthetically pleasing look.

Further to this we have engaged the services of LJMU to carry out continuous monitoring of the energy demand before, during, and post construction works. In addition, we have AA projects engaging with the residents to manage a behavioural change in energy use including how best to use the new heating and ventilation controls, ultimately improving their internal environment, reduce their energy demand and lower our carbon footprint.